Thursday, March 27, 2014
Teddy’s Adventure in DeSoto!
On Wednesday, March 26th Adrienne took me to the DeSoto
Grade School. I was excited to be able
to run around and play on the playground, but she started giving me a history lesson! She told me that DeSoto, IL was one of the
communities hit by the March 18th, 1925 tornado. The school was destroyed and more than 30
students and teachers were killed. I couldn’t
believe my ears when she told me this was considered the worst tornado in U.S.
history! However, when she told me facts
such as the tornado was on the ground for 219 miles and winds reached 70 mph, I
can understand why this was so significant to our history in Southern Illinois. We looked around for the memorial at the
school, but we couldn’t seem to find it.
That is when Adrienne decided to take my picture by the Desoto Grade
School sign next to the road. After running
around for a while on the playground, I was exhausted and Adrienne took me to
her house in Elkville, IL to rest for the night. The next morning we traveled back to
Carbondale, IL so Adrienne could go to work.
I sure did enjoy learning about the Tri-State tornado of 1925!
Miles traveled: 32.24 miles
Teddy’s total miles traveled: 5185.86
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Teddy Hangs Out in Benton!
On Friday, I traveled with Lenzi to Benton, IL! I had lots of fun learning about the history associated with the area, but before we could do that, I had to help Lenzi with something.
We woke up at the crack of dawn and had to go to Marion to take one of Lenzi's content tests. I was really nervous (I've never taken a test before, but don't tell Lenzi that)! It was really quiet in the building and they almost didn't let me in because I'm a dog. The test was hard, but I'm really smart and helped Lenzi.
I needed a Coke once that was over, so we made a quick stop and we were on our way! Neither me or Lenzi had been to Benton before, so it was a new trip for us. We traveled north on I-57 until we got to the exit for Benton. Just about a mile into town, stands the Franklin County Jail and that was where we were headed.
Charlie Birger, born Shachna Itzik Birger in Russia, immigrated to the United States with his parents. After serving in the military, he settled near Harrisburg. It was there that he started a ring of prostitution, gambling, and bootlegging. During Birger's time as a businessman, he formed an alliance with the Shelton Brothers in order to expand his operations. During this time, Birger managed to remain blameless for numerous crimes and murders he orchestrated. However, Birger had a falling out with the Shelton Brothers in 1926, so when he ordered a man to kill the mayor of West City, his cover was revealed. Thinking his trial would be held in Williamson County, a place in which he had much police and political control, Birger was not worried. However, his trial was moved to Franklin county. Birger was sentenced to death, whereas the actual murderers were only ordered life in prison. It took the jury only 12 minutes to decide Birger's fate. On April 19, 1928, thousands of people gathered to see Charles Birger hanged. He was the last man publicly executed by hanging in Illinois.
I couldn't believe my ears when Lenzi was telling me this! This much history was practically in my backyard? I always thought Southern Illinois was a pretty boring place. Lenzi taught me otherwise, and best of all, I had fun in the process!
Miles traveled: 69.2 miles
Coordinates: 38.0042 N, 88.9161 W
Teddy's Total Miles Traveled: 5153.62 miles
We woke up at the crack of dawn and had to go to Marion to take one of Lenzi's content tests. I was really nervous (I've never taken a test before, but don't tell Lenzi that)! It was really quiet in the building and they almost didn't let me in because I'm a dog. The test was hard, but I'm really smart and helped Lenzi.
I needed a Coke once that was over, so we made a quick stop and we were on our way! Neither me or Lenzi had been to Benton before, so it was a new trip for us. We traveled north on I-57 until we got to the exit for Benton. Just about a mile into town, stands the Franklin County Jail and that was where we were headed.
Charlie Birger, born Shachna Itzik Birger in Russia, immigrated to the United States with his parents. After serving in the military, he settled near Harrisburg. It was there that he started a ring of prostitution, gambling, and bootlegging. During Birger's time as a businessman, he formed an alliance with the Shelton Brothers in order to expand his operations. During this time, Birger managed to remain blameless for numerous crimes and murders he orchestrated. However, Birger had a falling out with the Shelton Brothers in 1926, so when he ordered a man to kill the mayor of West City, his cover was revealed. Thinking his trial would be held in Williamson County, a place in which he had much police and political control, Birger was not worried. However, his trial was moved to Franklin county. Birger was sentenced to death, whereas the actual murderers were only ordered life in prison. It took the jury only 12 minutes to decide Birger's fate. On April 19, 1928, thousands of people gathered to see Charles Birger hanged. He was the last man publicly executed by hanging in Illinois.
I couldn't believe my ears when Lenzi was telling me this! This much history was practically in my backyard? I always thought Southern Illinois was a pretty boring place. Lenzi taught me otherwise, and best of all, I had fun in the process!
Miles traveled: 69.2 miles
Coordinates: 38.0042 N, 88.9161 W
Teddy's Total Miles Traveled: 5153.62 miles
Teddy Travels to Fort Myers Florida!
I traveled with Lisa all the way from Carbondale, IL to Fort Myers, FL. That is a total of 1029.39 miles and a 17 hour drive! We traveled through many states to get to our destination. The first state we traveled through was Kentucky. Here was were we started seeing Waffle Houses at almost every stop. It must be a southern thing. Next we traveled to Tennessee. Here we decided to stop and eat lunch in the famous city of Nashville. I found out Nashville is the home of country music. Next we traveled through Georgia. Here we decided that we should take a break and spend the night in Macon, Georgia. After spending the night, we continued our road trip all the way to Fort Myers, FL. It was almost another full day of traveling in the car.
Once we arrived in Fort Myers, the weather was beautiful and I finally felt like I could relax and let loose like dogs do after being cooped up in a car for 17 hours. Throughout my whole time in Ft. Myers, we went to the beach, played outside, and did many other fun things. At the beach I was able to run around and go in the water and play catch. This was a very enjoyable time. I also got to relax by the pool with my family. You can see me by the pool in the photo!
Unfortunately our vacation had to come to an end and we had to take the trip all the way back to Carbondale, IL. It was another 17 hours in the car with the Fluga family. We decided to stay overnight in Chattanooga, TN. This way it was only a short ride back to Illinois the next day. Overall, I had a great time on my trip to Ft. Myers and I would recommend the beach to any dog out there!
Miles from Carbondale to Ft. Myers Roundtrip = 2,058.78 miles.
Total miles of Teddy's Adventure so far = 5,084.42
Once we arrived in Fort Myers, the weather was beautiful and I finally felt like I could relax and let loose like dogs do after being cooped up in a car for 17 hours. Throughout my whole time in Ft. Myers, we went to the beach, played outside, and did many other fun things. At the beach I was able to run around and go in the water and play catch. This was a very enjoyable time. I also got to relax by the pool with my family. You can see me by the pool in the photo!
Unfortunately our vacation had to come to an end and we had to take the trip all the way back to Carbondale, IL. It was another 17 hours in the car with the Fluga family. We decided to stay overnight in Chattanooga, TN. This way it was only a short ride back to Illinois the next day. Overall, I had a great time on my trip to Ft. Myers and I would recommend the beach to any dog out there!
Miles from Carbondale to Ft. Myers Roundtrip = 2,058.78 miles.
Total miles of Teddy's Adventure so far = 5,084.42
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Teddy and Jennifer Travel to Nashville, Tennessee!
On March 1st, I traveled to Nashville, Tennessee with Jennifer. We traveled a total of 424.64 miles throughout the whole day. Throughout the trip we were in three different states, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee! Also, on our way to Nashville we went over the Ohio River. We stopped once along the way to eat McDonald's breakfast, which was yummy!
Eventually, we made it to Nashville and first went to the Parthenon which is a full-scale replica of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. The structure is in the middle of Centennial Park and has a museum inside. This was one of the coolest buildings I have ever seen!
Next, we went to the Tennessee State Museum located right in the heart of the city. At the museum we learned all about the states history. Some of the exhibits we looked at were First Tennesseans, Frontier, The Age of Jackson, Antebellum, The Civil War and Reconstruction, and the New South. My favorite exhibit was Antebellum because there was a full-scale model of a street during the 1840’s. It was really cool to compare the replica street to today’s streets. The museum was a lot of fun, but what we did next was even better…
After the museum we went out to eat at Chipotle! I was so excited to go to Chipotle because we do not have one in Carbondale. Jennifer also really enjoyed going to Chipotle because it reminds her of home. We both ate burritos and it was delicious!
The last stop we made was the Opry Mills Mall. Like the mall I saw in Texas, this one was huge! There were tons of stores to go to. Jennifer and I did lots of shopping throughout the night. By the end of our shopping trip our feet were really tired from walking around all day. We decided it was finally time to go home to Carbondale. On the drive home I took a really long nap and when I woke up we were driving on IL-13! I was very excited to be home after such a long day. Overall, I had a really great trip with Jennifer and learned a lot about Nashville, Tennessee.
Miles Round Trip to Nashville and back to Carbondale: 424.64
Nashville Latitude and Longitude: 36.1667° N, 86.7833° W
Total Miles: 3025.64
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Eventually, we made it to Nashville and first went to the Parthenon which is a full-scale replica of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. The structure is in the middle of Centennial Park and has a museum inside. This was one of the coolest buildings I have ever seen!
Next, we went to the Tennessee State Museum located right in the heart of the city. At the museum we learned all about the states history. Some of the exhibits we looked at were First Tennesseans, Frontier, The Age of Jackson, Antebellum, The Civil War and Reconstruction, and the New South. My favorite exhibit was Antebellum because there was a full-scale model of a street during the 1840’s. It was really cool to compare the replica street to today’s streets. The museum was a lot of fun, but what we did next was even better…
After the museum we went out to eat at Chipotle! I was so excited to go to Chipotle because we do not have one in Carbondale. Jennifer also really enjoyed going to Chipotle because it reminds her of home. We both ate burritos and it was delicious!
The last stop we made was the Opry Mills Mall. Like the mall I saw in Texas, this one was huge! There were tons of stores to go to. Jennifer and I did lots of shopping throughout the night. By the end of our shopping trip our feet were really tired from walking around all day. We decided it was finally time to go home to Carbondale. On the drive home I took a really long nap and when I woke up we were driving on IL-13! I was very excited to be home after such a long day. Overall, I had a really great trip with Jennifer and learned a lot about Nashville, Tennessee.
Miles Round Trip to Nashville and back to Carbondale: 424.64
Nashville Latitude and Longitude: 36.1667° N, 86.7833° W
Total Miles: 3025.64
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| Entering into Kentucky. |
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| Entering into Tennessee. |
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| At the Parthenon. It's huge! |
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| Having a great time at the Tennessee State Museum. |
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