Retirees At Home and On The Go

Musings on Sacrifice

2011-10-02T12:14:00.001-07:00

We observed the Lord’s Supper this morning in church and I got to thinking about sacrifice. Jesus paid the sacrifice for our sins once and for all. I think because we don’t have to sacrifice any more, we miss the significance of His sacrifice.
In Old Testament times, each person had to offer a sacrifice for his/her sins. There was a schedule of sins and the required sacrifice. Most times it was an animal sacrifice and the animal died. The animal (let’s use lamb for our example) was not one that was sick or lame. It had to be a PERFECT lamb. The best of the flock.
If you were a storekeeper and didn’t keep sheep, you could buy a lamb. But not from a discount store and there were no Lamb Coupons. You had to purchase a perfect spotless lamb and those didn’t come cheap.
So when you brought your own spotless lamb or the spotless lamb that you had paid your hard-earned cash for, what happened to than animal? It was sacrificed….for your sins. It died! And most of the time, the offerer did the sacrificing. So not only did you bring your perfect, spotless lamb to the altar, you had to the one to kill it. And it died not because of its sins. No, it was blameless. It died for your sins.
However, when Jesus came, He was the Lamb of God. He gave His life and died, for our sins. We no longer have to bring a lamb to the altar. We no longer have to buy a lamb to sacrifice. We no longer have to slay the lamb to atone for our sins.
Sin was a serious matter in the Old Testament. It had to be atoned for by blood. “Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission for sin.” Heb. 9:22. Sin could not be overlooked or forgotten. The cleansing of sin took the sacrifice (death) of an animal (and probably not a willing animal at that!)
But Christ willingly was our sacrifice and laid down His life, so that we might receive the forgiveness of our sins, be reconciled to God and be saved.
But Christ’s sacrifice has to be received. We have to accept Christ and thereby Christ’s sacrifice for our sins. It’s a free gift but we must accept it. Just like the Christmas gift under the tree with our name on it. It’s there. It has our name on it. But it doesn’t become ours until we take it and receive it.
The Old Testament required a sacrifice and if the sacrifice wasn’t done, the person’s sins weren’t forgiven. We have to accept Christ’s payment (sacrifice) for our sins or our sins aren’t forgiven.
Heb. 2:2 says “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?”
Simply put, we won’t. If we neglect so great a salvation, if we don’t accept Christ and His sacrifice for our sins, we are still in our sins and there is no forgiveness and if there is no forgiveness, there is no escape.

Women of Faith

2011-07-22T16:56:00.000-07:00

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Over the Top - Dallas Event - Women of Faith

2011-07-19T06:04:00.000-07:00

Over The Top

2011-07-19T06:02:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to be going to the Women of Faith Conference in Dallas this year. I have been going to Women of Faith for many years. I started out going with my daughter. Then we started getting a group together from our church. We rent a van and stay in a beautiful hotel. We have a couple of husbands who willingly put up with a lot of talkative women and they chauffeur to all the sessions. This year I'm looking forward to having my daughter-in-law fly in from Tennessee to go with us.

Can't say enough about Women of Faith. All of the speakers are excellent. I look forward to it all year long. I am a member and receive devotionals and other information all year long.

God uses women of Fait h in so many ways to touch so many lives.

God's Grace

2011-04-06T02:42:00.000-07:00

Must tell this. The weekend before we left I broke a filling (I thought it was a tooth) Went to dentist on Monday and she fixed the filling but said it was possible the tooth was cracked and if I had problems to chew on the other side. Not exactly what you want to hear when going halfway round the world. Everything was fine. On Monday in Joburg, we went to visit with the pastor's family we knew and the tooth began to throb a bit. At the end of the evening, when we prayed, I mentioned my tooth and prayed that it would not be a problem while we were in Mautirius. The tooth never throbbed or gave me any other trouble! Praise the Lord!!

Back in Johannesburg

2011-04-04T23:47:00.000-07:00

We are now back in Johannesburg. It is rainy and cool!!! We had pizza yesterday for lunch! YUM!!! We will do some traveling to Kruger to see the wildlife and see some of the other sites around here and then head home Monday evening.

First Lay Renewal Weekend

2011-04-04T23:45:00.001-07:00

Our first Lay Renewal was at the Baptist Church of the North (BCN) in Grand Bay. We were staying in Blue Bay at the south end of the island and Grand Bay is at the north end of the island. We dropped a team off at Curepipe (Curepeep) and a team off at Goodlands.
The weekend began on Friday night with a dinner. At BCN we ate standing up in the Courtyard. We were on a tropical island which interpreted means hot and humid or hotter and humid or hot and humider. You get the idea. Needless to say we sweat a LOT!
Friday night consisted of singing, testimony, teaching and small groups where the church people got a chance to share what they expected for the weekend, what the teaching meant to them and other questions intended to draw them out and make them think about their spiritual life. Ben and I, being newbies, were prayer partners to the ones leading the group session. The people were very good at sharing so we didn’t end up staring at one another.
Saturday morning we had coffees in the homes. The coffee group I was in shared very openly about their struggles, prayer requests, answered prayers, etc. Then it was back to the church for lunch. (When we had a break, I would tell people “’Til we eat again”) J After lunch the men and women broke into groups to share. The ladies’ group talked about women’s ministry and we were very surprised when several women spoke of their ministry (prison, after-school) that the other women were not aware of. Several women told others they would like to get involved. They need an organizer! At the closing prayer, I thanked God that these women had outreach ministry but I prayed that God would put it upon some hearts for “inreach” so the ladies could meet together to pray, talk, encourage and inspire one another.
Saturday night we had singing, testimonies, teaching and small groups. In these small groups, we asked people to share the time they first gave their hearts to Christ. We asked them to think about what they had heard in the teaching and about their commitment to Christ. We all then wrote a letter to Jesus. That was something new to me but was very meaningful. I think that is something we should do from time to time.
Sunday morning was the Sunday worship, teaching and a time of commitment. Many people came for prayer, recommitment, salvation.
After church we were to leave at 1:00 to reverse course, pick up the other teams and return to Blue Bay. However, one of our hosts wanted to have our team for lunch and they prevailed upon our leader to postpone our departure until 3:30. We had a lovely lunch in an outside dining area overlooking the ocean.
Let me just interject here that when I say we took a van and dropped off the teams, it was a 23-24 passenger van. We were a total of 20 people PLUS luggage. We were able to take one suitcase per couple with just the things we needed for the weekend. That luggage plus any small carry-ons went WITH us inside the van (Did I mention the van was un-air-conditioned?)
We Americans are so used to our creature comforts. We had no air-conditioning in rooms, churches,or vans.

Second Lay Renewal Weekend

2011-04-04T23:44:00.001-07:00

BCN was an English speaking church. Most of the people were white. The church was very much like a church we are accustomed to.
Victory Baptist Church in Rose Belle was a local church meeting in a converted house. It was filled with locals who were black or Indian, spoke French and Creole, knew some English (understood it better than they spoke it) so there was interpretation both from English to French and French to English.
These people were the most loving, energetic, outgoing Christians. In BCN there was some of the double-cheek kissing the French are known for but these people did it all the time. Didn’t take long to get used to this. Women with women, men with women. Actually a nice custom.
We (they) sang in English, French and Creole. This church did have an air-conditioner (Praise the Lord) that kept the church at least comfortable. However, the chairs were MOST uncomfortable. Folding chairs with seats that were, pardon the expression, straight as a board, with straight backs as well.
Small groups were wonderful. The people were very gracious about having the interpretation done.
This weekend was a repeat of the first weekend but I LOVED being in this church. I am very thankful that I had my first Lay Renewal in the English speaking church so I could see how the Lay Renewal was done. But being in the local church gave such a rich flavor to the experience.
I know I was touched by these people and the Lord definitely had several things to say to me through them and through the teaching and we can only pray that their lives were touched as well.
It is impossible in a blog to relate all the wonderful interactions, testimonies, worship and sharing that we experienced in these weekends..

Blue Bay Accommodations

2011-04-04T23:43:00.000-07:00

Our accommodations outside the Lay Renewal weekends (when we were housed by the church people) were in a complex of when we could call condos. We had three of these. #1 housed our leader and his wife and the two single men. This unit was also our meeting room and eating room. Unit #2 housed us, the Wise’s and the Westbrookes. Unit #3 housed two couples and six single women. The six women were all in ONE room with three double beds. I believe they were somewhat dismayed at the prospect but in the end had a joyous time and as you can imagine bonded!! We heard a lot of hilarity coming from their room!
Our unit had the bedrooms on the 2nd floor with a bath. You stepped through the shower to get to the toilet - interesting arrangement. Downstairs there was a separate toilet and shower (we mostly used that one) J With our windows open and the ceiling fan going full force, we were quite comfortable at night and slept well.
A local pastor, Kandan and his wife, Padmini did all the cooking for us while we were there.
Our plane was to arrive at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday but was delayed for almost two hours - then we had to do passport control which took f-o-r-e-v-e-r and Health control (to see if we had been anywhere where there was disease we might be bringing in), get our luggage, get in the van (they did have a van for the people and a van for the luggage) and get to the complex. Of course, they had dinner waiting for us…..at 11:00 at night.
Dinner was Briyani, apparently a favorite dish, because everywhere we went we had it, again and again. Chicken, rice, veggies and curry - plus they served you and piled the plates high *sigh* We got all the curry we wanted when we were in India but we got some more this weekend. We were able to get them to cut the portions down to a two-person size as opposed to a four-person size. J We were then assigned rooms and quickly fell into bed.
Wednesday was a day of rest. Thursday, we met to go over the plan for the weekend. There was some shopping at a market and supermarket. I never experienced the local bus ride but those who did had harrowing tales to tell. J
Then Friday we all left for our Lay Renewal weekends.
Sunday night we were all back at the complex for several days. This was a wonderful time as we ate together, had devotions together, shared testimonies, swam together, shopped together, laughed a lot together. It was a wonderful bonding time with people from all over South Africa, New Mexico, Arizona and of course Texas! J
We did swim in the Indian Ocean several times. Well, “swim” means we walked around in water chest high or so while we visited, talked, talked and visited. At many points we were “swimming with the fishes”.

Weekend Accommodations

2011-04-04T23:40:00.000-07:00

Some didn’t have the luxurious accommodations we did. Our first weekend, we stayed with a couple that had a beautiful home right on the water. We were on the second story and had the most beautiful view. They also had an air conditioner in the room. We used it the first night and Ben had to turn it off in the middle of the night because we were cold. I was talking with a lady who was at another church and when I said we were cold, I got a withering look and said “Oh, I guess I shouldn’t have said that, should I?” J

Our second weekend, we were also on the second story. We stayed in the apartment of the son of the couple living downstairs. The son now lives in England. The apartment was very sparse on furniture but did have a bedroom, large kitchen and large bathroom that we didn’t have to share. J

Several people got various bug bites and while I had a few spots, none ever gave me any trouble and by sleeping under fans, the mosquitoes won’t land. There is no problem with malaria in Mauritius.

Services

2011-03-26T20:08:00.000-07:00

Worship services are much like ours. Praise team - words on screen. Nice building - two flats together rented from a muslim who lives in London and knows it is being used for Baptist church. Pastor's family lives upstairs and some church meetings held there too. Pastor and wife came 3 months ago from South Africa on occupational visa for 3 months. Hoped to get a permanent occupation vise because they are counselors but they were refused for vairous reasons but mainly because they are from South Africa. Hindus are in the majority politically and are feeling threatened by Christians converting Hindus. Christians are a small majority behind Hindus, Muslims, Catholic but when Hindus convert to Christianity they lose political base. So the pastor and wife had to leave Saturday at 1:00 (during the Lay Renewal weekend!) because their appeals were denied. I think they will now try to get a religious visa good for one year but has to be renewed every year which they were hoping to avoid with the occupational visa. God has a plan!!

Women met and it was amazing that there was so much ministry going on by different women that the other women in the church were unaware of. Prison, children, bookstore. They need to get sood discussion and notices of different ministries so other women can get involved. They have good outreach - they need some "inreach" where the ladies can gather and talk, get to know one another, pray for one another and encourage each other. Prayerfully God has put that desire in one or more hearts.

I'm sure Frank will keep us informed of what happens in the churches after these weekends.

Marc and Susannah our hosts come to America once a year. Susannah is American from Maryland. Hopefully we can contact them while they arein America and keep up with what's going on in their lives, the church and their school.

food

2011-03-26T20:02:00.000-07:00

obioiusly different here. On island lots of rice with various sauces. Don't eat a whole lot because it is so hot. Brianni (sp) seems to be rice, spices, chicken and potato. We had meat and rice once. Pasta with a tomato corned beef sauce - actually pretty good. We went to the store to buy cereal. To the open air market for fruit and makings for salad. (I did find two t-shirts at one market and we are probably going to another one or two before we leave) Marilyn, local worker, will be at the church I am going to next week. We talked about tea and she said she would take us shopping during our free time nex Saturday. What woman turns down shopping? We did have some sandwiches and pound cake last night. They drink a lot of tea - hot even when weather is hot. But if you like hot tea you have to drink in hot weather! LOL We drink lots of bottled water. Water OK for brushing teeth but not for drinking. That's about our experience so far with food.

They don't want us to leave

2011-03-26T11:40:00.001-07:00

We were scheduled to leave at 1:00 or 1:30 Sunday. Marc, our host, had invited us to take a ride on their boat. They have started a Christian school so we toured it and didn't have enough time for the ride. They asked about Sunday afternoon and when we told them when were leaving, they said "Why so early?" Susannah said they have a van and driver that could take us to Blue Bay later. Betty and Pete are staying next door with Marc's mother and are included in this offer. We told her she would have to talk to Frank, our leader, and I thought "Good Luck!" because he runs a tight ship. I saw them talking together tonight but later she told me they had arranged a later time to leave - 3:00. The interesting part is - the whole team is to have dinner at Marc's mother's home after church so are we ALL staying and leaving in the van at 3:00 or is the rest of the team leaving at 1:00 and WE are staying until 3:00. The trick is that the other teams will be waiting to be picked up. BNC 1:00-Goodlands 1:30 and Curepipe 3:00. If we ALL leave at 3:00 that means Curepipe will not be picked up until 5:00 (could be sooner because it is Sunday and traffic will be lighter than Friday's traffic. We'll see. Next installment won't come for a while. Earliest - next weekend. Latest. April 4.

I must say I am amazed at how close we have come to these Brothers and Sisters in Christ in just 24 hours or so!! They have become our friends. We have shared with them, eaten with them and grown to care for them. What a bond we have in the Body of Christ. What a great thing it will be in Heaven when we never have to say Goodbye again!!

Suffering for the Lord in Mautirius

2011-03-26T05:08:00.000-07:00

Right now I am sitting in our room looking out on the Indian Ocean. I wish I could say I was sitting on the veranda but I can't see the screen out there. :-) We are staying this weekend in a beautiful home right on the beach. And we have A/C at night! Praise the Lord. This is a tropical island, i.e. hot and humid. We only brought what we needed for the weekend so I don't have my connection to upload pictures but you can imagine the most beautiful view of the ocean with tropical breezes blowing.

Now Blue Bay is a different story. No A/C. bu t still hot and did I mention it is humid? At night there is a big fan blowing with open windows which keeps up actually very comfortable at night. In the daytime, we sweat and sweat and sweat some more. And who really wants to eat in hot weather. I'm hoping to drop a few pounds albeit involuntarily.

The 20 of us are from America and South Africa. It has been amazing to get to know these wonderful people who love the Lord and have such wonderful testimonies. We talk and talk and talk - a lot of time while basking in the cool waters on the beach. I will tell you the we do have flush toilets (one on each floor) and two showers that do the job but after 10 minutes you feel as if you need another one.

You would not make money opening a cosmetic store here - makeup does not last. So obvioiusly I am in my element! And clothing is loose and comfortable. Sandals is the shoewear of the day.

OK, we flew to Atlanta then to Johannesburg. Spent two days in Joburg. Flew to Mauritius on Tuesday. Wed-Friday morning, we spent getting to know one another and getting used to the climate although I'm not sure you can really do that.

Friday we left at 1:00. 20 people in a rented van WITH luggage. Can you say tight fit. (Did I mention it was also hot and humid?) While we were moving it was tolerable. We dropped off the first team in Curepipe (cure-peep), the second group in Goodlands and we came to the Baptist Church of the North. Sunday afternoon we will reverse the process and go back to Blue Bay (boo!) :-) I could live here! :-)

The people here are very gracious. We have had three meeting of Lay Renewal. Friday evening, Saturday morning coffee and women's/men's meetings after lunch. We had a free afternoon but our hosts have started a Christian school about 3 years ago which started with one child (their own) and has now grown to 60 children - grades 1-3. Our speaker is an architect who designs schools. What a coincidence!! LOL Does God direct our steps or what? So we took a tour of the school.

When we came back to the house, I turned on the netbook intending to catch up on my notes but found the wireless connection so of course, I would post instead. :-)

God is doing such a work here in this church and I pray the same is happening in the other churches. I know the bus will be a-buzz on the way back to B lue Bay as everyone wants to share about what God did in their church. Fortunately the BNC speaks English so we do not have to have an interpreter.

We will have three different teams in three different churches next week and we may have to have interpreters there. That will be an entirely new experience. I'm glad God is breaking us in easily this week.

The people are very open to share their needs, their testimonies, their concerns. I know God is going to bless this wonderful people.

I could probably say more and perhaps I will post again tonight or tomorrow. They keep us pretty busy. I only have about 20 minutes before we are picked up for the evening meal and tonight's session.

Please continue to remember us in prayer that we remain healthy and without accident. Also that God will continue to bless us and the people here. There is soooo much more to say but it will have to wait. Besides, you're probably tired of reading.

Safe and Sound in Joburg

2011-03-21T01:54:00.000-07:00

We arrived safe and sound in Joburg. Having a great time visiting with Frank and Joy (our hosts) Had a great night's sleep and are just about acclimated to the change. We are 7 hours ahead of you and on Mauritius will be 9 hours ahead. We are having a bbq at noon and meeting the other Americans on the team. We met George last night who is a converted Muslim. Had a great conversation last night at dinner with him. We leave for Mauritius tomorrow and will be there until April 4. Please continue to pray for our teams, for the churches and their people. I am hopeful I will have some type of internet access (either wireless of Internet Cafe) where I can post from there. We will face some spiritual warfare there so we cover your prayers. It was raining last night but is a beautiful sunny, warm day here today.
Have to mention that we were about 30 min late taking off from Atlanta because they had to check every non-South African passport which took forever. Then getting on the plane they scanned our passport and ticket and mine set off the alarm. Took a few minutes to get it straightened out but all was well. We both had aisle seats but there was an empty seat next to Ben and the woman at the window seat wanted an aisle seat so we switched and I was able to stretch out more and even curl up to sleep. God is good!!!

More pictures

2010-10-25T12:19:00.000-07:00

Was working on these when they called our plane to board. I thought I had published them but guess I saved them instead. Oh well, kinda anxious to get headed home! :-)

I have a few more to post but gotta get over jet lag first!
My foot on 2000 year old rock in the tunnel near the Western Wall
In the tunnel near the Western Wall
From the Mt. of Olives
From Mt. of Olives
From Mt. of Olives
One of the gates on the Wall around the Temple Mount
Western Wall on Sabbath
Steps where Peter probably preached the Pentecost Sermon. Plenty of purification pools for the baptism of the 3,000 save on that day.
Steps Jesus climbed after his arrest when the soldiers took him to Caiphas' house.
Old City shopping

Some Pictures

2010-10-25T11:57:00.002-07:00

Jordan River
Bet Shean - city mount where Saul's and Jonathan's bodies were hung on the city wall. Huge ruins of the Roman city. This is the hill I did NOT climb.
What a field trip!
Ben on the pot in the communal latrine!!

Soloman's Pillars
One hand on creation rock layer - one hand on flood layer
Replica Tabernacle

Going down into the copper mine.

Going in
Inside on my knees

Emerging
Long walk to the Ammonite Wall
Showing how big the shells were deposited by the flood in mass
Dead Sea

Going Up To Jerusalem!!

2010-10-25T11:57:00.001-07:00

It was dark when we got to Jerusalem and you may remember that Jerusalem is on a hill. As we were getting close, Joanna (guide) put on some music. The Holy City was playing and we were all singing along. The driver was driving rather slowly and we entered a long tunnel. Just as the song got to the part about the New Jerusalem ,we emerged from a long tunnel to see Jerusalem open up before us. I was not expecting the emotion that welled up inside of me Ben felt it as well. The next song played was Holy Ground and again we all sang along. It was a very moving experience

Masada, EnGdei, Qumeran

2010-10-25T11:56:00.001-07:00

Thursday, we went to Masada, the last Jewish hold-out against the Romans way back when.. Masada had been fortified and expanded during Herod the Great. Took a cable car up to the top.
Springs of En Gedi the next stop - where David hid in caves when Saul was trying to kill him. There was quite a climb to the top. Ben didn’t try it and I’m glad because it was very rough going. Falls were quite nice though.
Then we went to Qumeran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.
Then we went to Abraham’s tent for dinner. They had camels for those who wanted a brief ride. I did not ride because I’d ridden a camel in India. Dinner was indeed in a tent and we sat on cushions on the floor.
Then we headed for Jerusalem. We checked into the hotel and left again at 8:15 to go to the Western Wall and the underground tunnel. Another moving experience. Had a fabulous guide from Philadelphia originally. I am learning so much!!
It had been a very long, hot day and we didn’t get back from the tunnel until 11:00. Didn’t take me long to shower and hit the bed.

Dead Sea and Desert

2010-10-25T11:54:00.000-07:00

This trip is not your typical trip to Israel, Before the trip is over we will have covered Israel border to border, North, South, East and West! Of course, this was not a typical trip anyway because we had a archeologist with us to better understand Creation and the evidence of the flood.
It has been unusually hot this month. Temperatures have been over 100 and walking in the desert you can feel every degree!
So, here are the highlights.
At the Jordan River, one pastor baptized several from his church and a few more from our group. Did I mention there are 90 people on the trip and Texans have the largest group?
A note about the borders. Israel is about the size of New Jersey. Now picture New Jersey as a country and the surrounding states as other countries where there is always tension and sometimes a threat of war. How would you like to live in New Jersey with unfriendly people living just across your borders? How would you like to live on the state line? Put a new perspective on things to me!
Stopped at Beth Shean. In our Bible Study this fall on David, this is the city where Saul’s and Jonathan’s bodies were hung on the city wall. Cities built then w ere built on huge mounds of dirt - Defense system. Called the City Mount. Some of our group climbed to the top but it was many steps and it was VERY hot. This is a huge excavation!
Today was an “easy” day because it was very hot. We got to the hotel about 4:00 and went directly to the Dead Sea. It gets dark about 5:00 - sun sets early. In the desert there is no moisture, no clouds and no rain to wash the dust out of the air. Doesn’t affect breathing but the horizon is hazy.
The Dead Sea was terrific even if I only stayed in a little while. Ben did not go in but took pictures. Hotel had a private beach. I walked into the water up to my thighs then sat down in the water, spread my arms, leaned back and up popped my legs! I would push my legs down but the minute I relaxed, they popped back up like corks. Funny! I paddled around awhile. There is no way to explain it, you have to experience it. When you want to get up, you really have to force your legs under and get your upper body directly over your legs before you can stand up. I wondered how many people might have to have help doing that! Skin did feel quite oily afterwards. It was quite a walk from the hotel to the beach and I was wearing my crocs and my feet were oily and kept slipping around in the crocs!
Wednesday was our Wilderness Day. We had a lot of driving to do and a lot of walking in the desert to several sites.
Began at Timna Park in South Israel about 60 miles from Egypt. It was here that creation layer granite with no marine fossils can be seen with sandstone with fossils (flood layer) on top. Of course there is a whole long explanation by Dr. Snelling both on the buses (he switches so we all get the same information and at the sites themselves. And by the way, this exact formation is found at the bottom of the Grand Canyon - half a world away!
We then visited a exact replica of the tabernacle. This was an amazing experience. It was much smaller than I had imagined (of course it did have to be portable!) The lady gave a marvelous talk. We were able t0 go all though the tabernacle and I must admit to a moment of hesitation when I got to the Holy of Holies!
Then we drove to an area where copper had been mined hundreds of years ago. Had the opportunity to crawl, yes, crawl through a mine. Mostly it was a duck walk but for a few yards I was on my knees. I got some pics at my level and Ben got me going in and coming out! Neat experience!
Then to the Ammonite Wall where they have discovered a place where a huge mass of large marine animals were rapidly buried during the flood.
Then drove to a Maktesh - you’ll have to ask me for an explanation of that. Think Grand Canyon but it’s not a canyon.

Day Two

2010-10-18T11:36:00.001-07:00

It only seems like we have been here a week. They are really keeping us going. Today from 8:00 - 7:00 - got back just in time for dinner. Hope we have the stamina to keep up. It's a SMALL country - how can it take so long? LOL

Some digressions: God is sooo good. I took my notebook out of my pocket to make notes on the boat on Galilee. Israeli Folk Dancing started so I put it down on the seat. Got back to the room and couldn't find it. Figured I left it on the bus. Not a real big deal - just hoped I could remember it all. Mentioned it to our guide and she said there was a notebook on the bus. I really couldn't see it slipping out of my pocket but I guess it did - unless someone else lost their notebook. (sure hope it's mine!)

Lunch was provided - Falafel again and chicken grilled on a stick. Soooo good. Served water and asked if we wanted coke or something. I had a sneaky suspicion it was extra and I was right. A regular small bottle of coke was $3!! Oh well, lesson learned. Things are pretty expensive here. Little magnets - plastic, cheap looking are $5 but that was at a "gift shop" Hoping I can make some deals in Jerusalem.

This blog and pics may be all over the place.

View outside our hotel on the Sea of Galilee

Our first stop was the Mount where Jesus gave the Beatitudes. Matthew 5 was read and we were sitting around on rocks. It was really neat to try and picture ourselves sitting listening to Jesus as we looked over the Sea of Galilee.

Stopped at another excavation of the City of Hazor then drove on to Cesearea Philippi. Saw some excavations there and had lunch at a Lebanese Restaurant.

Ben caught me writing my notes! :-)
Had to throw this one in. We were on the board of Lebanon and there were signs on the fences (we were on the bus of course) warning of mines in the fields!
We were close enough to the Syrian border Ben got a shot of the city flying the Syrian flag.

This is the UN base on the Israeli/Syrian border. Since the Disengagement Contract or Treaty in the 70's, this has been the most peaceful Israeli border. We have yet to see any soldiers with guns although we have been told we will probably see some.

Our guide was in High School during the period of suicide bombers several years ago and said she remembered times when they were suspicious of anyone in a large overcoat and sometimes wondered whether they really wanted to get on a bus after school. Cannot imagine living in times like that.

This was powerful to me. We sat inside the synagogue at Capernaum. This was a synagogue built in about 400 A.D. but it was built on the site of the synagogue where Jesus was. Just sitting in there listening to our guide, I could picture the service where Jesus read the passage out of Isaiah and said "Today this scripture has been fulfilled" Wow!

Now, I thought about this before we left on the trip but many times we visit places where historical things have happened or famous people have lived like Mount Vernon or Monticello and I don't think we go through places like that thinking "Wow. George Washington walked on these floors!" "Abraham Lincoln lived here" but for believers, being in the land where Jesus walked is so meaningful. And of course, being on the Sea of Galilee where so many things happened was powerful. I just really wish we could have sailed in the daytime rather than night. However, it would have really been hot.

Side note: It has really been warm, bordering on hot for Texans. Weather is much warmer than normal for this time of year. Several have mentioned that on this trip. :-) But skies are blue and weather is really great. Bus air-conditioning works great!!

At the beginning of the sail on the Sea of Galilee, they reaised the US flag and we sang the National Anthem. Then they sang the Israel National Anthem.

The guides on the boat sang for us and talked us a folk dance.

Tomorrow another full day I'm sure (which is what we paid for, right?) :-) We will be at a hotel at the Dead Sea for two nights.

We'll see if I can find Internet (hopefully free) again on the trip. If so, you'll hear from me. If not, I know I'll have Internet at the airport and can post before we leave to go home.

Too Funny

2010-10-17T12:28:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting in the lobby online. Others are too but I guess they had a problem because some aren't on and they're coming over and saying "Are you on?" I think there's a problem with them but those who can't get on are frustrated. Here are all these Americans in Israel, sitting in the lobby trying to get onlin to check email, etc. :-)

Can meet a lot of interesting people this way! LOL

Sunday Worship

2010-10-17T12:23:00.001-07:00

Forgot to mention that we had Sunday Worship in the ampitheater at Cesearea. How cool was that? Singing and a message from Acts. Wow!!!

Israel - beginning

2010-10-17T11:34:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it to Israel. Long overseas flights get longer the older we get! Because it was Sabbath, minimal work was done before sundown so we didn't get our room until after 8:00. Got to the hotel about 5:00 - had dinner and a meeting - then got our room. We actually got a room by the pool first but there was a mixup so they had to give us another room and we ended up with a HUGE room. Any hotel room that has a hallway is HUGE! :-) Plus a balcony. Bad thing is we were only there for one night! :-)
Buffet first night - They are feeding us VERY WELL. This is just the salad bar. Then there is the hot food bar with 3-4 meats and the dessert table has 5 or more desserts to choose from. Yum! Today at lunch we had a Falafel. Kinda sandwich in a pita bread. Tasty. Of course, a salad table at breakfast is a little unusual for us.
Our room! :-) You can see the balcony - large enough to walk around and have a table and two chairs!
On the hotel promanade. We don't look like we've been up for over 24 hours do we? (Looks are deceiving!)

View from our balcony! Mediterrean Sea

Ampitheater at Cesearea.

Remains of govenor's palace at Cesearea.

Then we stopped by Mt. Carmel where there were some caves that had been excavated since we have an archeologist. and part of this tour has to do with archeology. In fact that we the big selling point for this tour. Climbed up 100 steps to the cave.
Took this one just for Jill because she loves cactus. You can't really tell but the leaves are HUGE.

After Cesearea we went to Meggido - excavation site of that city. Saw the Jezrell Valley also called Har Meggido (Mount Meggido) where Armageddon came from. Took a movie of the Valley.
They had figured out a way to bring water into the city from the spring outside. We walked down, down, down into the water system.

The way down.

I caught Ben in a rare shot!

Of course, he caught me, too!

Then we drove through Nazareth and Cana. They pronounce the words differently that we do. We apply American Phonics and sometimes it take a minute to figure out what she's saying. Our Isreali guide is Joanna.

There are 90 - count them NINETY - on this tour. Two busses. Wow! So far everything has gone very smoothly. There are people here from many, many states. At least 4 couples are from Texas. I think we have the most! :-) A little larger....OK, a LOT larger than we like and are used to but we are surviving. I leave Ben behind and stay with the guide so I can hear what she is saying for my notes. Ben stays behind and takes pictures. Oh.....and when I downloaded the pictures tonight, we had BOTH taken exactly 127 pictures!! LOL

I was sooo excited that this hotel offers free internet so I will make another post tomorrow and have pictures from the cruise on the Seal of Galilee among other things.

We got our exercise today! Ben's left knee is doing well. Right knee and feet are hurting. Tomorrow should be an easier day. Looking forward to another good night's sleep tonight!!

And In Conclusion....

2010-09-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

Redwoods - Can't even begin to get the whole tree in one shot.

See how HUGE that tree is?

Corkscrew Redwood - 4 trunks all entertwined.

This is an overlook where we saw some gray whales. No pics because they were so far away but we could see them "blowing" and every once in a while, one would surface. Sooo cool. Thank goodness we bought the binoculars.

On our way home we passed through the Lassen Volcanic National Park. The only place that has all four types of volcanoes - cinder code, plug dome, composite and shield. First stop was reflection lake.

Can't remember the name of the lake but it was pretty with the volcano behind it.

In a part of the park, there were sulphur steam and bubbling pots. Smelly :-) but neat

This is a typical view that we saw all the time in Washington and Oregon and even Northern California

And THIS is what we saw on Highway 50 (remember the Highway 50 Survivor Kit?) Hwy 50 is also the route that the Pony Express took. I could not imagine riding over this landscape for weeks on a horse!

Also on Highway 50 was the "Shoe Tree" Legend has it that a young married couple had a disagreement and, let's say the husband threw the other wife's shoe in the tree. When they made up, the wife threw the husband's shoe in the tree. And since then many, many, many shoes have been thrown on the tree. Pictures can't portray what the shoe tree really looked like!

At the end of the Survivor Highway 50 (and just let me say that the Utah portion of Highway 50 is MUCH more desolate than the Nevada Highway 50) was the Great Basin National Park. When we reached 10,000 feet I made Ben take my picture.

Today we drove from the Utah border to Denver, Colorado. We were still a little early for the fall color but the scenery was still pretty.

And thus ends the blog on the Pacific Northwest trip. :-)

HUGE Surprise

2010-09-15T20:08:00.000-07:00

Even though I spent months pouring over travel guides from various states, researching on the Internet and reading, planning, etc. for this trip, I completely missed something.....and I'm so glad I did.

One of the scenic routes I had for us was the McKenzie-Santiam route on our way to Crater Lake. Because of the lateness of the day we were only able to one one leg of the route (hwy 242). It was one of those very winding routes, very beautiful, very forested. UNTIL we reached the top.

I do remember reading about the Dee Wright Observatory and I remember seeing the word "lava" but I certainly did NOT expect this!!

I was totally surprised, shocked, and stunned at this site. I was thinking "What the heck!" The little tower thing you see in the picture was the "observatory" to view the scene. Even though it was VERY cold, we walked (quickly) to the observatory to record what we were seeing.

Now, when we got back to the car, I was thinking, "How did I miss this???" I got the literature about the scenic route out and there it was in black and white: All about the lava, observatory and very clearly states that at the McKenzie pass is a 65 square mile lava flow. 65 square miles!!!

Now, had I been paying attention and had known this was coming, it would not have made such an impression on me. I am glad I was not expecting this site. It made such an impact!

Random Pictures

2010-09-14T19:22:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the trip. I'm sure you really don't care about the names of the lighthouses, beaches, covered bridges or waterfalls. :-) Just enjoy the beauty. I will comment on a couple of things.

Stone House at Cape Perpetua (highest point on Highway 101) built in the 30's and used in WWII to watch for Japanese invaders.

Harbor Seals or some aquatic animal swimming. :-)

Rogue River - a Wild and Scenic River
As we left snowy/foggy Crater Falls and drove to the coast we happened upon this part of the Rogue River. Imagine the water rushing....

2010-09-13T21:42:00.000-07:00

Thursday we drove to Crater Lake but was cold, snowing and foggy so we left and drove to the coast. Spent the night in Bandon. Friday was an “easy day” working our way back over toward Crater Lake.

So….as we were paying for breakfast Friday morning, I saw a postcard of a pretty waterfall and asked where it was. There were actually two falls - Golden Falls and Silver Falls, which are close to one another up in a State Park by Coos Bay - about 20 minutes away. The lady said it was a long drive to the falls but worth it. In retrospect, she should have said LONG drive. I do recall her saying it was a 45 minute drive (and I timed it on the way back and it was a 45 minute drive) but SAYING it’s a 45 minute drive and actually driving for 45 minutes are not exactly the same!
We drove up to Coos Bay found the turn off for the falls and started on our adventure.

After driving for some time we came to a sign that said Golden and Silver Falls 10 miles. About a mile later another sign Golden and Silver Falls 10 miles. This did not instill confidence. But we’d come this far so we continued.

We passed some houses - some for sale and wouldn’t you like to be their real estate agent? Some houses had those newspaper holders. Not enough money to be a newsboy out here!!

About 5 miles further the road which had by this point become a one-lane road, now became an unpaved one-lane road for the final 15 minutes of the drive.

We finally made it to the park which not surprisingly was the end of the road and yet amazingly enough we were the only people in the park. There was sign that said “No overnight camping” I wondered why anyone would drive all that way to have a picnic and then have to drive all the way back. It was a pretty little park, but still.

Two paths to the falls - Golden Falls 20 minute round trip. Silver Falls 15 minute round trip. I checked and Golden Falls was about a 20 minute round trip. Silver Falls is a 15 minute round trip only if you are a mountain goat or antelope. Most of it is uphill and old folks don’t do uphill very fast.

Both waterfalls were underwhelming. I’m sure in the peak season, they are spectacular. I will, however, have to take other people’s word for this because I’m not coming back this way!

Here are pictures of the falls and of the rocks I scampered over (ok, ok, climbed very carefully over) to get the picture. Ben opted to take pictures from where he was. Wise man!

Highway 50 Survivor

2010-09-13T21:21:00.001-07:00

I know it's cheesy but so what? We are traveling across Nevada on Highway 50 which has been designated as the Loneliest Highway. Nevada has turned this into a tourist attraction. Since we were traveling Highway 50 anyway, I figured I might as well do it. (Ben just rolled his eyes) :-)

The idea is to get a Highway 50 Survivor Kit (a small passport-like booklet). As we travel across Nevada we will stop at six designated cities and get the passport stamped. Then I send it and receive some sort of souvenir and a certificate signed by the governor. (Ben will NOT get a certificate!)

At Fernley, the start of the Highway, we went by the Chamber office but they were closed. Stopped at the Post Office and learned that I could get a "kit" at one of the stores in town. Went there, got my "kit" and got it stamped. (Fortunately I was driving - Ben would never have gone to this much trouble!)

Now we are in Fallon and I already have my stamp! :-) Tomorrow we will complete the journey, get all my stamps and I will mail it in when I get home. Can't wait to get my souvenir and certificate!! LOL

Most Beautiful Highway to date

2010-09-12T21:40:00.000-07:00

Of course, I guess that could be said of any drive you've just completed since memories are short. :-) But Highway 299 from about Eureka, CA to Redding, CA is probably the most beautiful drive! Hard to explain. A lot of the scenic routes we have been on this trip have been scenic in spots - overlooks, etc. with towering trees lining the roads. Highway 299 was scenic the whole way. No trees along the highway to block any view. Climbing you looked down on valleys and across at tree-covered mountains. In the valleys the road ran alongside a rushing river and you looked up to towering tree-covered mountains. Seemed like at every turn in the road was another beautiful sight!! Lots of winding roads of course and driving up the mountain, then down the mountain, then up the mountain. It was an awesome road.

Funny thing though. Most of the roads we've been on have looked semi-straight on the map. HA! Guess they can't show the roads as little tight squiggles! LOL

Have a lot of pictures I haven't had time to post yet. Maybe as we stop for the night on the way home.....which, by the way, we are....on the way home. I noted in my notes that at 4:30p.m. Pacific Time we said goodbye to the Pacific ocean and turned East for home.

Crater Lake - AWESOME!!

2010-09-11T21:36:00.000-07:00

Today was a stunningly beautiful day for a stunningly beautiful Crater Lake. So
worth the two days we spent waiting for weather to clear. Could not have had a more perfect day! Crater Lake rates right up there with Mt. Ranier and our flight around Mt McKinley in Alaska! I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves and it was difficult picking a few out of the almost 400 that Ben and I took today!

If you can find the teeny tiny little bitty white dot in the upper right part of the lake you might get some perspective of the size of Crater Lake.

Phantom Ship

Wizard's Island

See, I told you there was snow on Thursday. Seeing today's perfect weather, had we not been here on Thursday in the fog/snow, it would be hard to believe.

More pictures to enjoy!!

Columbia River Gorge

2010-09-09T21:22:00.000-07:00

Drove the Historic Columbia River Highway
Chanticleer Point

Latourell Falls

Sheppards Dell

Multnomah Falls - The falls I really wanted to see! Primarily because they are spectacular falls but also because there was a fantastic Bible teacher from Multnomah Falls, Pamela Reeves, who spoke at Pine Cove Women's Conferences a couple of time 35 years ago or so. The falls were everything I thought it would be and more!

We took the Cascade Sternwheeler out of Caslade Locks. A nice change of pace and made for an easy day but wasnt anything really special. Did see some windsurfers and kite boarders.

When we get gas in Oregon, we cannot pump our own gas. They have people to pump it for you, just like the "old days" Apparently someone pumping their own gas blew up a station (at least that's what I was told before our trip) so now it's a state law.

Weather report was for cloudy rainy weather tomorrow so we made a brief stop at Panorama Point outside Hood River for some great pictures of Mt. Hood. (and it is a good thing we did because sure enough, Mt. Hood was in the clouds the next day!)

Mt. Hood was especially special because this year at Women of Faith, Karen James spoke. She is the wife of Kelly James who died on Mt. Hood in 2006 while the world waited for a rescue. He talked with his wife by cell phone and they tried to locate him in a snow cave by his phone.
Her story was very moving and emotional.

Snow!!! Winding Roads!!!

2010-09-09T21:15:00.001-07:00

This post is out of order chronologically (so sue me!) :-)

We did get an early start today (and good thing we did) Drove to Crater Lake and I commented that I was disappointed that it was cloudy. Ha! As we got closer, it got foggier. Then it began to snow, then accumulate on the side of the road, then accumulate on the road! We went to the info center - learned that it is "supposed" to be sunny Friday then went to the lodge (walking in the falling snow) to see if we could get a room. Double HA! I heard the woman say about 25 people had said they were staying an extra night. Wonder what they will do about the people who had booked those rooms assuming the other people would check out?

It was neat being in the snow - driving in the snow on narrow roads - drop offs with no guard rails not to much. At least visibility wasn't really bad. It was cold though!! But snow in early September? Wow!!!

Our plan then became to drive out of the park, back to the coast and then head back towards Crater Lake and see it Friday. THEN we got to the Bear Camp Coastal Road. Of course, when we decided to drive it, it didn't have a name or a number! Didn't get a number (23) until about halfway in. We found it because of the first town (and only town for miles) off the Interstate. I have driven and ridden on winding roads but this one set the standard for all the rest!!! Unbelievable. It was barely 2 lanes and we saw a sign "road narrows" What??? Then the road became a "One land with turnouts). At times it was unpaved. At least we didn't have to fight traffic! LOL About 2 hours to go 50 miles. However the scenery when you could see it was breath-taking (as was a lot of the curves we made with no guard rail)

We turned into a turnout to see the view (there wasn't any - have no idea why the turnout was there) met a guy and his wife who moved from Galveston to Oregon in the 80's. He told us of a couple of sites we needed to see on the coast (although they were 20 miles in the opposite direction) But we made the stops and they were pretty.

The coast, however, was foggy so we couldn't see too far out to the ocean. We stopped for the night in Bandon - on the coast road. The statement about "location, location, location" not only works for real estate but also for hotels on the coast.

Tomorrow our plan is to have an easy day working our way back over to Crater Lake and doing Crater Lake on Saturday when the weather is supposed to be better. HOPEFULLY!

Checked internet weather and Crater Lake is to be sunny on Friday and Saturday. Already have reservations at a Best Western in LaPine - not too far from Crater Lake. So we will try, try again on Saturday!

Catching up - 2

2010-09-07T08:35:00.000-07:00

Made it to Hoquaim and the bridge construction did not affect us thankfully as it was 9:30 and we were tired. Several people checking in so we had to wait a bit. But we had a room and got a good night's sleep.

Next morning at breakfast I learned something new. There are different types (colors) of sweet potatoes. I had a choice of country potatoes or has browns so I chose the country potatoes. I got white and orange sweet potatoes which I recognized but wasn't too sure about the pink and purple potatoes so I asked and learned they were sweet potatoes as well. Interesting!

Stopped off to see a beach - Grayland Beach. Love driving the coastline.

See signs along the way for "Tsunami Evacuation Route"! Saw some signs "water across road" and these people live right there so do their houses flood when there's water across the road? Inquiring minds want to know!

Driving to Cape Flattery passed Sekiu - lots of boats and RV's.

Stopped of at Beard's Hollow (in honor of our friend Greg)and North Head Lighthouse. North
Head was built because the ship captains couldn't see the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse showing the entrance to the Columbia River in time to sail into the bay. Lots of people there - small parking lots - had to park on the street. Don't know what they do during the busy season.

Cape Disappointment is the oldest continually operating lighthouse on the West Coast.

Took a slight detour to get a picture of the Ahlberg covered bridge. Apparently the bridge was covered when the planks became too slick for the livestock to cross safely.

Catching Up

2010-09-06T19:47:00.000-07:00

Posted pictures yesterday but didn't have enough time to type notes.

On Saturday we were set to go to Olympic National Park in Northwest Washington. I wanted to stay overnight in Forks (where the Twilight series was set) because I was to do some shopping for the Twilight fanatics. Unfortunately it was Labor Day and everything was full. I did find a cabin for $219 a night which I would have taken *gulp* but she couldn't reserve it for me until the people checked out about 12. Olympic National Park is a HUGE park - no interstates, no national hotels. Did try to get a room in Port Angeles - larger city but they were full, too. So I called a town on the other side of the park, Hoquiam and got a room for the night. That meant we needed to "do the park" in one day. After Ranier, other mountains pale, so we passed on Hurricane Ridge. We've seen waterfalls and will see more, so passed on Marymere Fallas.

The one thing I did want to do was Cape Flattery. This point is the most Northwest point of the lower 48 states. So we drove along the upper coast of the park to Neah Bay where we got a "parking pass" for $10 for Cape Flattery. After about 10 miles of winding roads, we reached the parking lot and then walked about a mile through the forest. The point was pretty and I was happy. :-)

Along the way, we had seen signs "If flashing, go to 1530 for alerts". So, on the way to Forks, we saw a flashing sign. Turned to 1530 and learned there was a bridge repair on 101 at Hoquiam. This was where our hotel was! Nothing to do but drive on.

Stopped in Forks. Got a few souvenirs. Grabbed some bread and cheese at the grocery store and headed for Hoquiam. Did get the number to let them know we'd be there a little later than expected.

To be continued.....tomorrow in another post.

A Mixed Bag of Pics

2010-09-05T21:55:00.001-07:00

Sekiu Bay - lots of boats and campers.

Cape Flattery - Have to pay $10 for a "parking permit" to park on Indian property I guess. Then a walk through the woods - about a mile. Pretty site though and one I really wanted to go to because it is the most Northwest point of the US.

Forks - had to get this picture to "prove" I was there. LOL Did some shopping for the Twilight fanatics. Forks is the setting for the Twilight series of books.

North Head Lighthouse

Cape Disappointment - one of Lewis and Clark's sites. I need to do some research to find out why they called it Cape Disappointment since it was the place they were looking for. The lighthouse is the oldest continually operating lighthouse on the West Coast
And lastly......Who knew Hawaii was so close! (note Waikiki Beach on sign)

Mt. Ranier

2010-09-03T21:11:00.000-07:00

God is good and prompted me to check the weather and the forecast for Ranier today was sunny. Tomorrow however was forecast for rain and clouds. Not good. So the itinerary was changed and we headed straight for Mt. Ranier. As we drove, here is what we saw.

It is a little disappointing that the pictures do not show the grandeur. There are no words to describe the mountain. It is absolutely awesome! We started at Sunrise Visitor Center. We went to the Ranger Station and the Ranger suggested Silver Lake Trail. An easy one mile trail but the fabulous part was that all the way back we were facing Mt. Ranier. Wow!!!

Narada Falls

North Cascades

2010-09-02T20:39:00.001-07:00

After Grand Coulee Dam, we drove across the North Cascades Highway from Omak to Sedro-Woolley. Scenery was absolutely fantastic!! Mountains all around, lakes, water falls. WOW!!!!

Washington Pass - highest point of the North Cascades Highway. Early Winter Spires.

Rainy Pass. About a 20 minute walk to the lake (and back) This was a "fee area" Fortunately our Senior pass let us in free. (not worth the fee in my humble opinion) Also a picture of the walk there.

Diablo Lake (both pics were so pretty, I couldn't choose)

Grand Coulee Dam

2010-09-02T20:22:00.000-07:00

First, if you ever come to the dam, take the tour (free). If you happen to be in the area for the night, see the laser show. It's not the greatest but certainly don't make special arrangements for it!

A few interesting facts (to me) about the dam.

One mile across. It looks huge but doesn't really seem like it's a mile across.

After you take the tour and learn about the dam it is absolutely AMAZING (considering all the technology we have today) that this dam was built in the 1930's!

Took eleven years to complete

Cannot begin to tell you the facts about electricity except that it can put out an awesome amount. Generates more power than a million locomotives. It is the country's largest hydroelectric project but is #4 in the world, soon to be #5.

It irrigates 500,000 acres of land which explains the miles of wheat fields we saw.

In 1941 the dam was still under construction when Pearl Harbor was bombed. The power plant immediately went to work and sent power to the West to speed up production of planes, to the east to Spokane for production of aluminum and to the south for work on the atomic bomb.

Largest concrete structure in the world. There is enough concrete in the dam to build TWO standard six-foot wide sidewalks around the world at the equator!

Kootenai Falls and Bridge

2010-09-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

Kootenai (Koo-te-ny) Indians were peaceful Indians living in Montana. The falls were INCREDIBLE. Pictures are good but don't do it justice. Could have stayed and watched for hours.

The hanging suspension bridge. That's a picture of Ben just coming up on the bridge taken by me from the other end.

Glacier National Park

2010-08-31T20:05:00.000-07:00

St.Mary at one end of Glacier National Park had, as far as I knew, only one lodge with expensive rooms (over $200). City of Browning only had 1 older motel so we drove on to St. Mary to scourt things out. After driving a winding road, decided it might be worth it to pay the price and not have to drive that road again (twice). Fortunately, St. Mary had the Red Eagle Motel - not quite a Motel 6 but not bad and definitely better than the hotel we stayed in in Arkansas!

Skies cleared and we drove about an hour into the park and took pictures. Tuesday morning blue skies and sun but as we climbed in the park it got cloudier and had some light snow.

Lots of road construction - several one-way delays.

Logan Pass is the summit and the Continental Divide. First pass it was completely socked in. On our return trip, it was clear but oh so COLD. We made a brief stop and as we were heading to the car I turned and took a picture of the Visitor Center. At the car, I quickly refilled my water bottle from the ice chest and when I turned around, the Visitor Center had completely disappeared in the clouds!! Hard to believe when you see this clear picture I took about 30 seconds earlier!

Gypsy (GPS) Did Us Wrong

2010-08-29T18:29:00.000-07:00

Today we were traveling to Roundup, MT and were then going on to White Sulphur Springs. I entered White Sulphur Springs in the GPS (Gypsy) and she started us off. After a few miles, it wasn't making sense so we stopped and realized while she was still "sending us toward WSS" she was really sending us East and not West *sigh* Probably 20 miles the wrong direction.

Finally she got straightened out but it's a little frustrating when your GPS doesn't know what direction you need to go!!! Of course, I have "real maps" with us and I'm learning more about how to read a map as well.

White Sulphur Springs is a nice little town. Very nice motel and nice local restaurant.

Wyoming Mammoth

2010-08-29T18:26:00.000-07:00

In 2006 a mammoth was discovered under about 8 feet of dirt by a bull dozer clearing the land for a development. In 2009 the dig had been completed as far as a the mammoth (digging continues for other finds) it was preserved at Casper College.

Center of US and Little Big Horn

2010-08-29T18:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday when we took our side trip to North Dakota we got a special treat. We traveled by the geographic center of the USA so of course, we had to have a picture (with Craig's T-shirt)!!
Little Big Horn was interesting and informative. One could spent hours there but we got the gist of the idea with the movie and traveling the route.
Monument

When the battle was over, the men were buried where they fell. Later their remains were reburied under the monument in a mass grave but the stones were left in the field marking where they fell in battle. Very moving to see the stones laid out over the field of battle.
This picture is from the top of "Last Stand Hill" where Custer's troups were all slain.

The soldiers shot their horses to use as cover! There was a monument to the horses as well.

Casper, WY

2010-08-28T20:04:00.000-07:00

We had a good visit with Ron and Gale. Visited the Casper Museum and learned about how five wagon trails came through Casper and then went on to Salt Lake City (Mormons), Oregon (settlers) and California (gold seekers) Very interesting.

Had to take a picture of the Hand's Free water fountain - I had never seen one before. You just lean over and a sensor sends the water to you. Pretty Cool

Did you know that Casper Mountain is the only mountain range that runs West-East?
Took some pictures of Muddy Mountain.

Then we took a day-long detour over to South Dakota and up to North Dakota so we could check North Dakota off our list of states visited. After this trip we will only need Delaware to complete all 50 states! (Had we known 10 years ago when we were in Washington, DC we were going to l 50 states, we would have visited Delaware then!!!) When we turned West on Hwy 12 toward Montana from Bowman, ND, we ran into road construction, and I mean ROAD construction. The road (highway) was just a dirt/gravel road. We lucked out and just made it to follow the "lead car" on the one-way trip. The one-way trip must have been at least 3 miles long and at the other end only 1 semi-truck and 5 cars were waiting! Not a lot of people traveling to North Dakota apparently. :-)

Casper

2010-08-27T08:27:00.000-07:00

Really enjoying visiting with Ron and Gale in Casper. Going to get the 50 cent tour today - see some historic sites. Beautiful weather! Loving the trip.

Now in Denver

2010-08-25T19:37:00.000-07:00

We started this great adventure on our 42nd Anniversary. Had a good visit with Ben's sister and bro-in-law in Fritch before heading north. Stopped in Woodland Park to visit my first boss, many (many) years ago. Hadn't seen them in 20 years. Had a great time catching up. Then it was a quick stop at Cracker Barrel for dinner and headed north of Denver for the night.

In the morning will have breakfast with a couple we met on our Africa tour. Then on to Casper, Wyoming to spend a couple of days with my college friend and maid of honor.

Cleaning The Gutters

2010-05-11T14:03:00.000-07:00

This morning I noticed something green was growing on the roof above our front door and I thought "I don't think anything is supposed to be growing on the roof." As I looked further, I realized that the gutters were clogged so I told Ben I would clean them out this afternoon. After lunch, Ben got the ladder for me (I SO love climbing ladders. NOT!) I got my Mexico painting gloves, shirt and shoes (in hindsight should have also gotten old socks) climbed the ladder and started scooping stuff out of the gutter. It was REALLY with all sorts of dirt, leaves, etc. First smart I did was to get a trowel and that made the job easier. As I began working, I thought "After I finish here, I'll be all hot and dirty so I'll go ahead and take my walk and then shower" After moving and climbing up and down the ladder many times and getting the gunk out of the gutters, I thought "After I finish here, I'm showering and taking a nap!" Then I got the hose and started washing out the remaining soil and then replacing the gutter guards. Now, I've moved and gone up and down that ladder many, many times stopping in between to huff and puff so now I'm thinking "After I finish this, I'm gonna lay down and die."

The Second smart thing I did was to do this on the day BEFORE my massage and chiropractic appointments! :-)

The gutters are clean (and now so am I!) and I"m proud of a job well done. I'm pretty sure this was the first time those gutters had been cleaned in the 15+ years we've lived here. I've had my turn - next time, someone else can do it!! Although I have to admit it really is good cardio exercise. Heart was REALLY pumping!!

We're supposed to get some rain the latter part of the week. I may be standing out in the rain admiring all the water gushing out of the spout! :-)

God's Provision

2010-03-10T19:21:00.000-08:00

If you've kept up with my blogs you will remember that one of my favorite verses is "You have not because you ask not" I believe for the most part we are not bold enough with our prayers. What child does not ask his parents for his needs and wants? God is our Father and He loves His children.

Grace of Giving, the group we support and go with each year to build houses, is building a church in Terlingua. This is a big project with building groups going down over a period of about 3 months. First group went this week, second group goes next week. The group supposed to go next week was not able to go so five of our "experienced builders" were asked to help. Terlingua is near Big Bend and one of those places you miss if you blink. I was asked to do some research on the motel/hotel situation. I found several and gave the guys the information. None were "chain" and reviews were mixed. One of the guys started calling and because next week is Spring Break, everything was booked. He was able to get the last two rooms at Best Western in Alpine - about 75 miles from Terlingua - at a cost of about $1300 (2 rooms, 6 nights). This would mean driving 75 miles each way every day.

Sunday night, our pastor and the men joined in prayer and asked the Lord to provide housing - affordable housing close to the building site. Monday our pastor made a call to a guy he knew in Terlingua. The man called back and said he had found a man who had a double-wide trailer, 3 bedroom, 1 bath, with 4 beds and a couch. The trailer is 1/4 mile from the building site and will cost $350 for the week!!

And all we had to do was ask God to provide! We serve an Awesome God!!

Wedding - the rest of the story

2010-02-22T10:33:00.001-08:00

Here's one picture from the wedding. After I get more uploaded on Picasa I'll post a link.

Saturday morning, Ben and I met with some of Ben's for breakfast. Then it was off to the house to load up the girls and their "stuff" and head to the church. Ben and I went back to the hotel where I posted my blog and checked out of the hotel. We went the church where the women were all getting primped, pampered and preened for the wedding (self included!)

About two the photographer came. I thought it was funny, but totally typical, that the photographer wanted the guys to not get dressed up until he had some "before" shots of them horsing around, playing basketball in the gym. Then the guys dressed and had their pictures made. All this in about 30 minutes while the girls were STILL getting ready after 4 hours! :-)

We had the "before wedding" bridesmaid's pictures and some with the family and Jan's bridal pictures which she had not been able to schedule before.

People started arriving for the wedding and I was out in the foyer greeting people (at least the ones I knew) :-) and shuttling a few back for a sneak peek at Jan.

Precisely at 4 the procession began. Let me explain that Doug's mother passed away when he was in high school and her four best friends "adopted" him so we had a lot of mothers in the wedding party. The pedestal on the right had a picture of his mother and during the mothers' processional, the best man walked down the aisle and laid a white rose by her picture. On the left was a candle and each mother laid a small rock on the pedestal as she entered. As Doug and Jan wrote in the wedding program "God is our rock and our foundation and our parents are representatives of that foundation here on earth. They have been our rocks when we needed them, and they push us into God who is our ultimate Rock."

The bridal party entered to "Falling in Love at the Coffee Shop" which if you know Doug and Jan's story makes sense. :-) Ben says that Jan was just fine until she heard that music and then she said "Uh oh" (meaning, "I'm going to cry!") And cry she did as she walked down the aisle on Ben's arm - emotion and happiness overflowed and spilled out.

After giving her away to Doug, Ben prayed for them. Doug and Jan's minister then pronounced a blessing over them and gave them communion after which we all joined in signing "Revelation Song". Then the minister from our home church did the marriage vows. No more tears! Only smiles, grins, sometimes a laugh, as well as the solemnity of the vows prevailed. Personally I loved it when the time came for Doug to say "I do", he looked Jan directly in the eye and emphatically said "I.....DO!"

When they kissed to seal the deal, Doug bent Jan over backwards! Surely the photographer got that one!

They exited to "I'm a Believer" and the wedding party danced down the aisle.

The reception was beyond fabulous. Food was out of this world - plentiful and delicious!

Doug and Jan entered and introduced at Mr. and Mrs. Doug Jefferson and the dancing began. I have never seen a bride and groom so THOROUGHLY enjoy themselves! They can really "cut a rug". And the 40 year old wedding dress was up to the task (fortunately!) :-)

The crowd was given small bottles of bubbles to sendi the happy couple off to their honeymoon. Doug swept Jan off her feet and carried her to the Carriage, i.e. pickup truck! :-)

They arrived safely in Orlando and are having a great time.

We cleaned up the reception and headed home. I washed off my makeup. My manicure is beginning to chip off but the memories will always remain.

Wedding - so far so good

2010-02-20T08:19:00.000-08:00

Jan, bridemaids and I had a very nice luncheon Friday. Then we went for our manicures and pedicures. Yes, I had both and boy, do my nails look GOOD!!! And yes, I do have pictures which I will post later - probably on Facebook. We all had a blast. I may not be young but I'm definitely young at heart!

Then to the church for the rehearsal. Went through it twice and the second time was as perfect as you can get! Then to the rehearsal dinner. Beautifully decorated with candles everywhere (pictures later) Fajitas and tacos. Wonderful dinner. Had some good toasts and yes, Ben teared up in his toast and that made Jan cry! :-)

Women went to the house and worked on the programs. Guys went who-knows-where. Ben went back to the hotel :-) About 10 I headed to the hotel. We both got a good nice night's sleep except of course, I had a weird dream - the upshot was we left before the reception and I was soooo upset when I realized that. Then I could remember nothing about the wedding! I promise you that will NOT happen today! :-)

This morning we met Ben's niece (Doug and Jan's matchmaker), her husband and granddaughter, Ben's sister and niece from Amarillo for breakfast. We then came back to the hotel to get all our "gear", check out and of course, do a post :-)

We will be heading out to the church soon for grooming, dressing, pictures and .....then......THE WEDDING!!!

Motel 2 (not even Motel 6!)

2010-01-04T18:17:00.000-08:00

What I usually say about hotel rooms is "All I want is a clean room, good bed and clean bathroom". Well, that's what we got this trip. We exited the interstate to find a hotel for the night. Realized we had stopped in this town before. (I really need to get a notebook to keep track of hotels, gas stops and restaurants between here and Nashville) We had been here in June stopped at one hotel but when I saw a posted note about mosquitos I quickly left and we went to the hotel next door. Road construction was underway in June and as far as I could tell, there had been NO headway made since then! Because of the construction, we missed the entrance to the hotel we previously stayed in so decided to go over the overpass to get dinner at McDonalds. Missed the entrance to McD's because of construction. Turned in to make a U-turn and saw a motel right there. Looked passable so we gave it a try. My first clue should have been the several posted signs in the lobby "NO REFUNDS. NO EXCEPTIONS" but we got a room anyway. Well! The paint scheme was, uh, "interesting" to say the least. I'm not sure how it was done but it looked like the walls were painted with a roller that "textured" the paint to give them a camoflague look. The sink area was beige/lilac. Bedroom was beige/lilac/black (really cheery!) Bathroom walls were "tomato soup".

Of course, the painters didn't remove the wall outlets or light switch covers so they were very well hidden!! TV set worked well enough - probably about a 23". No coffee maker. Shampoo was little individual packets. The lights over the sink area were about as bright as a night light. In fact we left them on AS a night light! Every time I walked to the sink, I reached to turn on the light only to realize the light WAS on! We had two double beds and the bedspreads didn't match. The phone was labled in marker Room #242 which was OK, except for the fact we were in Room 125. Also the "information" on the phone was handwritten and had gotten wet and the ink ran so it was unreadable!

However, the beds were firm, and we did have hot water! And the cost was $42 (which explains a lot)

About 5 miles before the exit to the town we passed a brand new Super 8 Motel. Hopefully I'll remember that if we need to stop in that vicinity again!

We just had a good laugh. Ben thinks we have stayed in worse before. I can't remember that far back!

I will have to say that on the way to Nashville, we stayed at a new Comfort Suites and it was a huge room, VERY nice, and the bedspreads did match. However, it was not $42! LOL

"You have not because you asked not"

2009-10-03T08:53:00.001-07:00

One of my life verses now! Of course, I had prayed about our trip - for God's favor on travel and all we would see - that He would show us his most amazing creations. The first camp we saw lion paw prints but no lions. The second camp was more of a "nature camp" so no lions. Chamu, our trip leader, had told us of all the poaching in Africa - rhinos are practically extinct. Male lions are being killed (the lion population is low because when a male is killed, the new male who takes over has to kill all the cubs to insure the female's loyalty to him. Females produce 4-6 cubs every two years, so if would take a long time to recover) Anyway, everyone was talking about lions, especially us, so one day in the second camp, Chamu asked me "If you don't see any lions, will it still be a great trip?" I said "No. It will be a good trip but not a great trip." We had already seen several animals who are endangered and seldom seen, specifically wild dogs that are extremely rare to see but I told Chamu that, right or wrong, Americans equate Africa with lions and if I went home and said I had not seen lions, everyone would be shocked. Well, obviously later we saw lions and a good many of them.

However, the point of all this is that after two camps without lions, I began really praying that God would show us His lions. I then added leopards (which are also very rare to see as they travel alone and are hard to spot). THEN, praying "you have not because you ask not", I asked to see a Rhino!!

In our last camp, we started the morning drive out spotting a female lion under a tree. She walked into the bush and the guide said there was a male there too but all we could see were ears and a tail now and then. You have to have your eyes closed on safari if you don't want to see elephants and cape buffalo - they are everywhere!!! Leopards and Rhinos complete the Big Five (leopard, rhino, lion, buffalo and elephant) Some travelers see all five, some don't. So, on our afternoon game drive, our guide gets a transmission that a leopard has been spotted in a tree but he is very far away (several kilometers) so we are told to "hold on tight" (realize we are in an open land rover on rough, sandy roads). Off we fly - sometimes at 40K on roads meant for 10-20K. We found the leopard sitting on a large branch, out in the open, just posing for us. He was beautiful!!!

After about 20 minutes, he climbed down. We then drove off for our "Sundowner" where we "say goodbye" to the sun. On the way, another transmission came in saying a rhino was in our camp!!! So we u-turned and sped off again over the same tracks racing back to camp. By the time we got there it was dark. The guides followed the rhino's tracks and using night spotlights found the rhino. Using the lights and binoculars everyone was able to see the rhino!! No pictures of course :-(

When we got back to camp for dinner, it hit us that we had seen the Big Five - all in one day!!!! Our guide said that had happened to him only three times in eight years!!!

We indeed serve a Mighty God!!!

Lions

2009-10-03T08:00:00.001-07:00

See the next post for a description of these "action shots"

Here she comes

She coming my way?

Flirting

Aftermath

Here she comes again.

Uh oh! Elephants. Think I'll just go over here.

Back to the bush

Whoa!!!

Getting out of Dodge

Here We are Again

2009-10-01T11:21:00.001-07:00

Well, who would think that a town as big as Victoria Falls would have interent problems for three days? But then again, we are in Africa. Apparently the town also had electrical outages. At least the hotel had generators. Since my last post we have had three days of great experiences. Will post about one of them in another post but on one day we discovered a female with a male lying nearby. They were in the mating season and apparently mate every 15 minutes for several days. Seriously! Anyway as we sat there the female got up and went and "flirted"" with the male. Finally the male got up and mated with her. We were right there - probably 30 feet away. Obviously got great pictures. But of course, I forgot I had video on my camera. *Sigh* Anyway the funniest thing was their reactions after the 20 second mating. Pictures will follow.17 minutes later they were starting again but elephants came along and chased (yes, chased) the male lion off. Amazing!!! Well, the next post will have to wait because apparently we are boarding our plane very early. Not sure what's up with that. It's 8:25 and the flight is to leave at 9:20 so they are loading us. Guess I should say we are in Johannesburg headed for London and then on to DFW tomorrow.

9 days in bush gone - 3 more to go

2009-09-26T03:11:00.000-07:00

I am on Internet earlier than expected because we have a layover in Victoria Falls waiting for the next flight to our last lodge. I wanted to take the last shuttle to the next camp just so I could use the Internet and let you all know we are safe and sound. Having a great time. This post will be just a jumble of thoughts. The BEST thing that has happened so far is that we got stuck in mud in the Delta at night time!! Last night actually. But first let me tell you that the first day at Wilderness Camp, we started out at 6:00 for an early game drive and at 6:30 we had a broken fan belt - they came and fixed that and we were off again only to have the gears off and the fan belt broke again. This time they brought another vehicle. Only 2 hours lost but that was OK because we finally got to see lions!! Seven in all. Two groups of 3 females and 1 male! Woo! Hoo! Lions are scarce in this part of Africa. Anyway, later on we had to stop and have the guide change a tire. Exciting times! Then last evening, we went for our Sundowner drive where we drive a while then stop and see the sundown. In the Delta you drive on sand and cross various strips of water - some shallow, some deep. Crossing one of those, we got stuck!! Water was about waist deep - up to the highest step getting into the Land Rover. It was just beginning to get dark. The guide called for a rescue vehicle who started out for us and THEY had a flat tire!! By the time it was totally dark they arrived - tried to pull us out with a rope but that didn't work so they backed another vehicle to us and we transferred over and drove back to camp. What an experience! We all loved it!! Highlight of the trip!! We have seen elephants, giraffes, millions of Impala, hippos, all kinds of birds, zebras, other antelope, some endangered species and wild dogs which are very scarce and few get to see. We have stayed in various lodges, some luxurious down to the tented cabin we just came from in Wilderness. Nine days with generator electricity which works most of the time but is not on all of the time, no newspapers, internet, phones, TV (except African TV which is a campfire) ....Has been great but we have NO idea what is going on in the world. This morning we rose at 5:30 and left camp at 6:30 - drove an hour in the Land Rover in light rain to the landing strip (NOT an airport), Ben and I were on the 5 seater Cessna (flown by a woman) to the Kasane Airport (real airport). From there we borded a bus to the Botswana border - got off the bus and did the passport thing - back on the bus for ONE minute to Zimbabwe - off the bus for the visa thing. Then we walked across the border to get on another bus (new rules - busses can't cross border) Then an hour ride to Victoria Falls. We will then take an hour flight in a small plane possibly a 3-seater (!) to a landing strip and another hour ride in land rover to our camp. THIS camp has rooms so remote they will DRIVE us to our rooms at night. Before now, we have been walked to our rooms by a guide because of the danger of wild animals. The other morning, we got up to find hippo tracks RIGHT outside our door. One night the guide heard an elephant right near our room. Fun times!! Oh yeah, I forgot, not only will we be driven to our room but the guards will all be armed while escorting us to our lodging - maybe tents, maybe cabins. If we rise before dawn, we have to wait for a guard to come escort us to the lodge. This is the WILD!! We are having a great time. Everyone on the tour has been very nice and we all get along. Of course, there are your odd balls but nothing we can't live with :-) And to some WE may be the odd balls! We have been hot in the daytime - one day suffocatingly so - sometimes at night we have to use a blanket because everything is open air. We do have fans in the room if the electricity is working and on! :-) I think that will hold you for now. We will be back in Victoria Falls in three days and will post again.

We Have Arrived in Africa

2009-09-16T04:22:00.000-07:00

We are visiting with friends of friends this afternoon who are showing us Johannesburg and have graciously allowed me to use their Internet connecton. All we have done so far is fly. Planes have been on time. We got a few hours of sleep in London on the day room. Long flight last night - 10 hours. Ben didn't get any sleep - I got about 3 hours. These friends are keeping us talking and awake this afternoon. Then we can sleep tonight and maybe get on a regular schedule by tomorrow. Unless there is internet in the "bush" you will next hear from us when we reach Victoria Falls.

Family Reunion

2009-09-07T09:47:00.000-07:00

Red-Neck Reading Room

2009-09-07T08:50:00.000-07:00

Know how some says something - then another idea forms before you know it a whole scheme/plot has taken shape? We had a broken-down recliner on the "burn pile". Dean and Jill saw it and make some comment that it needed to be in front of the burn pile so it could be "seen". Then Dean said, "If you had a broken lamp you could put it beside the recliner" to which I replied "I have one!!" Our pole lamp had gone belly-up a couple of months back. I also had a coffee maker that had died and a n "ugly" mug. Ben took some "trash lumber" and made a make-shift table. Then we arranged it all underneath a tree right by a curve in our driveway so you couldn't miss it as you came down the drive.

It was all in jest but the main attraction about the set-up was that this was the weekend of the Family Reunion and Jan was bringing "her man" Doug to meet everyone. I wish I could have been in the car when they rounded the curve and saw our Red-Nick Reading Room. Of course, I knew Jan's reaction would probably be an eye-rolling "Oh...My.... Gosh" or "I cannot believe they did that!" Actually everyone at the reunion seemed to enjoy our "yard art". One tried to give me "hints" on how to "preserve" it to which I replied "Oh, it will be gone next week. We just did it for Jan!"

Sunrise

2009-08-06T05:22:00.001-07:00

Believe me when I say I am not normally awake for sunrise but this morning I woke VERY early so I grabbed my Cheerios, camera and coffee and went to the porch to watch the beautiful sunrise!

Lovebirds

2009-08-06T05:16:00.000-07:00

Jan and Doug are officially an "item". :-) We met him this week and heartily approve.

What a Day!

2009-06-20T18:45:00.000-07:00

Left home at 6:30 to meet some friends for breakfast. Afterward Jan and I went to see another friend I had worked with at the law office who will be moving in Tennessee the last of the month. Then Jan and I went to a wedding. My first bilingual wedding! It was a really beautiful wedding and a great reception. Also my first wedding reception where the guests were served hor'derves by waitresses! And they had one of those photo booths that takes four pictures and they had hats, sunglasses, scarves, etc to wear for the pictures. Really cool. The guests got to take the pictures home in a keepsake bookmark and the bride and groom will get a CD with all the pictures of the attendees!! Neat idea!

And they also had that wonderful flowing fondue-like fountain of chocolate! Be still my heart!!!

Six Degrees of Separation

2009-06-20T18:34:00.000-07:00

Isn't that cool? This morning I got up early to have breakfast with Dorothy, an old friend (and I do mean "old" friend) because she was really a friend of my mother's, and she brought Linda, her daughter who was visiting from Albuquerque and who I had gone to school with, lo those many, many, many years ago (but I digress) I told Linda to catch me up on the last 30 years or so in 25 words or less! :-) She and her husband had been missionaries to Columbia, then went to Santa Fe, and then to Albuquerque. I asked her if she had known a pastor in Santa Fe named Charlie. Turns out Charlie was her pastor in Santa Fe and Charlie had been MY pastor in Dallas! Small World.

Then standing in line at the wedding to sign the book, a couple came up to Jan and me. The lady had recognized us. Sad to say I probably would not have recognized her - Jan probably would have! :-) We had gone to church with them at Trinity Heights in Carrollton. We talked a minute or two. They left. And I told Jan, "I know how WE know them. How does the bride's family know them?" So we asked Janell, mother of the bride, who had seen us talking and was also wondering how we knew each other. Kathy and Janell had both homeschooled! We were seated in the church right behind Kathy and her husband and Kathy immediately turned around and said "So, how do you know Janell?" LOL

Gotta love that Six Degrees of Separation. Have to mention that at the reception another woman came up to me who had also gone to Trinity Heights with us but to tell you the truth, I never did remember her. We had a really nice conversation but I really drew a blank. Don't you just hate it when that happens?

GPS - Don't Leave Home Without It

2009-06-20T18:24:00.000-07:00

Subtitle: I really hate driving in the Metroplex....or any Big City. OK, so I'm driving home from my day's activities (see other posts). First thing I did was to get on what I THOUGHT was I-35 to find out it was probably the new 121 Tollway. Fortunately I-35 was the next exit and it was the Last Free Exit! YAY! So, now I'm on I-35E headed home. Just before I get to LBJ or 635, I see a traffic jam on Stemmons (I-35E). The closer I get I see it isn't "just" a traffic jam - traffic is completely stopped. So, I'm thinking "What do I do now" I HATE sitting in traffic on freeways. So I took 635 West knowing I could wend my way over to I-35W. Fortunately I had brought Gypsy (my GPS - cute name, huh?) so I set her up and punched "Go Home". After I convinced her that I really did NOT want to turn around and go BACK to I-35E, she directed me to I-35W and even though I had to re-route around Ft. Worth, I still make it home about the same time I thought I would. Thank you, GPS!! (and Thanks to God for prompting me to put Gypsy in the car) :-)

Facebook Rules

2009-06-16T08:43:00.000-07:00

Well, since I got on Facebook, blogging seems to have become second fiddle! Well, in looking back, it's only been a month since I last blogged. That's not too bad. :-)

The first of June, Kendall, one of our church's summer intern, came to live with us for the summer. However, we hardly see him. The church people feed them, Steven keeps them plenty busy and for two or three weeks, they will be at camp with the youngsters!

Vacation Bible School was last week. 183 kids came. Had a great turnout and a great time. Lots of workers to keep them under control.....well, kinda under control. :-) I got my usual job of technology. Taking pictures and inserting into a presentation that we played at the end of each day so they could see themselves on the "big screen"!

Other than that it's been pretty much the same ol', same ol'. Ben has a huge project he's working on for the school so that keeps him out of my hair during the day. I'm still working on several projects I need to finish. I do have a deadline though which is good. The Williams' Family Reunion is held over Labor Day at our house.

Video Moment Recipe

2009-05-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

Start with a senior citizen (me) carrying a half-full open 5 gallon bucket of white paint. Add two steps off the patio (when the senior citizen thinks there is ONE). Mix in sloping ground (downward, of course!) and you have the makings of a video moment of a "waltz downhill". Would not make America's Funniest Home Video, however, because there was no fall and no spilled paint. Whew!!!! Could have turned out soooooo differently!!

Tree Cutting 101

2009-05-19T15:28:00.000-07:00

Where are the manuals when you need one? I'm not sure Google could even help with this one. So, we are in Nashville, helping Dean and Jill with some home repairs, yard work, etc. and I will probably hurt tomorrow in places I didn't even know I had!! One of our chores was to cut down a couple of dead trees. Ben brought his chain saw but I don't believe he's ever cut down a tree. This tree was near the house which was why they wanted it down. I measured the trunk after it was cut and it is about 19 inches in diameter. No small tree.
First they tied some straps to the tree and ran them to another tree in the yard. Then Ben cut a notch. Then he cut through the trunk. They tried to ratchet the straps to pull the tree down but the knot broke, the tree made a "snap" and Jill and I moved very fast for the house! Another ratchet try broght the same result. Then Ben had me drive the 4-runner down and my question to Ben was "Does insurance cover this?" They tied the strap to the hitch and the knot came untied again. Fourth time (not the third time) was the charm and the tree fell perfectly and because it was dead broke all to pieces. Ben cut up the trunk and he and Dean are removing it "somewhere" Tomorrow we will do it all again with another tree. But this time they are experts!!! No pictures. I know, I know, you are disappointed. It may be that Dean got some with his phone. If so, I will post. Jill says we will get the camera tomorrow but it will be anticlimatic! All the excitement was today! :-)

Country Livin' #3

2009-05-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

OK, so I've talked to Dean about our upcoming trip - head out to Ben in the shop to tell him the latest. Stop at the 4-runner to put down the back seats so we'll have room for all the stuff we're taking. Then I hear a noise in the garage by the freezer. Wonder if Ben has come in so I peek around the back of the truck and out comes Mr. Skunk! Good thing I'm not the screaming kind....so I "quickly" head toward the shop and tell Ben. By this time Mr. Skunk has come out of the garage (thankfully) and is now on the front porch, then heads down the front of the house apparently looking for a spot to hole up. Next time I look out he's at the front of the shop headed toward the big doors.....where I am! Yikes!!! Ben goes out and "scares' him away - braver that me! And Mr. Skunk obligingly trots off into the field. Ben tells me to keep an eye on him not telling me that he is going to the house to get the gun. I think he just wants me to be sure the skunk's not circling around.....like I would do anything to dissuade him!! Anyway, Ben comes out but the skunk is gone. Good ol' country livin' Never a dull moment.

Country Livin' - Two Stories

2009-05-12T12:33:00.000-07:00

Gotta love livin' in the country and small towns:

First Story: Ben goes out to mow this morning. Battery on the riding mower is shot - not too surprising. He can usually charge it with his very old charger but critters had chewed off the electrical plug. So he gets a new battery only to find that the critters have chewed up the wiring in the mower. Then he proceeds to get out the power push mower only to find that the critters have EATEN most of the cable you pull to start the mower. So off to the hardware store to buy some rope and he manages to rig it to start the mower. So with 2/3 of the day gone, he is finally mowing the grass!!

Second Story: I'm in the dentist chair getting my teeth cleaned when the dentist pops in to ask t the name of the guy a friend is marrying this weekend. She says she has called DB and left her a message not realizing I was coming in today and could probably tell her. I tell her that DB is out of town but I am able to give her the name. Later on, still in the chair, I get a text message. I assume it's from my daughter but turns out it is from DB asking me the guy's name because some has asked her and she can't get to her invitation because she's out of town. (Gotta love technology) I laugh and text her back, telling her I know who is asking because I'm in her now!! Then I tell the dentist and we all get a big laugh. What are the chances of that happening??? :-)

Great Horned Owl

2009-05-11T13:12:00.001-07:00

This morning when I went to the church for Sewing Day, I learned that a Great Horned Owl was on the church grounds. A lady out for her morning walk spotted him and called our pastor. They corralled it so it wouldn't get into the street and get run over. Poor thing couldn't fly either because it was too young or had been hurt. The police came with a cage to hold the owl until the Game Warden could come get it. Very beautiful bird. We were fortunate to be able to see it up close and personal!

Solitaire

2009-05-09T16:08:00.000-07:00

Kinda sad that the most interesting thing I have to post is that I FINALLY have the high score on Solitaire! I get hooked on a game and it become habit forming. The one thing I don't like about Solitaire is that it is timed and I can't minimize it while I do other stuff. *sigh* Anyway I haven't come close to setting the high score. Ben did it twice....TWICE....the other day. But today I'm Top Dog!! Probably not for long but I'll enjoy it while it lasts!!

How Purple Martins Spend a Rainy Day

2009-04-27T11:50:00.000-07:00

Peeps

2009-04-25T16:43:00.000-07:00

I blew my daughter away this weekend! We had our annual ladies' retreat and I was explaining how the Lord led me to this year's speaker. I said "I realized I knew people (friends and family) that might have some speaker suggestions, so I emailed my peeps for suggestions." Well! I just wish you could have seen her face!!! Priceless!

Now I have to add a caveat and tell you that I just recently learned what "peeps" meant even though I know the term's been around for a while. A couple of weeks ago I asked someone what it meant and learned that it meant "people"! So since I am all for expanding my vocabulary, I now have peeps!!!! :-)

Leaning new lingo: educational
Seeing my daughter's face when I use new lingo (in public, no less!): Priceless!!

More India Pics Online

2009-04-09T15:40:00.000-07:00

Our tour group said we would share our pics. These are ones that I posted for them. Of course, what I think is interesting or unusual and what they think may be entirely different things! :-) So, anyway, if you're a glutton for punishment or have nothing else better to do, here's a link to about another 100 shots. Some are the same as the others I uploaded but some are different.
http://picasaweb.google.com/benandlola/IndiaToShare

County Garage Sale

2009-04-04T15:37:00.000-07:00

Today was Bosque County's Garage Sale. Heart Cottage Bed and Breakfast does a big garage sale and last year and this year I was the hostess showing people Heart Cottage and spreading the word about the B&B. The kids and I lived there for 3 weeks when we moved to Clifton before our rent house was ready. I always have a good time telling people about Heart Cottage and of course, Vivian always has snacks and then serves a free lunch (with donations for our local animal shelter). Today was great. AND I sold $30 worth of stuff! :-)

India Pictures Online

2009-04-03T14:06:00.000-07:00

I looked at the 2,447 pictures we took. Chose some representative shots. Still had too many. Was able to get the number down to a little over 100. Obviously, this is just a "taste" of what we saw but tese will give you an idea of India.
http://picasaweb.google.com/benandlola/India?feat=email#
If this doesn't show up as a "link" you can copy and paste it into your browser. If that doesn't work, leave me a comment or email me and I'll send you the link.

NOW I feel like I'm home

2009-04-03T14:01:00.000-07:00

Just took my first allergy pill in a month! *sigh* Gotta love Texas!!

Amazing Race Goes to India!

2009-03-31T11:41:00.000-07:00

How cool is this? I'm catching up on The Amazing Race and they go to India!!! They started in Jaipur at the Amber Fort where we went. (Trivia buffs should know that it is pronounced Amer Fort). One of their choices is to either bicycle through the town with a load of barrels or dress up and dance for 100 rupees ($2). No contest. You'd have to be CRAZY to navigate Indian traffic. Several commented on the driving and I laughed when one woman said the horns were driving her up the wall!

Highway Code of India

2009-03-29T12:39:00.000-07:00

Our Trip Leader was gracious enough to give us a copy of the Highway Code of India so we could understand what was going on with the traffic. I believe we personally experienced each one of these.

Article I: The assumption of immortality is required of all road users.

Article II: Indian traffic like Indian society is structured on a strict caste system. The following precedence must be accorded at all times. In descending order, give way to: cows, elephants, camels, buffalo, pigs, goats, dogs, heavy trucks, buses, official cars, pedal rickshaws, private cars, motorcycles, scooters, auto-rickshaws, handcarts and pedestrians.

Article III: All wheeled vehicles shall be driven in accordance with the maxim: to slow be to falter, to brake is to fail; to stop is defeat. This is the Indian drivers' mantra.

Article IV: Use of horn (also known as the sonic fender or the language of the road) Cars: Short blasts (urgent) indicate supremacy, i.e. in cleaning dogs, rickshaws and pedestrians from path. Long blasts (desperate) denote supplication, i.e. to oncoming trucks "I am going too fast to stop, so unless you slow down we shall both die" In extreme cases this may be accompanied by flashing of headlights (frantic). Single blast (casual) means: "I have seen someone out of India's 1 billion whom I recognize", "There is a bird in the road which at this speed could go through my windscreen", or "I have not blown my horn for several minutes."
Trucks and Buses: All horn signals have the same meaning. "I have an all-up weight of approximately 12.5 tons and have no intention of stopping, even if I could" This signal may be emphasized by the use of headlamps.

Article V: All maneuvers, use of horn and evasive action shall be left until the last possible moment.

Article VI: In the absence of seat belts (which there is) car occupants shall wear garlands of marigolds. These should be kept fastened at all times.

Article VII: Rights of way: Traffic entering a road from the left has priority. So has traffic from the right, and also traffic in the middle. Lane discipline: All Indian traffic at all times and irrespective of direction of travel shall occupy the centre of the road.

Article VIII: Traffic Management: It's a jungle out there. Apparent traffic islands in the middle of the crossroads have no traffic management function. Any other impression should be ignored.

Article IX: Overtaking is mandatory. Every moving vehicle is required to overtake every other moving vehicle, irrespective of whether it has just overtaken you. Overtaking should only be undertaken in suitable conditions, such as in the face of oncoming traffic, on blind bends at junctions and in the middle of villages/city centers. No more than two inches should be allowed between your vehicle and the one you are passing - one inch in the case of bicycles or pedestrians.

Article X: Nirvana may be obtained through the head-on crash. Note: OK, we didn't personally experience this one but it wasn't because our drivers weren't trying!)

Article XI: Reversing: What's this? Not many drivers in India like to use this gear. It's against their driver's mantra.

Article XII: The 10th incarnation of God was an articulated tanker.

Picture Count

2009-03-29T11:15:00.000-07:00

I have loaded the pictures on the computer. We took 2,447 pictures!!! I filled up three notebooks full of notes. We have our work cut out for us!!

Long Ride Home

2009-03-29T11:05:00.000-07:00

Yes, we ARE home!! We did about 3 hours sleep in the hotel bed from about 6-9 p.m. At 11 we left the hotel. Plane was on time so we left Mumbai about 2:40 a.m. So that meant we had "dinner" at 4 a.m. and breakfast at noon. Arrived in London after a 9 hour flight - London time 7:00 a.m. Then at 10:45 London time boarded the last leg home. Another 9 hour flight (icky plane food) and landed in DFW about 4:30 p.m. Dallas time. Got through customs easily enough and home in Clifton about 7:30 p.m. Clifton time. Body time it was 6:00 a.m. Sunday morning - just about 48 hours since we got up at 5:15 a.m. in Mumbai Friday. And to think we pay good money to be subject to torture like this!

Rides home were exciting. We had just settled on the plane in Mumbai when someone spotted a mosquito in the plane and the announcement was made that they were going to spray the airplane! Actually announced that the spray was not toxic to humans. Good thing since they had about 300 people squeezed in a tiny space. Did suggest covering nose and mouth and eyes if you wore contact lenses. You would think they could have done that BEFORE boarding. We just laughed - what else could you do.

After we settled on the plane to DFW, Kathy appeared and said she had "lost" her passport. She KNEW she had it when she boarded the plane so we knew it was somewhere. After everyone else had cleared the plane we searched again and the cabin attendant found it stuck in the lining of her bag.

As we were coming into DFW, the pilot announced it was chilly on the ground and 30-35 mph winds. We had a couple of roller coaster dips and I thought "Great! Fly halfway round the world to crash on our own doorstep!" I began praying that 1) the passport would be found and 2) that the wind would die down and the pilot would have the skill to land the plane safely. That was the SMOOTHEST landing we had the entire trip. Didn't even FEEL when we touched down. Is our God great, or what?? :-)

So good to be home where you can brush your teeth with water from the tap! The small things we take for granted!!

Headed Home

2009-03-27T04:47:00.000-07:00

We got a wakeup call this morning at 5:15 in order to catch our 8:30 flight to Mumbai. After our city tour we arrived at our hotel about 4:00 p.m. We leave tonight at 11:00 p.m., giving us 7 hours to re-pack for the flights home, hopefully catch a few winks, shower and get as fresh as we can for the trek home. Our flight from Mumbai leaves at 2:40 a.m. We have about a 4 hours layover at Heathrow and another long flight to DFW. If all goes well we should be at DFW about 5:00 Sat. night and be at home in Clifton by 9:00 (hopefully) after getting luggage, through customs, etc. etc. (Oh yes, I have to mention that today we stopped at McDonalds for lunch. French Fries and Chocolate Shakes! Yum!!!) Not looking forward to airplane food. I figure by the time we get home we will have not slept in a bed for about 48 hours. *groan* That's the price you pay for travel! :-) Ben finally had to put in a new chip in the camera so he has taken over 2000 pictures!! Will post when we are home.

Mumbai

2009-03-27T04:29:00.000-07:00

Well, we finished at Cochin with a sunset cruise around the harbor and got pictures of the sun setting behind the Chinese fishing boats which seems to be "the picture" for Cochin advertisements. We flew to Mumbai this morning and OAT arranged a city tour for us of Mumbai. We saw the Victoria Terminus Railway Station and the Taj Mahal Hotel that was hit by terrorists in November. The Taj already has a monument for the people who were killed. At a result of those attacks, all hotels now have tight security, which is a good thing. Mumbai is and is not what I expected. I did expect a big city (33,000,000 people) and I did expect slums (per the movie Slumdog Millionaire) What I didn't expect is that Mumbai is more of a European city architecturally wise. They do have the small little shops jammed together but they also have larger drab concrete apartments like we saw in China with the laundry hanging out the windows. The buildings have a more European feel. Driving in the city is just as "adventurous" as the country - not as exciting as in watching semi's head right toward you but as in a very confusing street design. Driving in India is not for the faint of heart. RIDING in India is not for the faint of heart! :-) We did see the slums that looked just like in the movie. I can attest to the fact that the movie was accurate as far as the slums although forturnately we only saw them from a distance but they cover huge areas of land - some are two story and all crowded together. All in all I guess we have seen three different aspects of India. North, South and Mumbai.

Eating off a banana leaf

2009-03-25T08:59:00.000-07:00

Have to quickly post this! The houseboat crew got some banana leaves and fixed us a typical South Indian meal. We must have had 20 different curries on the banana leaf. Guide explained what each was. Thankfully, South Indian food is not as spicy as North Indian food. We even had French Fries today for lunch!!! We are doing much better with the food and digestive tract. Only need to make it a few more days! Continue to pray for us! :-) Got some cool shots of the banana leaf feast. Fortunately, you don't have to eat the banana leaf!!!

Coming Home

2009-03-25T08:57:00.000-07:00

We fly to Mumbai Friday morning. OAT has scheduled us a half-day tour of Mumbai. We will probably get to the airport around midnight Friday for our 2;40 a.m. flight Sat. morning to arrive home at DFW around 5:00 Sat. afternoon (another 24 hour day on the road) We are not looking forward to the two long flights but since "Beam me up, Scotty" doesn't work yet - that's our only option. Looking forward to getting home!!!

Kerala and Cochin - Houseboat

2009-03-25T08:48:00.000-07:00

WOW!!! What a difference. So glad we came to South India. Totally different India. Kinda like seeing US for first time and going from New York City to Florida! The houseboat experience was awesome. Accommodations were kinda like a cruise ship. Tiny but we didn't spent any time in the room except sleeping. They turned the AC on during siesta and at night. We had six attendants (two chefs). It was great!! We cruised and stopped and walked in the villages and then cruised again. We had to stop at 6:00 p.m. because of the fisherman. Didn't want to get caught in the nets. Several of the places we stopped rarely saw strangers (white people) It was so neat. We would smile and they would smile back! Waved to everyone on the shore. People bathed in the backwater, brushed teeth, washed clothes (i.e. beat them against a rock) In South India, the men wear long sarong skirts and fold them up and tuck them in to be cool. That's kinda different. Saw a lot of neat things - have a bunch of pictures of course. OH!!! The coolest thing was the duck farmers. That's right, duck farmers. We were in the boat - looked out and saw thousands of ducks swimming across the water!! They get eggs from them to sell. We saw several duck farmers and I was enthralled every time!! Sooo cute!!
We are in Cochin now - just another big city. Driving is just as scary but not so many horns!! Tomorrow night is a harbor cruise and home hosted dinner with a Syrian Christian family.

Remember we are out of touch for a while

2009-03-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

We fly tomorrow to Cochin, get on a houseboat for 3 nights and then go to a hotel in Cochin so I won't be able to post for several days. But when I DO post, it'll be a doozy!!! :-)

Today

2009-03-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

We learned about Buddhaism (sp) today. Very interesting. Of course, I changed shorts right before we left and forgot my notebook :-( so I had to try to remember everything. Out of our hotel window this morning I saw four students studying at 7:00 before they went to school. They were on their roof reading, writing. What a concept! Had a Yoga class this morning. Very interesting, very easy, mostly breathing. After breakfast we went to the museum and place where Buddha preached his first sermon. Our guide while in Varanasi was so good. He was understandable, spoke slowly and repeated what he said so we could remember. Don't know if I mentioned this or not but the hawkers hit you up everywhere - as you get off the bus, when you get on the bus. The Trip Leader shows us their wares on the bus so he can tell us the "real price" Then we had a plane ride. The pilot said one hour but it was 1 1/2 hours. Then we landed on the longest runway in the world and taxied for 20 minutes (no joke) Then a circuitous route to the airport - got the luggage and got to the hotel for a few hours. Some of our group will leave tonight to go home and eight of us go on to Kerala/Cochin in South India. We have a 3:45 a.m. wake up call in the morning. They will have a light breakfast of toast and coffee/tea and we leave for the airport at 4:30 for our 6:30 flight. We actually have two legs - one leg to Bangalore and then on to Cochin and the houseboat!!!! Cannot wait. Ben is doing much better.

Strolling Through India

2009-03-20T05:29:00.000-07:00

Yep, just took a stroll through Varanasai.....by myself.....well, it was going to be myself until I saw another woman from our group going the same way. I walked about 1/2 mile maybe down to the mall where there was a Pizza Hut and got the 4 of us some pizza. Yum!!!

Ganges Morning Ceremony

2009-03-20T05:21:00.000-07:00

We got a wake-up call at 4:45 this morning and left at 5:15. This after getting up the last two mornings very early in the morning. Other days it was to escape the heat of the day for which we were thankful!! But this morning it was so we could be on the Ganges for the sunrise ceremony. People come to the Ganges to bathe both physically and as a religious act. They also wash clothes in the Ganges using clay as soap (?) but the clay absorbs the dirt. There are people Bhobi (maybe) that are hired by people to wash their clothes. They dip them in the water and slap them against the rocks. I got good pictures. Also got some good pictures of the sunrise as well. Also other pictures of various ceremonies an people. Very interesting. And again this goes on every morning. Not sure what happens during the monsoon when the river rises about 50 feet!

Ganges Evening Ceremony

2009-03-20T05:06:00.000-07:00

Last night we got on a rickety boat in the Ganges River. (ow to be precise it is not the Ganges River. The river is the Ganga River. To show respect or honor, Indians add "gig" pronounced "gee" to the end of a word. For example Ghandi would be Ghandigig (Ghandi-gee) When the British came, they said Ganges rather than Ganga-gee. So now you have your Indian trivia for the day.) We saw the cremation places (no pictures allowed out of respect for the deceased) They cremate 300-400 bodies a day. It is important to be cremated here (I'll explain in person - too long for a post) so they cremate 24 hours a day - only place that does that. It was a very moving time to see how it is done. There was a small boy who was there to probably cremate his father. Then we moved back down river for the ceremony for thanking the Ganges for the day. This is a very precisely done ceremony and it is done every night. It concerns singing, blowing the cong, ringing bells and using incense and smoke and then lights. Very beautiful ceremony. There are two places on the river doing the same thing at basically the same thing but of course not together. Everyone has bells to ring. At one point I called it a cacaphony of sound (which is mild to say the least) The guide was excellent at explaining everything going on. There were about 100,000 people on the banks and in boats. I have no idea how many boats but one could have just walked from boat to boat to boat. Before the ceremony was over our boat began to make its way to shore so we could leave before the other 99,999, 985 people! :-)

O-H M-Y G-O-S-H

2009-03-20T04:55:00.000-07:00

You may remember my post on the first rickshaw ride we had - I believe it was in Dehli but who knows. Well, that was NOTHING compared to last night. The bus could only take us so far and then we took a rickshaw ride to the Ganges River for the evening ceremonies (see other post). The roads are too narrow (and crowded) for the bus. Our rickshaw driver was about 50 - maybe 5' 1" and maybe 110 pounds but very wiry and strong (to pull both of us) :-) Oh, the horns and the traffic. The round-abouts were the most fun with vehicles of all kinds roaring in from all different directions trying to be somewhere else all at the same time. I really don't see how accidents keep from happening. I LOVED it!! Such an adventure. Saw a bull inside a store - a very stylish store at that - asleep on the floor (it was still there when we returned later that evening). I am convinced all the cows and probably most of the people are deaf from the horns and that the horn is the first thing that wear out on any vehicle in India. And horns are like phone rings - all different. When we returned after the ceremony the rickshaw riders found us - they waited for us and recognized us. The trip leader said "not to worry. Your driver will find you" Well, there were ONLY 100,000 people at the ceremony - how hard could it be to find two Americans!! Of course, we met at a prearranged place but our driver did indeed recognize us and did speak English very well. As we were returning to the bus, the narrow escapes just kept on coming. One time I told Ben "I think I'll close my eyes" The driver looked back and said "no problem" :-) Then another time a motorcycle came roaring in from our left, a tuk-tuk was headed straight for us on the right and I told Ben "I feel like lunchmeat!" What a ride!!! The driver asked what hotel we were staying in and we said the Raddison and he commented that he lived near the Raddison (I think he was drumming up business for the next day) Anyway Ben said to me "Is he taking us to the hotel or the bus" The driver looked back and said "Bus two minutes away!" It was about 8:00 and dark by this time and we suddenly left the lights and I realized to my dismay that our rickshaw had no lights! No one could see us coming! ARGHHH! But then we were at the bus. I didn't literally kiss the ground but spiritually I think I did! Actually this was the highlight of the trip. So exciting!! Only sideswiped a couple of cows on the way not to mention pedestrians!

Airplane Ride

2009-03-20T04:52:00.000-07:00

Our first in-country plane ride went just fine. It was running late but did not cause any problems. Security is very tight for which we are always grateful. I have learned now that to go through security I will take everything out of my pockets and not have to stand there and empty them one at a time. We cannot take any liquids or pastes in the luggage so it takes a different kind of packing. Of course now I'm not only carrying my stuff but some of Kathy's as well! :-) Tomorrow we fly to Delhi and after the next day to Mumbai and Cochin.

What you get when you assume

2009-03-20T04:49:00.001-07:00

When the doctor came to see Ben the first time we "assumed" he gave him an antiobiotic. It turns out he did not which is why he never got any better. We called a doctor again today because he was still not feeling good and this doctor said taking the Cipro we had with us should take care of the problem. Ben was not taking the Cipro because 1) I didn't know fever and chills indicated gastro problems and 2) because we thought the doctor had given him an antiobiotic. *sigh* So, now that he is on Cipro, he should get better. We'll pray to that end.

Ben still tired

2009-03-18T06:32:00.000-07:00

He taking antibiotics and trudging onward. He is just really tired. Please keep praying. We reach the houseboat in 3 days and that should be restful.

Random Ramblings

2009-03-18T06:22:00.001-07:00

OK, I looked back over my notes which look very interesting because trying to write on a very bumpy bus is NOT easy. I only hope I can interpret all that when I get home! Anyway, I jotted down several things in no particular order and they will be all jammed up together. So here goes. I am now on notebook #3. In the streets we see pigs, cows and water buffalo. They just wander around everywhere. I think I mentioned the dung is collected and used for fuel. Actually though I have not seen any "minefields" in the streets, which is rather surprising. We passed a man or woman walking down the side of the road with a load of hay on their head at least 10' by 10'. It was enormous!! Oh, we went to a castle that people can ride elephants to (I may have mentioned this also) and I had my picture taken with an elephant! Too cool! We saw a man who makes pottery. He had a big round spinning wheel. It sat on a little point of wood in the middle as the balance and spinner. He had a stick that he put on the wheel and spun the wheel around and around and around. Then he put a blob of clay on the wheel. He proceeded then to make SIX different pieces of pottery from that one blob of clay and never had to spin the wheel again. I bet it spun for 10 minutes or more! I was amazed. We have ridden in many different types of transportation. The other day it was a Jugad - kinda like a pick up - Of course there were only 13 of us in it rather than 35! :-) The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan in memory of his wife who died after 19 years of marriage. During that time she bore him 14 children and had 3 miscarriages. Story goes that a woman asked her husband if he would built her a Taj Mahal (Crown Palace) and he said "Sure. If you will bear me 14 children in 19 years!" LOL Ok, so much for my random ramblings.

Toilets, Bath, Urinals

2009-03-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

At the train station, our bus stopped and I looked out the window and saw this sign on a building so I grabbed the camera. THEN I noticed that the urinals were next to the building OUTSIDE and there was a man in there!! I really thought about taking a picture but decided against it. Looking out the window and even walking down a street, you see men "occupied" just about everywhere and I'm putting sure I saw one sqatting about 20 feet from the road. I mean, they don't even find a tree for goodness sake!!

No Internet on Houseboat

2009-03-18T06:18:00.001-07:00

Before I forget I want to tell you we will be on a houseboat for three days - March 22 until 24 and I may not be able to post until the 25th so don't get worried when there are no posts for awhile! :-) We'll be floating down the river!!

Separated From Group! Alone in India!!

2009-03-18T06:04:00.000-07:00

Well....kinda. This morning we took a two hour train ride. Not the way most of the locals do - crammed into a car, sitting on the luggage racks but more or less in first class! The Trip Leader told us the car (C2) and began handing out seats which were done alphabetically. He gave Ben his number but not me. Hello! Then he said he and I would be in Car C1. Okay. Not a big deal. Train came and I told Shailes I would stay with him. He said "Oh no, you can go on and get on C1" and he then went to help the others get situated. Obviously C1 and C2 were connected so I walked to the front of the C1 car, stood in line, got on, found our seats and sat down. The train starts moving and no sign of Shailes but I'm not worried. I know where the others are. The thing that DOES cross my mind is that if Shailes does not appear, how do I know where to get OFF! Not to worry. Shailes came back and said there was actually a seat next to Ben and I could go there. So I did. Very nice smooth train ride. Quite a change from the bumpy roads!

Tomorrow

2009-03-17T06:53:00.000-07:00

We get the chance to experience Indian transportation by taking a 2 hour train ride. It won't be the local experience, thankfully, we will have reserved seating in an air conditioned car. Then we have a 5 hours bus ride broken up by a stop for lunch. They are careful to tell you it will be on bumpy roads. Truthfully I think all India has is bumpy roads - some are just more bumpy than others. This is the thing I love about OAT. You just don't visit the country, you experience the country!! When you see a country with OAT you SEE a country.