Westward Bound!

Our departure from school a little after 7:00 a.m., March 21, 2009!
We are donning our Lincoln hats and ready for our adventure!

Day 1: Washington, DC to Cincinnati, OH
National Parks Visited: Fort Necessity NB in Uniontown, PA


By Liz

The most interesting part of Fort Necessity was the Indians. We were walking down the path to the fort (which was really small!) when these Indians came out of the woods that were surrounding us. It was really scary, because for a crazy second, we thought they were real Indians coming to kill us! (Part of this reaction was having just seen the movie about the French and Indian War.) Then we were relieved, because of course they were just actors. However, when they came closer to us, and they started talking to the park ranger, she told us that they were real Native Americans! One of them was from the Huron tribe and one was from the Delaware tribe. They said that they were descendants, although not direct. They both had nose piercings, and one of them had black face paint all along his lower face. He said it was his “Death Face”, and he would wear it when going into battle. The other had tattoos everywhere- his arms, hands, fingers, chest, and face. At one point they had been black, but they had faded to a light navy color. They told us all kinds of stuff about what they used for greeting others, stretching their ears, and how he didn’t vote, but only because he didn’t want to. This was so cool, and I think it was a great start to the trip!

Liz is an eighth grade STAMPer, who loves marshmallows and hates spaghetti!


By James

Today was our first day of our going-to-be spring break trip with STAMPS. On the bus I sat next to my good ol’ plan Devin. Devin and I both had a bacon and egg sandwich. Boy, was I full. Our first stop of the day was Fort Necessity. I really enjoyed the nature trail, especially as I was assigned the part of Half King. But my favorite part of the stop was asking questions to the Indians and how they were pointing out animal footsteps (such as deer tracks and bear prints). The hotel we are staying in today is the Marriott Courtyard.


By Kelsea

And we’re off! It’s our first day on the road. And we just left Fort Necessity. One of the best parts of this stop was meeting two Indians—a Huron and a Delaware. They taught us about their culture and told us the history of the French and Indian War. We learned some pretty awesome facts. For example, during the war George Washington was targeted many times. However, he never actually got shot. So far this trip has gotten off to a great start! I can’t wait for what’s to come!

By Candace

Our day began at 6:45 am at Stuart-Hobson Middle School. We then departed for Fort Necessity and arrived around 11:50 am. We watched a movie about the start of the French and Indian War, then proceeded outside to Fort Necessity (a reconstructed model of course), and were greeted by some friends along the way. Two Native Americans, Bob, and John. They both had on tradition clothing and accessories. We then walked to a short trail where General Washington once stood. After stamping our passports (this is STAMPS after all!), we boarded the bus for a nice 4 ½ hour drive to Blue Ash, Ohio. We had dinner that was provided courtesy of Wendy’s, and enjoyed some time by the pool. Whew! What a day! Seven more days left! Woohoo!




By Monea

Today was fun. We went to Fort Necessity and watched a film and we walked down to the replica of the fort and then we noticed that we were being followed by men with face paint and muskets. HONESTLY, I was TERRIFIED and I walked faster to get away. Then I realized Ms. T wouldn’t let us get hurt (I hope) and then I felt comfortable about it. We spent time with them asking questions and then we went in the wood and read writing on trees. We went back and made wampanoag. After stamping our passports, we got back on the bus and ate lunch. I fell asleep and when I woke we were in Blue Ash, Ohio, outside of Cincinnati. We went to dinner and spent time at the pool. Now, we await our second day. One day down, seven days to go.

Did we mention that Ms. Jen was able to get our very own NPS stamp for STAMPS?
It was christened at Fort Necessity today!

by Linstrum

Today was so great…we did a lot. Today the first thing we did when we pulled off from Stuart was we drove three hours or a little more to Fort Necessity in Pennsylvania. We stayed there for about three hours. When we were there we saw two real Indians and I got to pull the trigger on one of the guns (but nothing happened—they’re real old guns. Next we went to Ohio. It felt like a long time to get there. After that we went o to the hotel and settled in. Then we went to dinner.