Ossa, Miami, FL, USA to Austrailia

koocachoo Posted Oct 14, 2007, 12:25 pm	Hello! Today I begin my journey by leaving Sweden and make my first stop at my journey in Germany....I can't wait!! I'm looking for more hosts!! If you would like to host me...please let me owner know!! I would be so happy!! I'm very nice...don't eat much...don't make much sound...I'm very shy... Together with my notebook I weight 120 gram.
fam-united Posted Oct 27, 2007, 11:29 am	Hi Agnetha I arrived in Bruchsal and the first thing I met was another giraffe. I like her very much. I will ask Petra to take a photo with us
fam-united Posted Nov 1, 2007, 9:21 pm	Today I helped Petra to bake cakes for Fabian's 17th birthday, which we will celebrate tomorrow. This cake is called Hannchen Jensen or Hansen Jensen cake.
fam-united Posted Nov 1, 2007, 9:22 pm	Today we were on a little sightseeing tour. Here you see me in Huttenheim with a nice church in the background.
fam-united Posted Nov 1, 2007, 9:24 pm	Then we drove to the Rhine, which is the one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe at 1320 kilometres (820 miles)
fam-united Posted Nov 1, 2007, 9:25 pm	On our way to the Rhine we saw this two towers. It's the nuclear power station of Philippsburg, which was built in the 70th, the power-down is planned in 2011 and 2017, so still some years to go.
fam-united Posted Nov 1, 2007, 9:29 pm	1. Here we are on the way to Untergrombach. 2. On this photo you see rape, then asparagus and of course the beautiful trees. 3. Here is a view to Untergrombach with the Michaelsberg. 4. Untergrombach is one of the suburbs of Bruchsal. We drove to the top of the Michaelsberg, where I saw a nice chapel. 5. We wanted to take a little rest in front of the chapel 6.The weather was beautiful, but you see the fog coming up now. On the photo you see Untergrombach and the quarry pond of Untergrombach. 7. You find many beautiful views on the Michaelsberg and this is another one.
fam-united Posted Nov 1, 2007, 9:30 pm	It's Halloween! It's a little sad, that Petra and her family don't really celebrate this, but she likes to decorate the house with autumn stuff. Do you like it too? I think, it looks great.
fam-united Posted Nov 1, 2007, 9:33 pm	We visited a very interesting place today. It is called Siegfriedsbrunnen (fountain). In the forest of Odes (Odenwald) four fountains are named as place, where Siegfried was murdered by Hagen von Tronje. We saw one of this fountains. There is a famous song about the Nibelungs. When I turned around I saw these beautiful trees.
fam-united Posted Nov 1, 2007, 9:37 pm	Then we drove to the Pfannwaldsee, a lake. We decided to walk around the lake and we got really cold feet.
fam-united Posted Nov 4, 2007, 11:40 am	Here I am in front of the rent house of my hosts. You also see their car and garage.
fam-united Posted Nov 4, 2007, 11:41 am	Today we drove to the Black Forest. Fabian, my hosts one son, was invited to stay there for the next two nights. So we all decided to bring him there.
fam-united Posted Nov 4, 2007, 11:42 am	We visited the Vogtsbauernhof in Gutach, which is an Open Air Museum. Here is what we read in a folder: Where the magnificently preserved Vogtsbauernhof farmstead once stood alone in the open fields, it is now joined by numerous historical buildings from various regions of the Black Forest to breathe life into times of long ago. Six fully furnished farmhouses, the day labourer's cottage and 15 outbuildings, such as mills, sawmills, barns, stalls, a chapel, storehouses and granny house (Leibgedinghaus), invite to take a stroll and discover the multifaceted aspects of the Black Forest way of life. First of all we had lunch in a restaurant, that belongs to the museum. Doesn't it look tasty. Then we walked from house to house.
fam-united Posted Nov 5, 2007, 9:23 am	At home again some toyvoyagers left us: Shirley Sheep, Small Fry and Dottie Grace. I'm sure, you know, that I miss Dottie Grace the most of all.
fam-united Posted Nov 13, 2007, 2:28 pm	We have rather bad weather here, so I only get the chance to look out of the window sometimes. Here you see a part of the garden behind my hosts house and a part of a garage of the neighbour's house. The house you see in the back is the music school of Bruchsal. Because too much cold air came into the house, I had to close the window again and started to look around in the house. I found this four budgies in the kitchen: Fleckchen, Clowny, Wölkchen and Linus.
fam-united Posted Nov 13, 2007, 2:33 pm	It is getting colder and colder here, but surely not so cold as it is at home My hosts heated the oven with wood and it was wonderful warm then.
fam-united Posted Nov 13, 2007, 2:48 pm	It's St. Martinstag (Martin's Day) today and so we all thought, it would be a good idea to go to the procession, where little children walk with their beautiful lanterns. Unhappily the weather was still so bad, that we had to stay at home. Here you see another view out of the window. It shows along the street to the baroque church St. Peter.
fam-united Posted Nov 16, 2007, 3:39 pm	Today we saw the first snow of winter 2007/2008. It looked more like a sugar icing, but nevertheless it was snow. Petra took me outside to take some photos early in the morning, while it was cold enough, because she knew, that the snow would melt away soon. On the first photo you see the back side of the music school and on the second photo you see a house with painting on it. This house is called Sancta Maria. You will see it later again.
fam-united Posted Nov 16, 2007, 5:31 pm	Today we visited Bruchsal's baroque palace and garden. 1. In the palace garden you find several statues. Four of them show the four elements water, fire, earth and air and other four of them show the four seasons spring, summer, autumn, winter. Here you see me in front of the statue winter. 2. I wanted to run and not to be carried around, so Petra set me on the balustrade. Here you see the back side of the palace. 3. The tower, that you see here, belongs to the catholic church, but it is located next to the parish hall. The church is the building with the three dormer windows. It is the church, where my hosts go to the service on Sunday mornings. 4. This shows the front part of the palace. 5. And here you see me in front of the county court. 6. I wanted to see, what time we had and tried to find it out on the sun dial, but we had too few sun for it.
fam-united Posted Nov 16, 2007, 10:22 pm	Good bye, Ossa! You are so cute and especially Sabrina really loves you. Have a nice journey.
alleycat Posted Nov 26, 2007, 2:42 pm	I'm happy to report that I've safely arrived to Jerusalem, currently I'm resting from the trip!
alleycat Posted Dec 4, 2007, 5:24 pm	And here I am, walking around the campus of the Hebrew University! This place is green and spacey and looks very much like a park. Who could believe that there are still some flowers in December... not much though. Walking around the National Library building. A water pool! with what's supposed to be a fountain. The weather is still warm, but it's obvious that the summer is over... the lawns are covered with the dry leaves, and nobody is sitting on the lawn anymore. I found a big flower bush to enjoy!
alleycat Posted Dec 4, 2007, 5:26 pm	Tried to say hello to the local wildlife, but the cat, seeing that I'm not her kin, says "Do. Not. Want." The painted birds, though, are a lot of fun! Cats definitely do not like to talk to me... Here's an administrative building, most notable for containing the post office, to where I had arrived! And another fountain, this one is working. But what's going on - it's starting to rain! must run back to the office! And here I can safely admire the view from the window.
alleycat Posted Dec 17, 2007, 8:07 pm	So far I'm patiently waiting for my host to take me to the center of the city and see some sights, but she's stuck between work and home... Here's our walk from work, of course it's dark already at the evening, so the photos are coming out very fuzzy, sorry for that! The workplace from the outside. The flash makes everything yellow... Through the dark alley, back to the entrance... Enjoying the night city lights on my way. A busy road - luckily, we can cross it through the bridge. And a look from another side of the bridge. A small park... and a playground (it's not that green really, even at night) The streets are quite empty after dark. Mysterious little paths lead further to the houses. A typical house (do you see me on the foreground?) A nursing home. And we're already very close to home...
alleycat Posted Dec 22, 2007, 6:55 pm	Today we decorated the New Year tree! it's a small plastic tree, as it's not possible to buy real fir trees in Israel - or maybe just not customary in the city, anyway it doesn't make sense to destroy so many trees to celebrate a human holiday... but it's fun anyway! here are some pictures, while the local cat hasn't ripped the tree to shreds I'm small and light, so I can climb the tree too! The "alternative" tree, a very small one, we put both of them. I was nice, so what will you bring me, Santa?
alleycat Posted Jan 3, 2008, 4:01 pm	On the last day of the year, 31 Dec, I had a nice tour around the center of Jerusalem (together with another Toy Voyager - Twinette Kani). Jaffa street - one of the oldest and longest streets in Jerusalem. Turning to Ben-Yehuda - a most popular pedestrian street, it's always crowded, there are many little shops, cafeterias and clubs. Couldn't resist some window-shopping!
alleycat Posted Jan 3, 2008, 4:03 pm	Turning to King George street - another big and busy street with many shops. The first sign of Christmas/New Year - a Christmas dog! Bank Hapoalim - one of the 4 biggest Israeli banks. New Year is celebrated only in Russian stores.
alleycat Posted Jan 3, 2008, 4:04 pm	Further on to King George street... This nice and peaceful park contains a public toilet. Bank Leumi - another one of the 4 biggest banks. Some street artwork...
alleycat Posted Jan 3, 2008, 4:04 pm	One of the many Jerusalem parks. It's nice and quiet in here.
alleycat Posted Jan 3, 2008, 4:05 pm	An abandoned cemetery in a center of the city - strange and melancholic sight...
alleycat Posted Jan 3, 2008, 4:06 pm	The municipal building, with the traditional lions - the symbol of Jerusalem. Preparing to go back home... And the New Year holiday dinner!
alleycat Posted Jan 24, 2008, 11:16 am	On the weekend, me and Twinette Kani spent a day in a private garden/wineyard in the place called Sataf Gardens, in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem. Unfortunately it's not a season for flowers or fruits - but it's a nice, quiet and peaceful place, away from the noise of the big city.
alleycat Posted Jan 24, 2008, 11:20 am	(more photos from Sataf Gardens - there seem to be some problems with multiple attachments...)
alleycat Posted Jan 24, 2008, 11:23 am	On my last day in Jerusalem, I made some more pictures of the neighbourhood, while walking to the post office. Now I'm on my way to Netherlands!
goofychicken goofychicken@gmail.com Posted Jan 29, 2008, 1:22 pm	hey hey today i arived in the netherlands my new host already told me some fun things we will do! theres this postcard meeting here and we will visit places like the centrum of this town, im invited to go look at new houses for my host and promised to give my honnest opinion o and she told me ill be visiting family.. do i have family in the netherlands??? well im safe and will take a nap now my new host collects eeyores so she wont loose me with my bright yellow collor in all that blue around
fam-united Posted Feb 15, 2008, 11:05 am	We toyvoyager friends climbed on the lights, but I'm not sure, whether you find us here. This window is in the kitchen of our hosts.
fam-united Posted Feb 15, 2008, 11:20 am	This building is called Belvedere. It was a former hunting lodge and is now used for several feast and open air theatre. Behind this building is a big grammar school. The garden around the Belvedere is also used as schoolyard.
fam-united Posted Feb 15, 2008, 11:22 am	This building is called St.Paulusheim and is a private catholic grammar school founded by patres of the Pallotti order. Until today only Christians can go in this school. Each morning they say a prayer together with the teacher and there is a lot of extra christian program.
fam-united Posted Feb 15, 2008, 11:35 am	We found this funny coloured snake and wanted to play on it. It is near by the baroque church St.Peter. It was kind of playing hide and seek with our hosts. We all were sad, that the church was closed. It is also baroque inside. This street with the statues is opposite to the church. In the far you see the school St.Paulusheim again. Next to the baroque church is the graveyard of Bruchsal. For old people it isn't easy to walk there, because there the ways ascend steeply. But you have a beautiful view to the church and there are wonderful trees.
fam-united Posted Feb 15, 2008, 11:38 am	Here you see a little view over Bruchsal. The building on the left side is the house Sancta Maria, which we mentioned before. The left tower is the tower of the Stadtkirche (city church) and the tower in the middle is the tower of the church of the palace. This is the front side of the house Sancta Maria. In the painting you see some more churches of Bruchsal.
goofychicken goofychicken@gmail.com Posted Mar 3, 2008, 9:36 am	im so happy right now! yesterday my host and i went to the zoo and it was so much fun!! my host told me she was going to make a journal post when i was almost leaving but i wanted to show you some pictures before this all we went to see my family i found out i have alot of growing still to do! also theres a huge aquarium in the zoo with big dangerous fishes thinking im a snack! dont worry they are not real!! the shark showed how baby sharks got born.. thats really scary all those little monsters look im a toothpick!! its a replica of the biggest shark mouth cought i asked my host "why a replica?" and my host told me people dont respect real items that much! in the china garden i saw children pulling out bamboo while there parents where looking.. i understand my host very well from then on me with pirana's  really scary see how brave i am? posing with the lion!! few more of meeting the family they all came to the fence to see mee and we talked about my travelling and how they where doing and so on alot of fun! my host says because she has a pass to visit the zoo everey day we might go 1 more time before i leave here i did like it the dangerous animals where behind glass!! camels looked scary too!! there where camels and donkeys in this part and a camel was running after the donkeys.. really strange the rinos where running around alot too!! had a little cooldown at the waterfall i dont know what this animal is called nomore.. but the sign said he will pee on you if you got to close.. iew! i thought lama's where bad for spitting! peeing is alot worse dont you think? well i had to share this little update with you! later i will show you more of where i stayed and i helped looking for a new home for my host!! i think they are crazy with there pick but youll read about that later this week im going shopping and if the weather stays fine we will visit the zoo again then saterday we visit a friend who lives in a small village fun fun! then sunday ill pack my bag again to travel to my next host on monday see you soon xxx
goofychicken goofychicken@gmail.com Posted Mar 14, 2008, 9:32 am	hello!! today ill start my journey to the big USA but not before i show other pictures made my full diary is traveling with me so you can read more about my time here in rotterdam there look how brave i am! with the killer cat! and the other one looking extreemly dangerous!! look at those scary eyes! and then.. the big scary dog came to look at me closser!! i looked at her without fear! and she left me alone i must have scared her!! then some friends came to stay with my host she (and i) where very supriced to see them. and they will stay with my host also another toy voyager came babylonnie! the day after she came we went to oirschot and eindhoven by train! so exciting here we sit together going on our way we took turn looking out of the window! we went so fast!! in oirschot we went on the picture with some local famouse sights like the lady with the basket and we sat on the biggest chair of europe!!! look how big!! but now its time to say goodbye  so i kissed BL goodbye! and jumped in my envalope on my way to new adventures goodbye ossa!! we had fun!! hope you have a save trip and alot of fun at your new host
carlissa Posted Mar 22, 2008, 2:27 pm	I'm in Miami!  I made it just in time for Easter! I'm going sightseeing today, so I will add photos later.  It's a little cloudy today, so I hope I will be able to get some nice pictures.
carlissa Posted Mar 23, 2008, 1:19 am	I went to Miami Seaquarium today!  I saw lots of fish, sea lions, manatees, eels, dolphins, and a killer whale!  Flipper, the famous dolphin, lives here! Here I am with the eel: I saw some funny looking fish: This is Lolita, the killer whale: The dolphins were fun to watch as they played with the ball: Then it started to rain, so I couldn't take any more pictures, but I still had fun today!
carlissa Posted Mar 23, 2008, 3:51 pm	It's Easter Sunday!  Last night I helped to color some Easter eggs with Prince Charming, Billy Goat, Ronnie N Hammie, Tiger The Best and Yum Yum: This morning, we woke up and found out that the Easter Bunny filled up our basket with lots of candy and a little bunny rabbit: Look at what I got! Happy Easter!
carlissa Posted Mar 31, 2008, 9:35 pm	I went to Emerald Acres today with Yum Yum to look at the pretty horses.  Here I am with American Pie:
carlissa Posted Apr 3, 2008, 2:41 am	Cool Jules arrived this afternoon!  We made some popcorn and went outside to eat it by the lake.
carlissa Posted Apr 3, 2008, 2:48 am	I went on a nature hike today with Cool Jules and Yum Yum at Matheson Hammock Park.  The nature trails were a little spooky, but cool!  Here we are sitting on a log: We had to climb over this big boulder so we could continue down the trail: We found a little cave!
carlissa Posted Apr 6, 2008, 2:58 pm	Today I went on a 15-mile bike ride with Cool Jules and Yum Yum through Shark Valley in the Everglades. We stopped at Otter Cave nature trail and I read a sign: and we looked into some holes in the rock which had water underneath: Here I am looking at the Everglades: We stopped at this observation tower and had lunch: After lunch, I saw an alligator!
carlissa Posted Apr 12, 2008, 8:01 pm	Cool Jules and I had planned on going to the beach today, but it's raining! Prince Charming could tell that we were very disappointed, so he offered to read us a story.  He read Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman.  What a great story!  It's about an aeronaut who meets a polar bear in the North Pole and they have a grand adventure together. We found a game in the back of the book, so we decided to play it.  The game is called Perils of the Pole - sounds exciting!
carlissa Posted Apr 19, 2008, 10:34 pm	Today our host took Cool Jules and me for a bike ride down Old Cutler Road, which is in a very beautiful section of town.  Our bike ride started at Cartagena Circle where we saw a pair of giant shoes! Nearby we saw a pretty little canal: Then we got on the bike and rode down Old Cutler Road until we got to the beach at Matheson Hammock Park where we stopped for lunch. After lunch, we walked over to see Biscayne Bay and we could see downtown Miami in the distance. And we climbed up this mangrove tree that was growing in the water! After enjoying the beach for awhile, we decided to continue our bike ride.  We found this little cemetery in the middle of a residential area!  We read a sign there that said it was one of the oldest cemeteries in the area. I was little scared to go into the cemetery, but Cool Jules thought it would be fun to look around.  It was a pretty little cemetery.  We found a gravestone of someone who was in the Civil War and he died over a hundred years ago! After that we rode back to the car and came home.
carlissa Posted Apr 20, 2008, 3:16 pm	This morning I got up early to watch the Sunrise Balloon Race!  The hot air balloon race started yesterday and finished up today.  The finish line was at the Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport, which is close to where my host lives.  So, Cool Jules and I set up a lawn chair outside to watch the balloons go by. Here comes the balloons!
carlissa Posted Apr 26, 2008, 11:09 pm	Today our host took Cool Jules and me to Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park!  We took a picnic lunch, so we decided to eat first.  We shared a Cuban sandwich and some Fritos. After lunch, we went to see the lighthouse.  Here we are sitting on a brick wall with the old top of the lighthouse in the background.  The lighthouse is made from bricks and then whitewashed! Then we read a sign about the lighthouse. Our host asked if we wanted to go to the top of the lighthouse, and, of course, we said yes!  We had to climb 109 steps to get to the top!  Whew! what a climb! We had to stop about halfway to rest and look out this window. The view from the top was spectacular (and a little scary because we were on a tiny catwalk on the outside of the lighthouse).  Here is the view of the beach from the top: And the view of the lighthouse keeper's house: And the view of the end of Cape Florida and the Atlantic Ocean: Then we climbed down and went to see the lighthouse keeper's house, which has been made into a museum. Here is the cistern the lighthouse keeper used to collect rainwater: We went inside the house and we signed the guest register. Outside again, we found this base marker.  What is it for? Someone was nice enough to put a sign nearby that told about the base marker. After all the walking around, we rested on this bench for awhile. Then we went to the beach and played in the sand for awhile. Wow, what a fun day we had!
carlissa Posted May 1, 2008, 11:11 pm	Today was a sad day  My good friend, Cool Jules left to continue on with his travels.  I will miss you, Cool Jules!  I hope we will meet again one day!
carlissa Posted May 8, 2008, 10:35 pm	Jimbo the Elephant arrived a couple days ago, and I invited him to dinner and a movie. We had Cuban-style picadillo and rice for dinner: After dinner, we watched The Golden Compass: We enjoyed the movie very much!  Afterwards, I introduced him to Snowshoe, the cat and we had a nice chat: Snowshoe gave me a kiss!
carlissa Posted May 10, 2008, 5:49 pm	Decker the lion arrived today from Russia!  We visited with him outside and shared some cookies.
carlissa Posted May 11, 2008, 1:59 pm	Today is Mother's Day!  We got up early to make banana pancakes for our host. First, we gathered all the ingredients that we will need: We mixed up the batter and then cooked the pancakes in a pan.  The pancakes turned out to be very delicious! Happy Mother's Day!
carlissa Posted May 12, 2008, 7:29 pm	Jimbo, Decker, and I went for a bike ride around the neighborhood with our host. Here we are in the bike's basket: We stopped at this pretty little fountain:
carlissa Posted May 14, 2008, 11:51 am	Today I went to downtown Miami with Decker, Jimbo Elephant, and Jadzia Tam.  We stopped at Bayside Marketplace and Bayfront Park. I saw a candy shop at Bayside called the Sweet Factory!  My host told me it was too early in the morning for candy, so we didn't go in.  After window shopping at Bayside, we went to Bayfront Park which was next to Bayside.  I forgot all about the candy store when I saw some of the big buildings in  downtown Miami: And I saw a statue of Christopher Columbus: Here I am with Decker, Jimbo Elephant, and Jadzia Tam enjoying the sunshine and pretty view: On the way back to my host's house, I sat on the dashboard with Decker and Jimbo Elephant:
carlissa Posted May 23, 2008, 1:38 am	I went to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull this afternoon with Dilbert, Jimbo Elephant, and HitchaRideDooey.  We all enjoyed the movie - lots of action Indy style,  Soviet agents, creepy skeletons, and cute ground hogs! After the movie, we met this girl who was playing outside of the theater:
carlissa Posted May 28, 2008, 9:15 pm	I have had a great time in Miami, but it's time to move onward!  I am now on my way to Victoria, Australia.

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