Garment District

Trevor took the 6:15 bus from Greenbelt to NYC on Saturday. After riding for almost five hours, the bus dropped him off in the Garment District in Midtown!

A giant needle and button mark the Garment District on 7th.


Across the street is Parsons, a fashion school familiar from TV.


Trevor heads on down into the Garment District in search of fabric stores....


He got to meet Kashi from Metro Textiles and his cave of fabrics.


Even more fabrics at NY Elegant...


...and a trip to Mood fabrics.


There are also lots of trim stores with all kinds of fancy trims!


After the stores closed, Trevor did a little sightseeing in Midtown. Here he is in front of Madison Square Garden.


He stopped by a huge post office to send a postcard home!

Chesapeake Bay

Trevor drove down to Southern Maryland to see the Chesapeake Bay.

First he stopped at a restaurant on the Patuxent River to have some tasty crabcakes!


Then he went to Calvert Cliffs State Park. It is a two mile walk from the parking lot to the shore. This little creek followed along the path before merging into a large swamp.


There were lots of fallen trees from Hurricane Irene. Luckily the path had already been cleared.


Finally at the shore! Calvert Cliffs are unusual along the Bay, they are full of fossils and sharks teeth that crumble into the water and wash back up on shore. Lots of people go to the beach to sift through the sand for fossils. The opposite shore (the Eastern Shore of Maryland) is barely visible.

Civil War Forts

Trevor went to see some historical sites from the Civil War that are near the city.

First, he stopped by Fort Foote, just south of DC on the Potomac river. The fort was used to protect the city from attack by the river.


The Fort had two giant Rodman guns that could shoot 400 pound (180 kg) cannonballs several kilometers down the river.


Fort Foote was not used much after the Civil War ended, and the walls are mostly rubble now.


Lots of forts were built around the city during the war, so Trevor went just a few miles south of Fort Foote to see Fort Washington, which is in much better condition.


Fort Washington was originally built in 1809 and called Fort Warburton, but it was destroyed during the War of 1812. It was rebuilt as Fort Washington in 1824, and was manned by the military until the end of WWII.
Entering the gate at Fort Washington....


The gate has heavy doors that close with a big wheel.


Trevor checks out the guard room next to the gate. Those mattresses don't look too comfy...


Looking out over the Potomac from the top of the Fort. This is where cannons could attack forces coming up the river.


There were lots of different cannons at the fort. This cannon is shiny!


And this cannon is big, but no where near as big as the Rodman guns at Fort Foote!


At the tip of the Fort is a small lighthouse to warn boats on the river.

Hurricane Irene!

Last weekend, Trevor got to experience Hurricane Irene!

First the sky turned dark:


When it started raining, Trevor went for some tea and sewing.


When the power went out, Trevor helped to put buckets under a leaking window.


He was very helpful and found a book of matches to light the stove for more tea.


At night, Trevor read books by candle-light. 18th century lanterns come in handy sometimes!


The next day, there was still no power, so Trevor worked on some felting.

Holland, MI

A big thunderstorm came through during the Festival, so Trevor headed back to the hotel for a bit.

Then he went to see the Windmill Island "Dutch Village" in Holland.

The village has a bunch of little shops:


...and a windmill that is just the right size for bears!


Trevor visited the full size windmill, and got to sit on the original grindstone.


He also got to see the working flour grinding equipment inside the mill.


Lots of wooden shoes for sale!


After seeing the village, Trevor went on a walk along the waterfront.


He also saw a big field of wildflowers in bloom...


And then had a slice of raspberry pie at Crane's Pie Pantry. Yum!!

Michigan Fiber Festival

Last week Trevor flew out to Michigan to go to the Michigan Fiber Festival!

The second plane flew just 20 minutes across Lake Michigan, a tiny Embraer. Trevor is waiting to board in Milwaukee.


A view of the Michigan coastline including our destination, Holland MI.


Before the festival, Trevor went to some classes and learned a lot about felt-making!


During the festival, Trevor met all kinds of wooly animals! He got a close look at a big camel:


Also some shorn alpacas:


And a sheep with lots of horns!


This sheep is being shorn, and isn't too happy about it.


Finally, sheepdog demos!

Greenbelt National Park

Trevor headed across the street on Saturday morning to check out Greenbelt National Park. First he went to the ranger station to stamp his passport. There was a bonus, and he got to stamp for the B-W Parkway as well - he took the Parkway to go to Hobby Lobby the other weekend.

Then he went to the Dogwood Trail for a short hike.



This big sign has a warning about ticks, but a nice ranger gave Trevor some insect repellant to wear. Trevor didn't want to risk getting quarantined on his way home if he caught Lyme disease!



A mysterious marker along the trail...



Trevor takes a break on a handy bench.



Red tree blazes help mark the correct trail. Trevor did not want to end up getting lost like in Blair Witch Project, which was filmed nearby.



It started pouring rain as soon as Trevor got home, so he had to put off visiting the rest of Greenbelt until later.