Modjeskas and flood control

Yesterday Fisherville Academy had a field trip to Schimpff's Candy Store. They've been in business since 1891 and make candy the old fashioned way. During our tour they were making Modjeskas which is a marshmallow dipped in caramel. Everything is done by hand from dipping the goodies in a vat of chocolate to individually wrapping each piece in wax paper. The kids seemed to enjoy the tour but the candy isn't what captured their imagination. Instead, they were more impressed with the flood.

During the tour, our guide took us outside and showed us the markings on the wall of where the Ohio flooded in the late 1800's. As we stood on the sidewalk the kids were able to see that the Ohio would have been about a foot over their heads. Then our guide told us to step back and look up. On the second floor level were red bricks marking the level of the great Ohio river flood of 1937. The kids were AMAZED.

After the tour, we drove down to the river and showed the kids the flood wall that was built after that big flood to protect our town. Then we headed down to the falls of the Ohio and saw the water spilling over the dam. It was all serendipity because our next stop was the IMAX movie, Mysteries of the Nile. During our history lessons this year, they've studied how the yearly flooding of the Nile was crucial to ancient Egypt. After the movie we got to check out the museum's mummy. It was a wonderful day and we were glad that Grandma agreed to be a chaperone!

The kids told me their career aspirations yesterday:

GooseyGirl: Veterinarian, Zookeeper or Pet Shop Worker
RocketMan: Veterinarian, Cheetah expert or Piano Player at the local department store
BirdMan: Veterinarian, Engineer or Helping children make K'nex models at the Children's Center in Baltimore