Authors and Artists

We drove to Amherst, Mass to see the Emily Dickinson house.  It was a very nice little house.  She lived right next to her brother and his family on the same property.  We toured the house, and saw that she had a small, little desk in her small bedroom where she wrote all her poetry .  But the grounds were beautiful and I could see how she was inspired.

From there we drove into the green forests of Vermont to a state park and spent the evening chasing fireflies, and looking in wonder at the luna moths. 

After a hearty morning breakfast,

we headed to the lake to enjoy the scenery, including the chipmunks that were everywhere

After a relaxing day in the forest, we headed to South Shaftsbury to see Robert Frost's home.

Then we visited a Bird Sanctuary in New York, where they rehabilitate all kinds of birds that have been injured.  They had geese, ducks, swans, cranes from the San Diego Zoo, pigeons from New York City, and even exotic birds from all over the world.

From there we headed to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Massachusetts.  We saw all the Saturday Evening Post covers he did, and many of his other famous art works. 

Next we drove back into Connecticut and had a wonderful time at the Eric Carle Museum.  They had some hands on activities for kids of all ages, so of course we participated!  Eric Carle used to take many walks in the forests with his father, which is where he developed his love of the world of nature around him.

a very hungry caterpillar!

 a different kind of bug!

After we enjoyed this museum, we headed to the Mark Twain (Sam Clemens) house.  He had a beautiful brick home on the river that we enjoyed touring.  He lived here for many years, and it is where he wrote his famous novels, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, and a few other stories.

 It was after he left this house, when he lost some of his family, that he developed the "Mark Twain" character look he became known for.

We learned a lot about the personal lives of these famous authors and artists.  It was fun to visit these museums and homes.