6. August 6, 1967 New York City

 Dear Mom and Dad,
     Well we are almost through the weekend and we have done a lot of walking. We went Friday to the Museum of Natural History of the second time...the first time we didn't even get started! This visit we spent a lot of time looking at the African animals and the dinosaurs. It will take another two or three visits to see everything there is to see there. It is a huge place. The African animals are excellent and we found several exhibits that were right in the place where we will be.

    Saturday we went to the Bronx Zoo. It is supposed to be the largest in the United States. We got there at 10 in the morning and came back home about 5 in the afternoon. We took lunch and walked so long we were dead on our feet. It is really a wonderful collection of animals. They have a large African exhibit...a large place with a deep moat around it and several others out through it, so that as you stand on the path in front you can see several kinds of antelope and lots of different birds, and in the back are the lions lying on the rocks sunning themselves, and in another direction you can see ostriches. The giraffes were off to themselves in another place, and the zebra in yet another place, but the effect of the whole landscape was very good. You could almost believe it was for real!

    In the other exhibits there were monkeys, new tiger cubs, a big monkey named Jim, snakes of all kinds, lots of birds and a camel the kids got to ride. The grounds were well kept, the cages clean and the animals looked healthy. I don't think I have ever seen such beautiful leopards. We bought a zoo key which would turn on recordings at different places through out the zoo that told things about the various animals. It was  a nice trip but don't think I've ever been so tired!

    Then today we went to a place a short bus ride away called the Cloisters. It is a collection of Medieval art in a building that is built like and old monastery. There are pieces of the original building that was brought over from the old world. I should say pieces of several buildings. There are old oak doors bound with iron, columns, windows and arches, and all kinds of statues, stained glass windows, tapestries and paintings. It is very interesting, and we could sit and look a good deal of the time! I feel like I've "sight-saw" about all I want to!

    We have made plans to go and visit Helen next weekend. The TEEA group is going on an outing up the Hudson River to Bear Mt. Park on Friday, a sort of going away party, and Helen will pick us up there. It is about 15 miles from where they live, and we will stay and come home Sunday. She seemed real tickled and I was glad it worked out, for it saves us fare up there as TEEA pays for us all to get to Bear Mt.

    That leaves only this coming week to learn all the Swahili we can. I'm afraid the natives will not understand us very well, but I'm hoping that it will improve once we get there. We are all getting anxious to get going! It has been quite a while since we walked on anything but pavement. That's another reason we are looking forward to next weekend. Helen says there is a swimming pool next door where the kids can stay all day if they want to!

    We had two good thunderstorms last week...got caught out in one and before we could go the remaining block to home we were drenched. Yesterday there were three storms, one right after the other, that dropped three quarters of an inch of rain! Today everything looks and feels so bright and clean. We have been lucky though...only about four days since we've been here has the temperature been in the 95+ zone!

    Milt's birthday was a big success. I had planned a party in the park with 7 of his friends, and it rained, so we had it here in the apartment. We moved the beds out of our bedroom and fixed it up for games. They seemed to have a good time, and the cake and ice cream were slicked up, so I guess it wasn't too bad to have to be inside. Then right before supper we went to the hospital for our yellow fever shot and then went swimming for an hour. I think he felt like he'd had a good day. That shot didn't give any one a reaction so I guess we are getting used to all these vaccinations by now! Next Monday will see the end of the shots, and I won't be sorry! Seems like I've had sore arms so long I can't remember what it's like not to have them! Amy dreads them the worst.

    Well guess that's about all the news. Frank had  a second x-ray for his ulcer and this one showed extensive healing, so there's no worry there.

     I hope things are going smoothly as possible for you all. I feel like I've lost contact so much that I hardly know what to ask about. Frank's folks have been over to our house and said everything looked in good shape. I guess the freezer had quit earlier, but we had sort of expected such things to happen.

                            Love to you both.

August 21

Dear Mom and Dad,

    I am sending a copy of the TEEA Directory, I thought you'd like to see some of the people, the men anyway, that belong to the group. I am also sending the pamphlets of a couple places Helen and Frank took us. It was very interesting. We surely enjoyed our trip and stay with them. And the kids sure hated to leave Charles. He was so nice to them. It was pretty chilly most of the time, but we did get to swim in the neighbor's pool!

Tues. August 22

    We went to a play last night. I am enclosing the program for it too. Would like to have you send the TEEA directory on to Frank's folks sometime.

    This has really been a busy day. We had to have our baggage ready to weigh and check in at  1:30 this afternoon. This included everything but what we carry with us on the plane. TEEA gave each one of us a little blue bag for hand baggage. It has Pan Am on one side and Teacher Education in East Africa on the other side. They had us bring our luggage to the apartment house lobby two families at a time. This is one time when I didn't mind being first on the list. We got up (not so early) and packed like mad, didn't even eat breakfast until ten or so. Then we had the whole afternoon to relax after getting our baggage checked in which was finished at 2:00. We were 116# under out limit! There were other people glad we were under weight too, as they were over and could use what we didn't! So during the rest of the afternoon we babysat for some of the other people while they took care of their luggage, and tonight I took over a job for Diane and finished one for Vicki so they could go see South Pacific at Lincoln Center with the Fergusons our next door neighbors. I was real tickled they were asked to go.

    Now it is Wednesday morning.

    It was good to hear you last night...pretty hard to think it was the last time to hear each other but I guess the time has come. 

    We have all bedding and dishes checked and it is time to get dressed. I've sent some things I thought would be interesting. And I hated to throw it out here!

                        Bye for now and love from all of us,

                                        Barb

(This ends the New York Chapter of our journey. We flew by charter plane to Nairobi and as we settled ourselves in our seats, and the plane began to move, we looked out the window and there, on the baggage cart with some other bags was our White Box, our survival kit. Would we ever see it again?)