Thursday, May 21, 2009

The Pacific Ocean

Spring 1806
Dear Mr. Jefferson,
The journey was the Corps at its best. The journey was America at its best.
I felt the sun beating againsted my skin, the hot sand under my feet. I stood and watched waves crash down on the shore. I was speechless at that moment. Thoughts were racing in my mind about how far we've traveled, all they obstacles we've faced, I just couldn't believed what we had accomplished! This journey was a once and a lifetime opportunity and I think I can speak for everyone when I say, we couldn't have been happier about being on it.
We are the Corps. Considering how hard we've all worked just being here felt like a miracle. I felt renewed and stronger than before, I could tell everyone was feeling the same. The Captions were very generous and let us vote on where we wanted to go next, everyone was able to vote. I hope everyone is ready because were coming home.
Signed,
Christina
P.S. For my weekly labors, discoveries... for all my endeavors have brought to this journey, I believe I should be paid the grade of an A.


John's Birthday


March 29th, 1806
Dear Journal,
Yippe! Today was John's birthday! It was for sure much better than his last one.
Today we left Deer Island early, we traveled 14 miles to Sauvie Island ("Wapato Island" to them) north of today's Portland, OR. Here we found the ground covered with wild chives. In three more miles, we stopped to visit a Cathlapotle village. We were welcomed and fed, and then purchased wapato and 12 dogs. After the visit, we traveled on to camp near today's Ridgefield, WA.
Gosh, everyday has felt so long and never ending! Maybe that is just my perspective! Anyways John I hope you had a great day [:

Michael's Birthday


March 24th, 1806
Dear Journal,
It was so funny! This morning when we all woke up Michael was all happy and we didn't know why, but then we realized we forgot about his birthday! He was quit mad at us for awhile, but he got over it quickly. Happy birthday Michael!
Today at dawn, Ordway led 15 people ahead 1.5 miles to get elk meat that Drouillard and the Rield brothers had killed. We all chowed down on fresh meat before setting off at 9:30 A.M. At the Cathlamet village (present Knappa, OR), they buy wapato roots, and a dog to nourish the ailing Willard and Bratton. Going upstream on the Columbia, we traveled a total of 15 miles! That's a pretty successful day!
Today also seemed like a long day! We were extra nice to Michael cause we felt bad about forgetting his birthday. I hope that he had a great day though! Happy birthday Michael [:


Joe's Birthday


February 28th, 1806
Dear Journal,
Guess what today was? Well I'm gonna tell you, it was Joe's birthday! Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Joe, happy birthday to you.
Today the jerked elk supply is down to three days' worth, and that is spoiled, so two parties of hunters are set out in different directions: toward Point Adams, and across the Netul River. Drouillard and two others are sent up to the Columbia river to catch (or purchase, if need be) candle fish.
It is really annoying that the elk supply is low right now, that is a pretty bad disadvantage! Hope that the hunters return back soon and safely. Joe, I also hope that you had a wonderful birthday and enjoyed it too [:

Sarah's Birthday


January 21st, 1806
Dear Journal,
There isn't that much that I can write about today for I am to cold to write! It is absolutely freezing outside and I don't like it one bit! On the bright side, today happened to be Sarah's birthday!
This morning the snow was nearly 5 feet deep and 18 inch icicles were hanging from the fort's eaves. Werner and Howard haven't returned with the salt yet, and Lewis mentioned that they are not the best woodsmen, but the area's perpetual cloud cover and thick forest make finding the way difficult even for good woodsmen.
You see what I mean when I say it was super duper cold today! I hope that it will get better by tomorrow! I have to go and try to keep myself warm. Sarah I hope that you enjoyed your birthday regardless of the freezing weather [:

Harrison's Birthday


January 11th, 1806
Dear Journal,
Today seemed like it went by very slowly for some reason. That was good for Harrison though because he got to enjoy his birthday!
Today the Cathlamets leave to go to the Clatsops and trade wapato for blubber that the Clatsops bought from the Tillamooks with beads obtained from whites. This, Lewis pointed out, was how traded goods from the coast get distributed well up the Columbia River. Someone who came in last night didn't tie up the Indian canoe, their lightest, and it's gone down the Netul with the tide. Some men got sent out to search for it.
Nothing really that interesting happened today except for that we have lost a canoe and we really hope that the people who got sent out find it! I'm afraid I have to go, for everyone's calling me to come to dinner! We have to go and sing to Harrison, hope he had a great birthday [:

Camelicious's Birthday


January 2nd, 1806
Dear Journal,
Guess what! I don't think I have mentioned it yet but we happen to be in a new year, 1806! Our trip has gone by so quickly and it is slowly coming to an end which disappoints me. Anyways, today was also a very special day for a very special boy named Cam.... it wash is birthday!
Today the three hunters who've been out for a full week now haven't returned, nor have Willard and Weiser, who went to help set up Salt Camp (at the site of today's Seaside, OR). Drouillard makes a survey of his traps, and brings in an otter! 
Sounds like a interesting day! We all kinda just rested today and Cam was so lucky it was his birthday since he didn't have to do anything! That lucky boy! Happy birthday Cam once again, hope you had a great one for this may be your last birthday on our adventure :]

Sophie's Birthday


November 26th, 1805
Dear Journal,
Good day today. It also happened to be Sophie's birthday! 
Today the we all crossed Columbia to the future Oregon side, passing through the Seal Islands that are now protected in Lewis & Clark National Wildlife Refuge. They arrive at a Cathlamet Indian village where today's Knappa is. With fishhooks, they're able to buy some wapato roots.
Seemed like a nice and pleasant day wouldn't you say? I know we all thought so! I wish I had more time to write but it's getting late and I gotta get some good night sleep! Once again, happy birthday Sophie hope you had a great one [:

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Heather's Birthday

October 11th 1805
Dear Journal,
It was a calm and nice day, perfect for Heather's birthday. Heather definitely had a great day today, we all could tell. Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Heather, happy birthday to you!
We woke up around 7 and it was sunny with a few clouds in view. Today we traveled 30 miles downstream, stopping to trade for some dogs and dried fish. The Nez Perce chiefs traveling along explain that many people of the nations in this area are out on the plains hunting pronghorns at this time of year. Some 200' up steep hills from the river is level, fertile land, but no trees grow along the Snake.
We made good progress today and had successful trades! It was a fun day to being with all of your friends just having a good time! Once again happy birthday Heather, hope you had a great one [:

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Morgan's Birthday

August 30th 1805
Dear Journal,
It's late August now, almost September. The trip continues going well, nothing new really. Today was a nice day I thought. Oh and did I mention that today is Morgan's birthday! Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Morgan, happy birthday to you!
It was a fine morning, before setting out this morning we killed three deer. We then left with a herd of 29 horses, we can get no more from the Shoshones, who take off for bison country while we follow Toby in the opposite direction, turning north onto today's Lemhi River. We traveled a total of 12 miles today, not as much as usual.
Today seemed more calmer than usual, we weren't in a total rush and it was a easy day! Lucky for Morgan it was her birthday cause it was probably a very relaxing day for her! Hope that you had a great birthday Morgan, sure seemed like you did [:

Chris's Birthday

June 24th 1805
Dear Journal,
I have yet another birthday to announce and that is Chris Platt's! It was an exhausting day today, but Chris had the most energy of us all because Chris is always loud and wide awake! Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Chris, happy birthday to you!
We were all exhausted and sweat-soaked when we arrived at Upper Camp in the evening with two canoes. Gass and Shields are having trouble finding straight sticks 4.5 feet long for the iron boat. At Lower Camp, Clark has the last canoe pulled from the water to be emptied and dried. We set off on the portage route with its cargo on their backs and on one of the carts.
Gosh, work work work, thats all we have been doing these past couple of days and it has been really hard! We had fun today though cause we wanted to make sure Chris didn't have a lousy birthday, which he didn't! Once again happy birthday Chris, hope you had a good one [:

Sam's Birthday

June 13th 1805
Dear Journal,
Today felt like a long day! We had to wake up early which wasn't to fun, but the only person who was happy to wake up was Sam because today was his birthday!! Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Sam, happy birthday to you!
 Today was a challenging day! Clark's party moved 13 miles, with Sacagawea remaining very sick. Lewis walked ahead while his men were hunter and he heard the would of waterfalls, and reaches a 200'-high cascade at noon. Here are the Great falls of the Missouri River! The river's edges are sheer bluffs deeply cut by ravines, which meant we could not tow the boats over the falls, but will have to carry everything for miles across the prairie. Just out luck and trust me it wasn't to fun doing this!
What a day I'm glad all of that hard work is over! I hope Sam enjoyed it even though it wasn't such a good day! It's getting late and I have no more energy to write anymore so once again happy birthday Sam [:

Christina's Birthday

May 28th 1805
Dear Journal,
It's now been a year since we've been on our journey. Seems like a long time but it has been fun. Today I had my second birthday since we've been on our trip and it was a good birthday to! Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday dear me, happy birthday to me!
This morning we set out at an early hour, the weather dark and cloudy with a few drops of rain.  We proceeded on through the desert country until about 4 o'clock P. M. when we came to a more pleasant part. We had a pretty good day overall day. Traveled twenty-one miles and encamped on the North side. While we were traveling we saw a nice looking bear but we didn't have time to kill it which was unfortunate because it would have been a good dinner!
Like I said it was a pretty good day, we did a lot of traveling and made good progress. I am having a lot of time being with my friends and we've all been working so hard! My birthday was good too just like my last one [:

Curtis's Birthday

April 3rd 1805
Dear Journal,
It's been a long journey, we've almost been gone for one year. Today though was Curtis's birthday! Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Curtis, happy birthday to you! 
We shall be packing up and getting ready to set out tomorrow. At 4:00 pm we had completed every arrangement necessary for our departure, we dismissed the barge and crew, with orders to return without loss of time to St. Louis. A small canoe with two French hunters accompanied the barge. These men had ascended the Missouri with us the last year as engagés. The barge crew consisted of six soldiers and two Frenchmen. Two Frenchmen and an Arikara Indian also take their passage in her as far as the Arikara villages, at which place we expect Mr. Tabeau to embark, with his peltry, who, in that case, will make an addition of two, perhaps four, men to the crew of the barge.
We got a lot accomplished today, and it was hard work! We let Curtis do all of the easy work because we wanted him to have a nice and relaxing day on his birthday [:

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Morgan's Birhthday

Hi everyone,
For Morgan's birthday she wasn't with us on the trip so that is why I don't have a blog about it, but when its time for her next birthday I'll have one up [:

Thursday, April 30, 2009

John's Birthday

March 29th 1805
Dear Journal,
I hope that John had a good birthday, today was probably they worst day to have a birthday considering the troubles that are happening even as I'm writing this. But still, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to John, happy birthday to you.
I don't like what's happening, I don't think anyone does. Ice chunks rush by in the Missouri, and on both sides the prairies blaze with fires the Indians have set. Were all scared, helpless and just want to be safe! Poor John, he's one of our leaders and is probably having the hardest time out of all of us and on his birthday! I wish that his birthday would get "postponed" till tomorrow in hopes that this fire will go away!
Bad luck is just part of life. Even though it happened today, on Johns birthday, we all are going to get through this and I just hope that everyone will be okay. 

Michael's Birthday


March 24th 1805
Dear Journal,
Its finally Michael's birthday! I say this because Michael hasn't stopped talking about his birthday since the beginning of March..... W-O-W! Well we are all thankful that it finally came! Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to Michael, happy birthday to you.
Today everyone was just mainly focused on the imminent departure, including Indian visitors who drop by Fort Mandan. Overhead, swans and geese are flying north and we have seen a lot of them lately!
Even though we all were just mainly focused on the imminent departure we didn't forget about Michael. He seemed to have had a long and tiring day but always kept a posotive attitude! Now he just has to wait for next year till his birthday comes around once again [:

Joe's Birthday



February 28th 1805
Dear Journal,
It's been awhile since we've had a birthday, about a month I'd say! Well things are about to change because today just happens to be Joe's birthday! Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to Joe, happy birthday to you!
Today seemed like a pretty good day. Sixteen people were sent upstream to find trees suitable for making canoes, and they returned late in the day reporting much success! Arriving from the Arikaras is French trader Gravelines. His news is that the Arikaras are still friendly towards the Corps, Mandans, and Hidatsas, but the Teton Sioux plan to kill all whites they see, and are planning raids on the Mandan and Hidatsas villages. Chief Black Buffalo's Sioux favor the Corps and peace. 
So we learned some not so great news today but that didn't put our spirits down for all that we cared about today was making sure Joe had a great birthday [:

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Sarah's Birthday


January 21st 1805
Dear Journal,
Today was like a relaxing day. Lucky for Sarah it's her birthday today so she probably had a very easy and calm day! Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Sarah, happy birthday to you.
To us 8 degrees is a high temperature, well that's how "hot" it was today. There was a clear sky also, it was a fine day, according to Clark. Other than having many Indian visitors its a quiet day at Fort Mandan. Everyone took advantage of today because it would be a very rare to not have to do any hard work! Sarah was probably in paradise!
Well today was nice while it lasted cause tomorrow, who knows what will happen! We all like days like this, and like I said before lucky for Sarah it's her birthday today, we all hope she really enjoyed it. I better be getting some sleep now because we will all be waking up early tomorrow :]

Harrison's Birthday

January 11, 1805
Dear Journal,
Weather's been good so far we haven't had any more recent snow storms! This is good because today is Harrison's birthday! Yipeee! Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Harrison, happy birthday to you. I don't know how old he is turning, I should though... when i find out I'll be sure to write it down!
Anyways today was a good day. Three men of the Corps were sent out to join three others hunting and they had a very Check Spellingsuccessful hunt and came back with a lot of great food! Harrison had fun making us a great meal since he loves to cook! Chiefs Black Cat and Coal come to visit, and are staying overnight. Some of us also are going to Mitutanka to witness what Clark calls a, "war dance" since we are so into dancing ourselves! Tonight we also had some great corn bread that Harrison and friends made, we all made Harrison's birthday be super fun :]
Second birthday of 1805! Wow I cant believe thats were in a new year, hope it turns out good for all :] Well i'm tired and its late, so once again happy birthday Harrison!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Camelicious's Birthday


January 2nd 1805
Dear Journal,
We've entered a new year.... 1805!! Yippee!! To top it off it's Cameron's birthday today. Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Cam, happy birthday to you. I think that Cam had a memorable birthday.
Since yesterday was the first day of the new year, we had a celebration and let's just say we did someone seriously skilled dancing! With yesterdays dancing then being a success, we all decided to go to preform in Chief Black Cat's lodge at Ruptare. Cam was the star in this performance for we all know how much he likes to dance! We didn't really have a choice on what to do because it was -8 degrees outside! Were still having not good luck on good weather though.
What better way to spend your birthday then to be with your friends and just having a good time :] Well I think that Cameron was lucky to be celebrating his birthday on a day like this even if it is just horrid weather! Happy birthday once again Camelicious.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Sophie's Birthday


November 26th 1804
Dear Journal,
It has been a very long day today! One of the things is that it was Sophie's birthday! Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Sophie, happy birthday to you! Personally, I would not like to have my birthday be on today because it seemed like we had quite a lot of bad luck.
It started out nice, partly cloudy and a nice warm temperature. Then, just before dawn the weather switches from warm, to freezing cold! Wind, clouds, and threatening snow! We all got little done because of they low temperature and it was not a fun experience!
Even though today was cold, frustrating, and hard working, Sophie obviously had to of enjoyed it because it was still her birthday :] We all hope she had a great day!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Heather's Birthday


October 11th 1804
Dear Journal,
It's hard to believe that we have only been on this trip for 5 months! So much has happened so far and I am so curious to see what other interesting things will come about on the rest of our journey. Speaking of fun events, we seem to have another one that happened today which was.... Heather's birthday!! Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Heather, happy birthday to you.
The three Arikara chiefs responded to the speech's our captains had sent to them about trading with the Americans. They responded saying how glad they will be to trade with the Americans, and let them pass on the river. They agree to let our captains try to make peace between the Arikaras and the Mandans. Generous hosts, the chiefs serve a meal featuring boiled corn and beans, with bread made from ground corn and beans, and give the Corps bushels of corn, beans, and squash to take along, it was considered a birthday gift to Heather from them.
Seems to me like Heather had an amazing birthday! Her birthday was a lucky day for all of us even! We got a wonderful feast that we all loved, and the Arikara chiefs like us... a lot, which is a good think! I hope that Heather had a great birthday :]

Chris's Birthday



June 24th 1804
Dear Journal,
On our journey so far we've celebrated 3 birthdays, mine and Sam's. Well it's time to make the 3 people because today is Chris Platt's birthday! Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Chris, happy birthday to you :]
It was perfect weather today! Woke up at 6 to find that the sun was shining with not a cloud in sight. What could be better? We met Clark who realized that he was 6 miles ahead of the boats we met up with him today. Haha! On the bright side he came with two deer and a bear that Chris helped him find, looks like we are going to be feasting tonight! The boats came to a narrow channel between two sandbars, where we all had to lift the keelboat 8" to get it over. This gave us a little delay. It was hard work and made us very tired and sore. That night though we ate the animal the Clark brought for everyone and they were DELICIOUS! Chris ate so much of the food though and we all got kinda annoyed, but it was his birthday so we didn't do anything about it he deserved everything.
Chris seemed to have a great birthday which made us all happy. We sang to him before we ate as he made us all laugh with his incredible dancing skills. Oh Chris what would we do without you! Happy birthday once again to him :]

Monday, April 13, 2009

Sam's Birthday


June 13th 1804
Dear Journal,
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Sam, happy birthday to you! Today (as you have probably realized) is Sam's birthday! Sam seemed to enjoy his birthday, for it was a nice and calm day today.
We set out quite early this morning, 6'o clock to be precise. First we passed the Creek of the praries which had very excellent land! We next passed a site near the mouth of the Grand River where 300 Missouri Indians were killed by their enemies, the Sauk and Fox. Our captains that night stayed up past 11 p.m. to take lunar observations for use in future map-making. Sounds super fun!
Oh I almost forgot! Since it was Sam's birthday he was allowed to stay up late with the captains to do what they were doing. It's not often that any of us are allowed to do that, but of course Sam would have an exception!
I hope that Sam had a great day, he should anyways...... it's his birthday lets not forget :]

Christina's Birthday


May 28th 1804
Dear Journal,
Guess what today is? You should know because it is a very special day for me. Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday dear Christina, happy birthday to me :] Yippee! I was very happy that today was my birthday but the day was not as fun as I wished it was.
In simple words we just had bad luck today! After a long rainy night by the mouth of the Gasconade River, the cargo in the red pirogue- which carries 9 tons plus 14- men is wet. Just our luck! So we all stepped in and helped to unload it and spread everything out to dry. The sooner everything drys the faster we can move on! Since we can't travel, some of the men volunteered to go out to hunt and explore the area on a wet and cloudy day like today. They came back with one deer, so we all had small helpings for dinner.
Even though today was a rainy, cloudy, and took a lot of hard work and patience, in the end it was fun because everyone wished me a happy birthday and they gave me the biggest helping of the deer! I was glad that I got to spend my birthday with my friends on this "fun" day :]

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

The Corps of ReDiscovery 2002

Summer 2002

It's hard to believe this is really happening to me. 4 months, 5000 miles.... whoa! Surely I'll miss my family, how will i live without them? Home cooked meals, someone to clean your room, do your laundry, I hope I learned a few things from them cause I'll need it! Now I personally am not a huge fan of planes but this one was different. While we were flying I didn't even think about all the scary possibilities that could happen on a plane, the only thing that crossed my mind was as I looked out the window was that I am going to be biking back that way.
Were in Washington D.C and went to a bike shop called Chain Reaction. We learned how to fix parts of the bike and ride safely. Very important for us to know! From there we proceeded on with a walking tour of DC which then led to where we would start our biking tour, on the Capitol Steps. We also got to stop by the Lincoln Memorial.
Ben's Chili Bowl....... yummy. I got a lot of food as you can imagine, and it was not disappointing! After our successful meal we happened to come across the mayor as we were walking out sitting at a table with his two bodyguards. Were special because we got to take a picture with him :]

Monday, March 9, 2009

Getting to Know My Mess(Squad)

Here I am, getting ready to head west with Captain John and a group of 11.... very interesting and greatly talented explorers:

Joe seems like he is going to be the motivator, and wise one of the group. He knows what its like to be stuck with 11 kids because he has 5 kids in his family! That's a lot of kids to live with. But when he leaves them to go on this trip with 11 of us, he will probably have more patience and experience on how to deal with a large group of annoying kids (not calling us annoying) . Joe will give us motivation to keep trying and moving on which will help us when were frustrated. Lets not forget he has super speed! This is always good because we don't want everyone in our group to be as slow as turtles! He wants to be able to collect post cards through every state we travel so he can have proof that he traveled across America.
Heather, entertaining, funny, a good friend, but most importantly she can do simple hairstyles! What else could someone ask for? With her great personality and hairstyling ability, she is going to be a great person to spend time with on the trip. She is looking forward to seeing all kinds of entertainment, seeing sketches, art, and last but not least trying different kinds of food!
Sophie is definitely going to be one hell of a photographer on this trip! With her ah-mazing talent she will be able to capture every kodak moment of our journey with her magical photography skills. Along with bringing back tremendous photos, she wants to be able to collect a sticker from each port we stop at on our journey to add to her sticker collection back home.
Cameron has some pretty intense navigation and pancake making skills that will for sure be useful on our journey. He also mentions his sense of humor which he thinks would be great to bring along... Well that's not all about Cameron, he hopes to discover and see the Pacific Ocean as well as bring back rocks and pretty wildflowers.
Michael... good companion, brave, and a hard worker that doesn't get tired easily. Whoa there, lots of talents that will be of great use to all of us on this trip! Michael sounds like somebody who will always be on task, and ready to help with anything needed. A long with possessing those talents Michael thinks he has, he hopes to discover different cultures, how they dress, what kind of music they listen to, what kinds of food they eat and what they do in there free time.
Curtis is a very special boy with special talents to carry with him on this trip. He's a hunter and an entertainer which is great for someone to be able to do! I think we can all learn a lot from Curtis about how to hunt and some great forms of entertainment that he likes to do. Another special thing about Curtis is that the only thing he wants to do on this trip is have a lot of fun and explore.
Morgan is amazing and has like a bazillion things that she is good at! Some of them are, playing the violin, milking goats, cleaning out pen's, and collecting eggs. This is exciting because so far we have no one on the trip that does this stuff :] I'm not done though there is one more important thing she can do.... babysit! Considering how loud we can be and how we get distracted really easily we'll need someone to help us get it together. Morgan also hopes to find different plants and animals to be able to sketch. She would also like to learn about the different languages and cultures of the native people.
Harrison, the artist and chef of the group. While sketching a great piece of work, he will be cooking a gourmet meal for us. Those things are super duper fun to do and are greatly useful talents to possess. What Harrison hopes to discover goes a long with his talents, those things are discovering and collecting detailed sketches along with discovering and collecting new herbs and fruits with a different and unique taste that has never been found yet. Well, I hope that he has good luck finding and collecting these things.
Sam is a nice boy with the talents of being able to play a very unique instrument the guitar, as well as enjoying to keep a journal. I think the journal this is super cool considering no one in our group has mentioned this yet and considering the great writer that Sam already is, he would probably write about each day that we spend on this journey and after we all complete this we will be able to remember a lot of our memories thanks to our good friend Sam! He hopes to find a lost civilization on the way to... I wish him much with achieving that goal.
Chris likes violence and dancing! If there is a dangerous person that comes about Chris will spring to action and fight him off. While he is protecting our group, he can entertain us forever and ever with his dancing skills. When Chris dances.... its funny! He also hopes to find gold on this trip. Good luck Chris!
Sarah seems like she is gifted with many wonderful talents that she is unsure about. I like how Sarah seems to tell the truth about herself. She says she can cook, but is not the best. She says she loves children, but doesn't think she is the greatest babysitter. We learn a lot about Sarah's likes and dislikes almost. She would also like to discover new animals, meet new people, see more types of music, and most importantly make this the most amazingly fun experience of her life!