Charlie’s Chirps

I just returned from a trip across the Atlantic Ocean to the continent of Europe.  I visited Amsterdam with one of my Trantwood Elementary friends.  While I was there, I learned that Amsterdam is the capital city of Holland, a country that many people call the Netherlands.  I had a great time seeing the sights of the city.  I’m excited to share some of what I saw with all of you!

 

Here’s a picture of me sitting outside the Anne Frank house.  I enjoyed sitting there by the canal – just taking in the sights.  The main mode of transportation in Amsterdam is the bicycle.  There are more bicycles in Amsterdam than cars – which makes me really happy – because the air is a lot cleaner without all the exhaust from lots and lots of cars!

These are two of the Mystery Artist’s statues.  I had fun hunting for them!

Here are two more pictures of me with things for which Amsterdam is famous – French Fries and wooden shoes.  People in Amsterdam  like to dip their fries into lots of different dipping sauces – even mayonnaise! UGH — I REALLY didn’t like the mayonnaise! 

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See you later -

Charlie

Hi, everyone!

I’m with my friend at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.  It’s been really awesome!  This is the largest balloon event ANYWHERE in the world. There are hot air and gas balloon races, competitions, and much more.

The Balloon Fiesta is held each year in October, and features hundreds of balloons and pilots from all over the world! The picture on the left is of my friend and me before we went for a ride in a hot air balloon.  We had a wonderful time!  Of course, I could have just flown myself…..but it was so cool to be in a hot air balloon with my human friends! 

The other picture is one we took while flying in the balloon.  You can see some of the other balloons that were flying with us.  It was a beautiful sight!  I’ve never seen so many hot air balloons in the sky at once.

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Charlie

 I’ve been busy traveling this summer, and have a lot of adventures to share with everyone!  I just returned from a fabulous trip to Europe!  My good friend, Carolyne McCoy, showed me some awesome places in the Bavarian Alps.  Bavaria is in the southern part of Germany, one of the countries in Europe. 

The Alps are very, very high mountains.  We rode to the top of a mountain in a cable car.  I’m used to being in the sky, so I wasn’t worried, but many of the people in the cable car were very nervous.  I started chirping a tune, and I think it helped some of the people calm down!   

 
While I was in Germany, I learned about mountain climbers….people who work really hard to climb to the top of the mountains.  The determination of Bavarian mountain climbers reminded me of the determination of the students at Trantwood Elementary in Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA.  They work so hard to learn new skills.  It won’t be long before I’ll see them back at school!

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Charlie

 

Today I had a really cool adventure!  A lady named Mrs. Smithson visited my blog and left me a comment.  She invited me to visit her school in Virginia Beach.  She’s the library media specialist at the school.  I found Dr. Slaughter in the office and got permission to fly over to Old Donation.

The trip to the school was a little rough….there was light rain in Virginia Beach today.  I was pretty wet when I arrived at ODC, but didn’t get lost because I’d located the school using Google Earth, so I knew just where to fly. 

  Mrs. Smithson was in the library when I arrived at school.  I think she was really surprised to see me!  She found a towel to dry my feathers, and then I stayed with her as she helped some fifth grade students do research on Civil War battles. 

 I was really interested in learning about a Civil War battle that took place near where Mrs. Smithson grew up in Petersburg, Virginia.  The battle was called “The Battle of the Crater.”  Some soldiers from Pennsylvania who had been coal miners at home, dug a tunnel underground so they could blow up a Confederate fort.  They had to dig the tunnel by hand!  It must have been very hard!  When the tunnel was completed, they lit a fuse and quickly crawled out of the tunnel.  Nothing happened.  They tried again, and this time, there was an enormous explosion.  All the ammunition in the fort exploded along with the gunpowder that the Union soldiers had put in the tunnel.  A huge crater was blown into the earth.  The fort was destroyed – BUT – the Union soldiers were trapped in the crater.  A terrible battle followed.  The plan of the Union army failed that day.  Many soldiers died.

I had a great time visiting at Old Donation Center today.  I hope I can visit with Mrs. Smithson in the library again soon!  She loves birds, and just happened to have some delicious bird seed in her drawer.  On top of that special treat, I really enjoyed learning so much about the Battle of the Crater!

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Charlie

I live in an area of the country where there is a lot of interest in college basketball.  The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is one of the best in the country.  My good friend, Joan, is a North Carolina Tar Heels fan.  I have a lot of friends who like other teams, but I do love to chirp, “Go Tar Heels!”

Recently my friend Joan got me a ticket to the Carolina/Duke game in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  Here’s a picture of me at the basketball game!

While we were in Chapel Hill, Joan let me fly around in the new Carolina basketball museum.  What a cool place!  I had a chance to see videos from lots of Carolina basketball games.  I even got to see lots of stuff about one of my favorite college coaches of all time, Dean Smith.  Here’s a picture of me standing next to a pair of Michael Jordan’s basketball shoes!   Boy, did he ever have big feet!  My feet are much better for perching on branches than for playing basketball.  Even though I can fly, I don’t think I’d make a very good basketbal player.  I’d have trouble holding on to the ball!

Yes, I do love those Tar Heels and ACC basketball!   Do any of you like basketball, too?  Please leave me a comment and let me know what teams you like.

Later…..

Charlie

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  Hi, I’m Charlie the Cardinal from Trantwood Elementary School in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I was named after Charlie High, a great guy, who was the Trantwood Elementary custodian for many, many years. 

 Here’s a picture of Charlie High.  He was a very special man!  Click on the audio link to listen to what Nancy Kurz, long-time staff member of Trantwood Elementary remembers about Charlie.  nkurz.mp3  I’ll be updating this blog to let you know about my many adventures!  Please leave comments for me!

See you later…..

Charlie 

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