With your new house situated in Dover proper vs. the outskirts, you, Molly and I left Arch Street behind and hoofed it to the Woodman Institute Museum. It was a leisurely walk that lasted maybe 10 minutes.

You had never been.

On our way we noticed all kinds of cool things… a bubbling fountain in a front yard, a mysterious tunnel far below an overpass and old posts where horses used to be hitched.

Arriving at the museum, we entered and placed our jackets on the ancient wooden coat hanger with fancy feet.  Then we entered the Lincoln room featuring artifacts of President Abraham Lincoln’s visit to Dover, including a saddle he sat on during a parade in his honor and newspaper clippings from that moment in time.

You were intrigued with an old wooden school desk and used my camera to capture it:

Rounding the corner, we came face to face with a 10-foot polar bear!  Molly wasn’t sure what to make of it, but you loved it.  Here’s a photo of you guys on the staircase:

Upstairs were hundreds of once-alive and now preserved animals – you were fascinated. “Are they real Papa?” you asked on several occasions. That was a hard question to answer Emma!  Yes they are real, but they are no longer alive…a weird concept to explain to a six year old. 

You were fascinated with the “creepy doll room” (something Ben told me later on that he had heard from his teacher).  You took photos here too:

Finished with the museum, a tall man then escorted us to see the old Garrison House located in back of the property. The oldest building in the city, it was originally located in the general vicinity of Grammy and Papa’s house on Back Road. You noticed the slits on the outside walls where guns once protruded to fire upon raiding Indians who attacked the garrison. Inside, the man explained to us how the two fireplaces kept people warm. Everyone had jobs to do, including the children.  Your eyes were wide as you listened to his stories.

Once the tour was over, we posed for pictures along the giant gristmill once used to grind wheat.  We hung out by the big black cannon. You gathered giant leaves.

Molly was tired much earlier than you – she was getting ancy inside the museum as soon as we hit the second floor where the animals were.  But you had zip and curiosity to spare.

Sometimes you don’t have to go very far to experience adventure. It’s all around us, each and every day. Seek it out Emma, throughout your life. You’ll never regret taking risks and stepping into the unknown… sometimes that’s when we learn the best lessons of all.