Kyle the Crocodile

Hi everyone! In between the snowstorms, I took a quick trip to Boston to see Harvard University.

Flying over Boston

Boston’s Logan Airport is on a piece of land that juts out into the ocean. I had a great view of the city and the ocean when we were getting ready to land.

Here’s a view of one of the busy intersections in Harvard Square:

Harvard Square

Harvard University is in Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA. Much of the university is within a fenced-in area known as Harvard Yard. First-year undergrad students live in Harvard Yard, and many of the classrooms and other famous buildings are within the Yard.

Harvard Yard

There is a big statue of John Harvard, the man whom the university is named after, in Harvard Yard. Here’s a photo of me with John Harvard.

John Harvard

Widener Library is one of the largest libraries in the country. It’s kind of like a museum for books! The lower levels are filled with dusty books that researchers travel from all over the world in order to read. There are lots of books that are one-of-a-kind that are here.

Widener Library

Another fun thing in Harvard Yard is a very old replica of a water pump.

About the Water Pump

Kyle on the Water Pump

No trip to Boston would be complete without a big bowl of New England clam chowder! Yum.

Clam Chowder

Hi everyone. I just got back from a short trip to Evanston and Northwestern University. 

It was my first time being around snow, and I’m still not quite sure if I like it or not. It’s very cold, and it’s tough to walk on the ground when it is icy. But streets are so pretty when they are covered with a few inches of snow… 

Looking at Snow

Evanston is directly north of Chicago itself, and like Chicago, it is right on Lake Michigan. Lake Michigan is so big — it looks like the ocean! The lake was frozen, and it was too cold and windy to get a picture of it this trip.  I did take a few pictures from the neighborhood where I was staying: 

Squirrel running in the snow

Evanston

Evanston

Since libraries are one of my favorite places (and because it was too cold to be outside for long), I spent most of my time at the Main Library on the Northwestern University campus. Northwestern was founded in 1851 and has around 8,000 undergraduate students and nearly 10,000 graduate students. 

The Main Library is unusual in its appearance. The design is curvy, which is rare for a library.  I felt like I had wandered into Hogwarts and kept expecting to see Harry Potter at any minute! 

Kyle in Deering Library

Look at all of the arches. When Mrs. Mounts gets back to school, we should ask her about this type of architecture. 

I wandered around and saw some fun things — a sculpture, some very old maps of the state of Illinois, and even some artwork. 

Kyle sitting on the lap of "The Scholar" in Deering Library, Northwestern Univ.

Kyle with a map of Illinois

Close-up view of the map of Illinois

The maps were from the library’s Special Collections — a group of rare or fragile artifacts, many of which are very old. You need to be extra careful when touching these objects, as they are often one-of-a-kind, or there are only a few left in the world. I had to be very gentle when touching these historic maps. 

I didn’t know that libraries had art, but this one did! 

Kyle in front of The Matrix at the Northwestern University. Library

This painting, The Matrix, was painted by Oli Sihvonen, and is on display in the Northwestern University Library. 

The libraries at colleges and universities are so much bigger than the public libraries in Raleigh or the media center at Sycamore Creek. I’m looking forward to seeing more!

Before I left Evanston, I finally got up the nerve to try to walk on the snow. Well, almost — I borrowed my friend’s glove and skated on that.

Kyle on the Snow

I’m going to Cambridge, MA (near Boston) this week, so maybe I’ll see more snow then.

You have been busy today! We appreciate all of your comments and love reading them. Thanks a lot.

I thought I would answer a couple of your questions here instead of trying to respond to each comment individually. There have been a lot of people asking if I, or one of the other crocodiles, can go with them on a trip. We love to travel and want to go on as many trips as possible.

If you want a croc to accompany you on a trip, ask Mr. Clobridge. He’s kind of like our travel agent. We travel so much that we need someone to keep track of where we are going!

You wanted a chance to see us…you’ve got it! After winter break we will be staying in the display case by the front doors at Sycamore for a while. There will be a world map showing you where we have been and some pictures from our travels. If one, or all of us, are away there will be sign in our place letting you know where we are!

Someone also asked how we type. Well, since our paws are so big (especially Carlyle’s — I mean his are huge!), we usually need some help from a human to write our posts.

That’s all for now. Look for more posts from our trips soon!

Kyle

Hi everyone! I thought you’d like to know that two of our crocs are getting ready to head out this weekend. Kirby is getting ready for his very first trip. He’ll be traveling out to the mountains where he’ll be helping cut down a Christmas tree. 

Katie is getting ready to leave to go visit the Biltmore in Asheville.

I can’t wait to learn about their trips!

Katie, Carlyle, Kirby and I spent Thanksgiving with Mr. Clobridge. We have so much to be thankful for this year. We’re thankful for our family and friends, for our great school, and for having the opportunities to go on so many fun and exciting adventures with our friends. We can’t wait to see what the next year brings! 

A few photos from Thanksgiving: 

 

Katie, Carlyle, Kirby, and Kyle Getting Ready for Thanksgiving Dinner

Carlyle Getting Hungry

First we had homemade vegetable soup, and then we ate a traditional Thanksgiving meal with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and carrots. 

Time for Soup

Yum!

Kirby helped Mr. Clobridge carve the turkey. 

Mr. Clobridge and Kirby

After dinner, we rested in front of the fire. 

Kirby in front of the fire

Kirby, Katie, and Kyle in front of the fire

The next morning, we were still full from dinner the night before, but we managed to eat french toast. And then Carlyle had another nap! 

Breakfast in front of the fire

Carlyle takes a nap

It was a fun day, and it was important for us to think about what we’re each thankful for. Most importantly, we’re thankful for our family and friends. 

What did all of you do for Thanksgiving?