Across America

The Gonzalez Family lives in different communities across the United States. They communicate with each other through letters, telephone calls, and email. Through this communication, they learn a lot about the different communities in which they live. Paz is the head of the family. She lives in San Antonio, Texas. Paz’s granddaughter, Lina, lives in Cambria, California. Paz’s grandson, Gil, lives in Lawrence, Kansas. These family members have different living experiences, based on where they live.

Paz’s community is in San Antonio, Texas. It is a very old city. San Antonio is 150 miles north of Mexico. Native Americans, Spaniards, Mexicans, and Central Americans have settled in San Antonio over the years. Now, with an extremely diverse population, it is the eleventh largest city in the United States. Like Paz, over half of the city speaks Spanish. San Antonio has many famous landmarks, and for this reason many tourists come to visit. Tourists enjoy visiting the Alamo, the Paseo del Rio or River Walk, the Tower of the Americas, and Randolph Air Force Base.

Lina lives in Cambria, California on an avocado farm. This city is nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Monterey pines. There are many avocado farms here, because they grow well in such a mild climate. The pine trees protect the avocados from the harsh ocean winds. April is a very busy time for Lina and the other avocado farmers, because it is harvest time. The farmer’s market is packed with locals and tourists looking for fresh avocados. Many tourists drive through Cambria, California on their way up Highway 1. Highway 1 is a famous coastal highway in California. You can see the Pacific Ocean from this road. Sometimes you can even spot dolphins, whales, and sea otters splashing in the Pacific.

Lawrence, Kansas, where Gil lives, is in the Midwest. Kansas is a very windy place, because it is very flat. The consistent weather in Kansas makes it a great place to grow wheat, corn, and soybeans. Because it’s so predictable from season to season, the weather has allowed farmers to regularly harvest these crops for many years. Lawrence, Kansas is the home of the University of Kansas. Gil goes to many Jayhawks basketball games. Most people in town work or go to school at this university. Lawrence is a small town but it has several tourist attractions like the Natural History Museum, the Kansas River and Allen Field House at KU, where James Naismith invented basketball.

The Gonzalez Family is spread across the United States. They love each other very much, and they also love that they get to live in such diverse places. By staying in contact, they are able to learn about the different types of cities across America. Diversity makes America a more interesting place to live.