6.1 August 7, 1967

 Dear Grandma and Grandpo, (from Diane)

    How are you? I am fine. (Lousy beginning isn't it?)

    We've been sight seeing about every weekend. So far we've seen Coney Island, New York Aquarium, the Statue of Liberty, the Museum of Natural History, the United Nations, the Bronx Zoo, Cloisters and some others I can't remember.

    Coney Island was a big disappointment. Maybe it was just the part we were in but it sure looked shackey. I chickened out on the roller coaster. Maybe I'll do it next time. The beach was nice, and the Atlantic is warmer than the Pacific. Now I can say I've been clear across the United States and waded in the Pacific and the Atlantic.

    The aquarium looked a lot better than the rest of Coney Island. They had almost every fish you could think of and some that you'd think would only exist in a coloring book. I saw my first octopus. You couldn't see him too well because his tank had a double pane of glass to keep the heat out. There was also a pair of white whales. Boy could they swim! The whale tank was rigged with hydrophones and there were loud speakers rigged outside the tank so the audience could hear the sounds the whales made. There were mostly squawks and squeaks but with a little imagination you could make them into questions and statements.

    The Statue of Liberty was a little disappointing. It was smaller than I had imagined. The climb to the top was uncomfortable and when you got there you really couldn't see much. But at least I can say I've been to the top.

    The Museum of Natural History was fascinating. We've been there twice and have seen only a small fraction of it. We've seen the dinosaurs, North American Indians, South American Indians, African Animals, North American Animals, Polar Exploration exhibits, Conservation, The Ice Age, Farming Methods, and some more I can't remember.

    The dinosaurs were just what I wanted them to be. There were the jaws of an extinct giant shark hanging in the doorway to the Prehistoric fishes exhibit. They must have been seven feet across. Not only were they large but the teeth were four rows deep. If I had to brush that many teeth each morning I'd die!

    The African Animals were real elaborate. The show windows were so three dimensional that you couldn't tell where the back drop began and the real display ended. Everything was so real you expected it to move. 

    A lot of the animals came from around where we'll be. It made me all the more anxious to get to Africa.

 The United Nations was big and luxurious. We took a guided tour through the five main assembly buildings or chambers. Talk about plush, modern and expensive. That building took the cake. While we were waiting for our tour a woman announced that there was going to be a special tour in Japanese. I was going to ask her "Una safarie kua Kiswahili?" ( Do you have a tour in Swahili?) But I chickened out! She probably did have a tour in Swahili and we would have been stuck with it!

    We spent all day August 5 at the Bronx Zoo. They are supposed to have one thousand species and two thousand five hundred animals. I believe it. I bet I walked twenty miles that day. The animals were marvelous, but the best thing about the Bronx Zoo is how clean it is. I think it's the cleanest place in New York City. In the morning it was so quiet you could almost forget that the animals in the landscaped pens were behind bars. People must like to see animals from East Africa because there were a lot of them. They had everything from giraffes and zebras to bush bucks and pygmy hippos. Did you know that a giraffe has only seven bones in his neck? That's the same number a man has in his neck.

    In the ape house there was one big attraction besides the gorillas and the apes. It was advertised to be the most dangerous animal in the world. The inside of the cage was dark but when you looked inside you saw yourself staring back. It was a mirror. You stood there looking at yourself and letting the meaning soak in. At first it seemed like a joke but when you get to thinking about it man really is the most dangerous animal.

    August 6 we went to the cloisters. It's an old monastery made into a museum for medieval arts. They had everything from Medieval music to coffin covers. Most of the stuff had religious background. Looking at medieval art work was interesting but the most exciting thing was that Vicki and I got lost. We finally found the family but it took us about an hour and a half to do it. Next time I'm going to stick with the group.

    Vicki, two other girls and I have set up an Aiya service. We babysit for 75 cents an hour. So far I've made $35.62 not counting the two dollars I spent on two pairs of dangly  earrings. I've never earned so much money in my life! If I don't get out of New York soon I might even buy a mini skirt. Wouldn't that be awful.

    I'm going to take a ninth grade correspondence course. I hope it's not going to be as hard as I think it's going to be.

    If I don't stop writing I'll have to put two stamps on the envelope, so good bye. 

                    Love, Diane