Living and Learning on the Move

     We were pretty excited to go to George Washington’s Birthplace. Unfortunately, when we got there we found out the house had burned down when he was three years old. So, he only lived there until he was three, then he moved because his parents decided not to rebuild. His family moved six miles away in a log cabin. We did learn some interesting facts though!

- They showed us the Washington Coat of Arms and how there were specific items from the coat of arms on the Washington DC license plates. We were especially interested in his coat of arms because we had recently learned about our coat of arms in our schooling.   :)

- He inherited ten slaves & some land from his dad when he passed away (George was only 11 years old.

- Brad noticed that the buildings weren't true to their times/originals because they had plug-ins and air conditioning!

- He inherited more than half his slaves (he had approx. 300) when he married Martha.

- I was amazed that any of this was here because everywhere I look I hear about him at Mt. Vernon. Well, he eventually inherited Mt. Vernon from his brother (where he wanted to be buried and was).

- We also learned about guinea foals! They look like they are part turkey and part quail but were around a lot back then.

     We've read many books about the great George Washington so we are always interested in learning more. We were a little let down to hear about him owning slaves. When we were in the kitchen and saw a very small bed that 5 slaves were expected to live in, the kids asked the reenactor if they knew when slavery started and a few other questions and unfortunately she was new and didn't have any idea. We were reminded that was how things were back then. (We kind of wondered if slavery started when colonists arrived in Jamestown or if it predated Jamestown.) It did bring about a class in learning more about slavery and lack of civil rights from that time. I’m glad that we have evolved in humanity since that time! :)  Overall, we are continually reminded what a strong and courageous man the first president of the United States is in all he did throughout his life.

     We are also loving that there is sooooo much history on the east coast! There is so much to see and do and learn here! Hopefully Stacey’s back will hold up (we usually take a little time off in between or explore a little while she rests back up) and we can continue to explore the east coast and learn all we can while we are here! Look for more blog posts! :)

     We are always looking for new and exciting (and not to exciting but casual) things to do and we just weren't finding a lot of things in the local vicinity. Yes, there was Hilton Head Island and a few other places of great interest that we are missing out on just because we don’t really want to travel that far right now. The RV Park we were staying at was way out in the boonies! (Darn, we’ll have to check Hilton Head Island out next time!) So, one of the few fun and interesting things we found to do was the Kazoo Factory! We really weren't sure what we were expecting; but, boy did it blow us away! We thought we might have a little fun; but, little did we know we were in for a lot of fun and even quite a bit of learning too!

     As we arrived there, after seeing and reading about it online, we were looking for a pretty big factory-type building. We passed up a few bigger factory-type buildings and came along to the Kazoo Factory being a VERY tiny little building! It was at this point we figured maybe our expectations were a little too high and maybe we should just not embarrass everyone, or even ourselves, for making this a bigger deal than it was and just leave. Instead we decided to go ahead and go in! 

     Is anyone still wondering what is a kazoo? My first thought was that a kazoo was the little alien guy on the Flintstones!!! No, it wasn't the little green guy it was a small plastic pipe-looking instrument that you hum into! Also, do you remember the funny noises you hear on the cartoons? For example, when roadrunner falls off of a cliff, it’s “that whistling” noise!

     So, as soon as we walked in and started looking around, we were greeted by no less than the owner of the store! He told us we’d first watch a short video and then he’d take us on a tour of the factory! The video was a short video explaining the history of the kazoo. Kazoos come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and styles. They even have an electric one and a gold-plated (or dipped) one! Who knew? They've also been used to market and sell almost anything! After the movie, the owner took us through all the different machines it takes to make them. You would not believe how much work goes into making kazoos! We learned there are only two places in the United States that make them. I can’t recall what the New York one does; however, this is the only one that makes plastic kazoos. The current owner (who has been in the business for a relatively short period of time), has done a lot of research to make sure that he offers the most safety conscious product and with the most features and accessories! You can even imprint your company information on them and hand them out for advertisement. Each of the machines he uses, are very expensive, but, if someone would try to copycat his kazoos, they would not be able to meet the same safety standards that he goes through at his company to make them safe for kids.