At 5:50 Thursday morning, mom, Anna and I will board a plane for our annual girls trip! This year's destination is Newell, WV. Why Newell you ask- it's the home of the Fiestaware Factory! We fly into Pittsburg, PA and then will drive about 30 miles across the WV boarder. I'm pretty pumped!
Our intentary looks something like this:
Thursday: fly in, have lunch downtown, take a Ducky tour of the city, head over to West Virginia
Friday: Fiesta factory tour, lunch in Newell, then over to Falling Water (a famous home built by Frank Lloyd Wright)
Saturday: fly home
It'll be a quick, but fun trip and we WILL make time to see the World Largest Teapot in Chester, WV too!
Monday, July 28, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
my momma the missionary
As you know, my mom and little brother are on a mission trip. Several of you have asked how they are doing- well, they are GREAT! Mom has been able to send email updates every morning, so I am including those for you.
Keep on praying, and hopefully mom won't come home with a few of the children, but it's looking that way....
Monday Morning
Hello, again-
Yesterday afternoon with the kids was really something else. There were 15 little ones, aged 3-5. When they came across the field, it was a sight. One little girl zeroed in on me, came running and held her arms up for me to pick her up. That was the end of that. We spent all afternoon together. She wouldn't let me put her down. Her name is Dina (Dee-na) and she's 4 years old. We looked at books, ran around, played with stickers and hand prints, whatever she wanted to do. What a precious angel. At one point she pointed to a rocking chair and we went to sit. We rocked and she put her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes. I rubbed her hair and she took my hand and held it against her face.... Needless to say, I was MUSH!!!!! The rest of the kids played and had a big time. We had parachutes, beach balls, jump ropes. They were like little ants all over the place. It was interesting how some of them just hoarded stuff. One little boy was walking around with a stack of probably 8-10 frisbees and wouldn't let anyone have one. Another little girl, Kimberly (a tragic story I'll share later) was a force to be reconded with. You don't cross Kimberly....
We took them to eat in town. They had the choice of pizza or chicken... "pizza or pollo?" The places are side by side; they were divided half and half. Dina wanted pizza, so guess where I went?
We brought them back to the compound and they happily skipped off on their merry way. We had dinner. The food is very good. After dinner we cleaned up after the chaos of the afternoon and then had some debriefing time.
It was VERY hot in the evening. The nice breeze we had during the day died down and it was miserable. We came in and showered and cooled off some. Funny, the cold shower wasn't so bad that time! We went to bed early. We were all so tired. Had a good night's sleep and are ready for another day. This morning we go to a little preschool in the Barrio (spelling?). It's only 3 miles away but will take 30 minutes to get there. Does that tell you anything?
Love to all-
D'L
Tuesday morning
Good morning, all-
All is still well, but you cannot believe how hot! As long as there is a breeze, it's bearable, but when the breeze dies- look out! The gnats and bugs begin to have their party!
Yesterday's visit to the Little Garden Preschool was very touching. The lady who runs it is named Miss Ramona. She started this preschool when her son died in the revolution. He is buried beside her house (if you can call it that...). It is way out from the city- very rural. We had the biggest adventure getting to her place. We rode in one of those big trucks that have the bars over the top in the back that they put tarps over. Think Romancing the Stone or Indiana Jones. It was really something! We were on roads that I'm not sure were roads.... The driveway (ha!) up to her little place was all but straight up and it took a couple of tries to get up there. When we got out the children (40 of them aged 3-5) came running to greet us. They held their hands out in front of them palms together. We were to put our hands over theirs. That's how they shake hands.
The kids went into their classroom (a cinder block room) and sat down. They were very respectful and obedient. Miss Ramona had them stand and sing us a couple of songs. They were so sweet. William and I led a lesson on the story of Jesus telling the disciples to let the little children come to me. I told the story and the translator then repeated it line by line. All the while, William was using the flannelboard story we made to illustrate it. Then we role played the story. After storytime, we broke into smaller groups to do different activities. We had bubbles, a parachute and beach ball, handprinting, coloring, stringing beads to make necklaces. The kids seemed to have fun.
We then provided cookies and milk. They made a little handmade gift presentation to us.
What struck me about this was a couple of things.... Miss Ramona has dedicated her life to making a difference in a place where she could have seen hopelessness and just given up. But she is doing what she can with nothing to make a difference. She is teaching these children academic skills and giving them the gift of spiritual nuturing. Where would those kids have been without that? She is also doing this on her own. Her little school is recognized by the govenment (Ministry of Education), but is in no way funded. She has nothing. The Living Water organization came out in 2005, I think it was, and drilled her a well. She does all this very humbly and with a total dedication. It has given me a whole new outlook on my job. Where do I get off complaining about not getting a raise when she gets nothing? How about fussing about buying supplies for my class when virtually everything is provided for me? I will go back in a week or so with a new perspective. I am trying to think of a way that maybe my class could partner with hers.....
In the afternoon we took some of the kids to the pool at the university here for swim lessons. It was really fun to watch.
This morning we go to a special needs facility in Leon and in the afternoon we will tour the old cathedral.
All is well- hope it is there, too. Hold down the fort.
Love to all,
D'L
PS-Thanks to those who have responded. It's good to get feedback from home.
Wednesday Morning
Friends and family-
Have I mentioned that's it's hot? I know from George's emails that it is very hot there, too, but my goodness!!! I have no idea what the highs are here during the day, but it must be 120 heat index. I have not a dry thread on most of the time. At least it cools off at night and we are able to sleep comfortably.
Yesterday morning we went to a public school in Leon. It was not far from the compound. It was VERY interesting to visit and learn about another country's education system. The school has around 800 students. The principal greeted us at a locked gate. That keeps people off the street from coming on the school grounds. That was kinda weird right off the bat. I guess we aren't the only ones dealing with school security issues. The principal was extremely nice and very proud of her school. She was very professional and seemed very young. We went into her office (It was really just a room with a desk...) and she told us a little about the school. We hadn't been there 5 minutes and already we were in the principal's office!
Not everyone gets the opportunity of education. If the parents cannot provide uniforms or supplies, they can't attend. That is tragic!
The school itself was nice. There were maybe 25 classrooms all opening up to a center courtyard which was a basketball court (concrete). Every class has a door with bars and windows that stay open, of course, for ventilation. The classrooms were small and PACKED with kids. Every class has at least 40 kids. Can you imagine? PE classes were going on right outside each class while the teachers are trying to teach. Talk about distractions! We had recess with our kids (level 3 preschool, which is like our kindergarten). We played bubbles with them and used the frisbees we had brought. When our time was over, other kids came out wanting frisbees. We were almost mauled trying to get back to our class. The kids all followed us and hung on the door and windows. It was very noisy and Janet was trying to teach a lesson on the story of creation. It was madness until the principal came a shooed the kids away. We shared snack with the kids and then they sang us a song. We were drenched in sweat by the time we left!
Lunch was good. The meals have all been very good. There has been rice at every meal except yesterday morning when we had black beans with scrambled eggs. They were delicious... just different to have them at breakfast.
In the afternoon we toured the medical clinic here on the compound. It has only been open for 2 months and specializes in women's health. They have one of the two ultrasound machines in the country. They see patients three days a week. All the supplies and equipment have been donated by medical mission teams who have come. here.
After that we went into Leon to see the large cathedral. It was built in 1757, I think. We paid to go to the top where the view was spectacular. We paid to go underground where it was even hotter! We thought we would see the tunnels used long ago, but they have been sealed off. It costs each of us $2 for the rooftop tour and $2 to go underground. Our interpreter was concerned that that was too much money. Funny about perspective, huh?
There is an active volcano not far from where we are staying. It spews smoke most of the day. You can tell when it is active because the air smells funny. That's pretty cool.
The ministry here that ElAyudante is doing is remarkable. It is two fold really. They, of course, provide care for the children at the center, but they are an unbelievable presence in this area. They provide full-time employment for 70 people. There are about 50 part-time employees. Each employee is paid a fair wage. The average income in Leon is $2 per day. The factory workers make $4 per day. Our interpreters make $18 per day. El Ayudante takes good care of the employees and their families.
A new little girl was dropped off on Monday. Her name is Daniella and her story is tragic. She is 8 years old and looks like she is 5 or 6. She and her brother were taken from their abusive, alcoholic mother that morning and brought to the center by the Ministry of Family or Health or something. Daniella will stay here, but the brother is too old. He is 11 and they cannot take kids into the program over age 10. They can stay past that age once they are a part of the program, but can't come in that old. Bill, the director, said it was heart-breaking to see them when they took the little boy away. There they had been taken from their mother that morning and separated from each other that afternoon. Daniella was checked over yesterday and she is terribly malnurished and anemic. She has injuries in her mouth from blunt force trauma. I can't get her or her brother off my mind.
Bill Cox, the director here, is an amazing person. He has two daughters and a wife who live here in a house on the property. He has a 24 year old son who lives in Georgia who is an engineer with a TN Tech diploma! Small world, huh? He is a quiet, humble, unassuming man who is following God's call. He loves these kids and is passionate about the program here. He has the faith the size of that volcano. He is a man of great vision. We have been blessed by getting to know him.
Enough said. I need to go finish getting ready for our day. Today we go to another school in town and then after lunch we are going to the beach followed by dinner out at a local restaurant.
Keep praying, guys!
Love to all,
D'L
Keep on praying, and hopefully mom won't come home with a few of the children, but it's looking that way....
Monday Morning
Hello, again-
Yesterday afternoon with the kids was really something else. There were 15 little ones, aged 3-5. When they came across the field, it was a sight. One little girl zeroed in on me, came running and held her arms up for me to pick her up. That was the end of that. We spent all afternoon together. She wouldn't let me put her down. Her name is Dina (Dee-na) and she's 4 years old. We looked at books, ran around, played with stickers and hand prints, whatever she wanted to do. What a precious angel. At one point she pointed to a rocking chair and we went to sit. We rocked and she put her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes. I rubbed her hair and she took my hand and held it against her face.... Needless to say, I was MUSH!!!!! The rest of the kids played and had a big time. We had parachutes, beach balls, jump ropes. They were like little ants all over the place. It was interesting how some of them just hoarded stuff. One little boy was walking around with a stack of probably 8-10 frisbees and wouldn't let anyone have one. Another little girl, Kimberly (a tragic story I'll share later) was a force to be reconded with. You don't cross Kimberly....
We took them to eat in town. They had the choice of pizza or chicken... "pizza or pollo?" The places are side by side; they were divided half and half. Dina wanted pizza, so guess where I went?
We brought them back to the compound and they happily skipped off on their merry way. We had dinner. The food is very good. After dinner we cleaned up after the chaos of the afternoon and then had some debriefing time.
It was VERY hot in the evening. The nice breeze we had during the day died down and it was miserable. We came in and showered and cooled off some. Funny, the cold shower wasn't so bad that time! We went to bed early. We were all so tired. Had a good night's sleep and are ready for another day. This morning we go to a little preschool in the Barrio (spelling?). It's only 3 miles away but will take 30 minutes to get there. Does that tell you anything?
Love to all-
D'L
Tuesday morning
Good morning, all-
All is still well, but you cannot believe how hot! As long as there is a breeze, it's bearable, but when the breeze dies- look out! The gnats and bugs begin to have their party!
Yesterday's visit to the Little Garden Preschool was very touching. The lady who runs it is named Miss Ramona. She started this preschool when her son died in the revolution. He is buried beside her house (if you can call it that...). It is way out from the city- very rural. We had the biggest adventure getting to her place. We rode in one of those big trucks that have the bars over the top in the back that they put tarps over. Think Romancing the Stone or Indiana Jones. It was really something! We were on roads that I'm not sure were roads.... The driveway (ha!) up to her little place was all but straight up and it took a couple of tries to get up there. When we got out the children (40 of them aged 3-5) came running to greet us. They held their hands out in front of them palms together. We were to put our hands over theirs. That's how they shake hands.
The kids went into their classroom (a cinder block room) and sat down. They were very respectful and obedient. Miss Ramona had them stand and sing us a couple of songs. They were so sweet. William and I led a lesson on the story of Jesus telling the disciples to let the little children come to me. I told the story and the translator then repeated it line by line. All the while, William was using the flannelboard story we made to illustrate it. Then we role played the story. After storytime, we broke into smaller groups to do different activities. We had bubbles, a parachute and beach ball, handprinting, coloring, stringing beads to make necklaces. The kids seemed to have fun.
We then provided cookies and milk. They made a little handmade gift presentation to us.
What struck me about this was a couple of things.... Miss Ramona has dedicated her life to making a difference in a place where she could have seen hopelessness and just given up. But she is doing what she can with nothing to make a difference. She is teaching these children academic skills and giving them the gift of spiritual nuturing. Where would those kids have been without that? She is also doing this on her own. Her little school is recognized by the govenment (Ministry of Education), but is in no way funded. She has nothing. The Living Water organization came out in 2005, I think it was, and drilled her a well. She does all this very humbly and with a total dedication. It has given me a whole new outlook on my job. Where do I get off complaining about not getting a raise when she gets nothing? How about fussing about buying supplies for my class when virtually everything is provided for me? I will go back in a week or so with a new perspective. I am trying to think of a way that maybe my class could partner with hers.....
In the afternoon we took some of the kids to the pool at the university here for swim lessons. It was really fun to watch.
This morning we go to a special needs facility in Leon and in the afternoon we will tour the old cathedral.
All is well- hope it is there, too. Hold down the fort.
Love to all,
D'L
PS-Thanks to those who have responded. It's good to get feedback from home.
Wednesday Morning
Friends and family-
Have I mentioned that's it's hot? I know from George's emails that it is very hot there, too, but my goodness!!! I have no idea what the highs are here during the day, but it must be 120 heat index. I have not a dry thread on most of the time. At least it cools off at night and we are able to sleep comfortably.
Yesterday morning we went to a public school in Leon. It was not far from the compound. It was VERY interesting to visit and learn about another country's education system. The school has around 800 students. The principal greeted us at a locked gate. That keeps people off the street from coming on the school grounds. That was kinda weird right off the bat. I guess we aren't the only ones dealing with school security issues. The principal was extremely nice and very proud of her school. She was very professional and seemed very young. We went into her office (It was really just a room with a desk...) and she told us a little about the school. We hadn't been there 5 minutes and already we were in the principal's office!
Not everyone gets the opportunity of education. If the parents cannot provide uniforms or supplies, they can't attend. That is tragic!
The school itself was nice. There were maybe 25 classrooms all opening up to a center courtyard which was a basketball court (concrete). Every class has a door with bars and windows that stay open, of course, for ventilation. The classrooms were small and PACKED with kids. Every class has at least 40 kids. Can you imagine? PE classes were going on right outside each class while the teachers are trying to teach. Talk about distractions! We had recess with our kids (level 3 preschool, which is like our kindergarten). We played bubbles with them and used the frisbees we had brought. When our time was over, other kids came out wanting frisbees. We were almost mauled trying to get back to our class. The kids all followed us and hung on the door and windows. It was very noisy and Janet was trying to teach a lesson on the story of creation. It was madness until the principal came a shooed the kids away. We shared snack with the kids and then they sang us a song. We were drenched in sweat by the time we left!
Lunch was good. The meals have all been very good. There has been rice at every meal except yesterday morning when we had black beans with scrambled eggs. They were delicious... just different to have them at breakfast.
In the afternoon we toured the medical clinic here on the compound. It has only been open for 2 months and specializes in women's health. They have one of the two ultrasound machines in the country. They see patients three days a week. All the supplies and equipment have been donated by medical mission teams who have come. here.
After that we went into Leon to see the large cathedral. It was built in 1757, I think. We paid to go to the top where the view was spectacular. We paid to go underground where it was even hotter! We thought we would see the tunnels used long ago, but they have been sealed off. It costs each of us $2 for the rooftop tour and $2 to go underground. Our interpreter was concerned that that was too much money. Funny about perspective, huh?
There is an active volcano not far from where we are staying. It spews smoke most of the day. You can tell when it is active because the air smells funny. That's pretty cool.
The ministry here that ElAyudante is doing is remarkable. It is two fold really. They, of course, provide care for the children at the center, but they are an unbelievable presence in this area. They provide full-time employment for 70 people. There are about 50 part-time employees. Each employee is paid a fair wage. The average income in Leon is $2 per day. The factory workers make $4 per day. Our interpreters make $18 per day. El Ayudante takes good care of the employees and their families.
A new little girl was dropped off on Monday. Her name is Daniella and her story is tragic. She is 8 years old and looks like she is 5 or 6. She and her brother were taken from their abusive, alcoholic mother that morning and brought to the center by the Ministry of Family or Health or something. Daniella will stay here, but the brother is too old. He is 11 and they cannot take kids into the program over age 10. They can stay past that age once they are a part of the program, but can't come in that old. Bill, the director, said it was heart-breaking to see them when they took the little boy away. There they had been taken from their mother that morning and separated from each other that afternoon. Daniella was checked over yesterday and she is terribly malnurished and anemic. She has injuries in her mouth from blunt force trauma. I can't get her or her brother off my mind.
Bill Cox, the director here, is an amazing person. He has two daughters and a wife who live here in a house on the property. He has a 24 year old son who lives in Georgia who is an engineer with a TN Tech diploma! Small world, huh? He is a quiet, humble, unassuming man who is following God's call. He loves these kids and is passionate about the program here. He has the faith the size of that volcano. He is a man of great vision. We have been blessed by getting to know him.
Enough said. I need to go finish getting ready for our day. Today we go to another school in town and then after lunch we are going to the beach followed by dinner out at a local restaurant.
Keep praying, guys!
Love to all,
D'L
Monday, July 21, 2008
work in progress
thanks to ryan my GIANT picture has been resized.
my blog will be under going a face lift thanks to the plastic surgen (aka graphic designer) ryan. so look back for updates soon.
it pays to have talented friends!
my blog will be under going a face lift thanks to the plastic surgen (aka graphic designer) ryan. so look back for updates soon.
it pays to have talented friends!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
prayer request
For all you prayers out there, and I'm pretty sure all my friends are (if not, we need to talk), I have something to add to your prayer list. My momma and little brother left today for a mission trip to Nicauraga. So pray for them and the about 20 other folks that are with them.
Hurry home, safely!
Hurry home, safely!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
fiesta update
The grand total was 55 pieces of fiesta! After I unpacked it all to sort it into piles for mom and anna, I decided I needed to go back and get a few more things, so the grand total is now 62 pieces, at least until I go back to Old Time again!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
bargain
Thanks to my friend, Hallie, I found the most incredible bargain. She told me Old Time Pottery had some Fiestaware. My mom, sister, and I have fiesta and we just love it. In fact we are flying up to Pittsburg in just a few weeks to tour the factory! So I went to Old Time yesterday morning on my way to work not expecting to find much. They have had some fiesta there before but only just a few pieces but oh, have mercy! There were rows and rows and rows of it, in good colors! I called mom and she and anna got their game together and I went back yesterday night. I got so much stuff, but how could I resist: plates normally $9.99, only $2.99- serving bowls normally $29.99, now $3.99- pitchers normally $19.99, now only $2.99! So I stocked up. I was on the phone with Anna and Mom for a good 45 minutes figuring out what we all wanted and needed. I took my basket FULL up to a register and the poor girl had to call for three more cashiers to help wrap all my stuff! It filled the back of my jeep! I am going to unpack it all after work and I'll give you a grand total of pieces....
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Beach Trip
I have a fan out there who is much anticipating the arrival of a new post about our family beach adventure.
We had a great time down in Perdido Key, FL for a week. It was a great time and ALL of us got to go. It was: Mom and Dad, William, Me and Nick, Robert and Emily, and Anna and Chase- the whole gang! We had an awesome place right on the beach. It was a townhouse and the best part was that the house owned the beach, so we had a private beach right out our back door.
All in all it was a relaxing trip, just laying out and reading (I finished 5 books in 5 days!), great food - I tried some seafood and think I now like Talipa (sp?) and crab legs, and fun times. We played a highly competitive game of Cranium, boys vs girls. No doubt who the winners were- the GIRLS! But it made for some good laughs, especially when William had to act out Batman and stood up and hummed the theme from Indiana Jones and held his arms out. Who knows how Chase guessed Batman. Mom really came through on our team, she couldn't hum for laughing but she pulled through on the spelling (we all know we didn't want Anna spelling!).
We hunted jellyfish all week. For some reason, there were lots of jellyfish out in the afternoon, so we would catch them in the nets and bury them. We had a little jellyfish grave yard, complete with headstones.
It was a great trip, but I am glad to be home in my own bed!
I'll post some pictures once I get them uploaded from my camera sometime later.
We had a great time down in Perdido Key, FL for a week. It was a great time and ALL of us got to go. It was: Mom and Dad, William, Me and Nick, Robert and Emily, and Anna and Chase- the whole gang! We had an awesome place right on the beach. It was a townhouse and the best part was that the house owned the beach, so we had a private beach right out our back door.
All in all it was a relaxing trip, just laying out and reading (I finished 5 books in 5 days!), great food - I tried some seafood and think I now like Talipa (sp?) and crab legs, and fun times. We played a highly competitive game of Cranium, boys vs girls. No doubt who the winners were- the GIRLS! But it made for some good laughs, especially when William had to act out Batman and stood up and hummed the theme from Indiana Jones and held his arms out. Who knows how Chase guessed Batman. Mom really came through on our team, she couldn't hum for laughing but she pulled through on the spelling (we all know we didn't want Anna spelling!).
We hunted jellyfish all week. For some reason, there were lots of jellyfish out in the afternoon, so we would catch them in the nets and bury them. We had a little jellyfish grave yard, complete with headstones.
It was a great trip, but I am glad to be home in my own bed!
I'll post some pictures once I get them uploaded from my camera sometime later.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Boston Part 2
Our second day in Boston, we decided to drive up to Salem and check out the "Witch City". We hopped in our car and headed off. We toured Salem, the witch dungeon, the witch monument, all that touristy stuff. We stopped in a little pet store in the shopping district where I got a sticker that says "Bark less, wag more" as soon as I find it, it will be going on my jeep. We asked the man running the store where to eat lunch; he reccommended this little local spot. It was fantastic. It in an old house and the food was FANTASTIC. The best clam chowder I had on the trip. Nick told our waitress "yes, mam'" at some point and she just looked at him and said, you must be from the south. Ha! After lunch we did a little shopping and then headed back to towards our hotel. On the way back I decided to take a little detour to a place called Marble Head. It is out on a 'neck' into the ocean and is the most wanted real estate in the upper coast region. Ok, no kiddin', these are the biggest houses I have ever seen! They were incredible! There is a place on the neck called Castle Rock. It is a tiny little gate between two huge houses. You just park on the street and walk through the little gate to this beatiful rock cliff overlook. I felt like we were standing in these peoples back yard. Here are a few pictures, although they don't do it justice!
So then we were really headed back to our hotel because we were going to the Red Sox game that night. Nick stopped in the lobby to check his email and I headed on up to the room. I got off the elevator and there is a luggage rack in the hallway with OUR luggage on it. The front desk guys come walking out of our room with our stuff. I said, um, that's my stuff and that's my room. Long story short, there was a mix up and they thought we had checked out. So, needless to say they gave us free meals from the resturant in the lobby the rest of our trips and made sure to do everything possible to make up happy. Good thing for them we are pretty good sports.
We cleaned up and head out to the ball game. And what an experience it was. The ball park is SO crowded. We never were sure where we were supposed to sit, so we just found seats and sat in them until someone came to sit there. It was a fun time but we were both ready to get out of the crowd, so we called it quits about the 6th inning and headed back to our hotel.
Thursday morning we ate our free breakfast in the hotel and headed out to see Plymouth Rock. It was kinda out of the way, but I wanted Nick to see it. Once in Plymouth we checked out the rock, don't be overly impressed, it's a rock. They are building this HUGE monument over it, kinda ridiculous if you ask me. We walked over and saw the Mayflower 2, the replica of the original boat and then headed back to the car to head to Rhode Island. We made it to Newport about lunch time and had lunch at a cute little outdoor place on the pier. Ok, so Newport is this pricey little town where all these rich folks summer. It was incredible. The lady at the visitor center told us we could walk to the start of the Cliff Walk. Seriously, it was like 4 miles. I was tired of walking before we even started the cliff walk, which is 3 1/2 miles. The cliff walks are fun, you are basically walking along the cliffs in the backyard of all these huge houses. The Vanderbilts have a house on the cliff and it looks like a mini Biltmore. One house had a wedding set up in the backyard, so pretty. It was a fun, but long walk. We finally made it to the end and then had a 4 mile walk BACK to our car- whew! We stopped for icecream and loaded in the car and took the scenic ocean drive through town and then headed on back to Boston and stopped and had pizza at Uno's, a Chicago pizza place. Here's some shots of the cliff walk-
We weren't sure what we wanted to do Friday, since I had to be at my conference about lunch and Nick's flight left at 3. So we just slept late and had another free breakfast before packing up and heading to the airport. I took the shuttle to my conference and Nick headed home.
My conference was good and pretty uneventful, until it was time to fly home. My direct flight was overbooked and they were offering a $400 voucher and well as a first class up grade if you would change planes, fly to New York, have a 2 1/2 hour layover, then arrive in Nashville about 9. I volunteered, I figured what did I have to loose, it would get me home about 4 hours later, but the voucher would almost pay for our girls trip tickets to Pittsburg. I had to RUN through the airport to get to the flight to NewYork, they were holding the plane for me. I relaxed in first class, even though it was only about a 45 minute flight. So once I got in NY, I had to get a ticket for my flight and went to the terminal to wait. We were scheduled to board about 7, well about 6 I decided to go grab something to eat. I get back about 6:30 and notice our flight has been delayed till 9:30! AGHHHHH. So I get my book out and start reading and talk on the phone to mom. All of a sudden I hear, last boarding call for flight whatever the number was to Nashville. I look up and my flight has boarded. I run over to the counter and give them my tickets and the lady tells me to hurry up and board. Hello, I was sitting there the whole time, how did I miss this? Apparently they moved our boarding BACK up to 7:45! Whatever, I was on board and ready to go. We taxi out to the runway and after about 30 minutes they come on and tell us we are waiting our turn to take off. We were plane #100 in line. Yes, 100..... as in there are 99 planes before us. AGHHHH! Ok, so finally we take off about 9:50. Whew, we got to Nashville about midnight I grabbed my bag, which had come on my original flight and headed home.
So then we were really headed back to our hotel because we were going to the Red Sox game that night. Nick stopped in the lobby to check his email and I headed on up to the room. I got off the elevator and there is a luggage rack in the hallway with OUR luggage on it. The front desk guys come walking out of our room with our stuff. I said, um, that's my stuff and that's my room. Long story short, there was a mix up and they thought we had checked out. So, needless to say they gave us free meals from the resturant in the lobby the rest of our trips and made sure to do everything possible to make up happy. Good thing for them we are pretty good sports.
We cleaned up and head out to the ball game. And what an experience it was. The ball park is SO crowded. We never were sure where we were supposed to sit, so we just found seats and sat in them until someone came to sit there. It was a fun time but we were both ready to get out of the crowd, so we called it quits about the 6th inning and headed back to our hotel.
Thursday morning we ate our free breakfast in the hotel and headed out to see Plymouth Rock. It was kinda out of the way, but I wanted Nick to see it. Once in Plymouth we checked out the rock, don't be overly impressed, it's a rock. They are building this HUGE monument over it, kinda ridiculous if you ask me. We walked over and saw the Mayflower 2, the replica of the original boat and then headed back to the car to head to Rhode Island. We made it to Newport about lunch time and had lunch at a cute little outdoor place on the pier. Ok, so Newport is this pricey little town where all these rich folks summer. It was incredible. The lady at the visitor center told us we could walk to the start of the Cliff Walk. Seriously, it was like 4 miles. I was tired of walking before we even started the cliff walk, which is 3 1/2 miles. The cliff walks are fun, you are basically walking along the cliffs in the backyard of all these huge houses. The Vanderbilts have a house on the cliff and it looks like a mini Biltmore. One house had a wedding set up in the backyard, so pretty. It was a fun, but long walk. We finally made it to the end and then had a 4 mile walk BACK to our car- whew! We stopped for icecream and loaded in the car and took the scenic ocean drive through town and then headed on back to Boston and stopped and had pizza at Uno's, a Chicago pizza place. Here's some shots of the cliff walk-
We weren't sure what we wanted to do Friday, since I had to be at my conference about lunch and Nick's flight left at 3. So we just slept late and had another free breakfast before packing up and heading to the airport. I took the shuttle to my conference and Nick headed home.
My conference was good and pretty uneventful, until it was time to fly home. My direct flight was overbooked and they were offering a $400 voucher and well as a first class up grade if you would change planes, fly to New York, have a 2 1/2 hour layover, then arrive in Nashville about 9. I volunteered, I figured what did I have to loose, it would get me home about 4 hours later, but the voucher would almost pay for our girls trip tickets to Pittsburg. I had to RUN through the airport to get to the flight to NewYork, they were holding the plane for me. I relaxed in first class, even though it was only about a 45 minute flight. So once I got in NY, I had to get a ticket for my flight and went to the terminal to wait. We were scheduled to board about 7, well about 6 I decided to go grab something to eat. I get back about 6:30 and notice our flight has been delayed till 9:30! AGHHHHH. So I get my book out and start reading and talk on the phone to mom. All of a sudden I hear, last boarding call for flight whatever the number was to Nashville. I look up and my flight has boarded. I run over to the counter and give them my tickets and the lady tells me to hurry up and board. Hello, I was sitting there the whole time, how did I miss this? Apparently they moved our boarding BACK up to 7:45! Whatever, I was on board and ready to go. We taxi out to the runway and after about 30 minutes they come on and tell us we are waiting our turn to take off. We were plane #100 in line. Yes, 100..... as in there are 99 planes before us. AGHHHH! Ok, so finally we take off about 9:50. Whew, we got to Nashville about midnight I grabbed my bag, which had come on my original flight and headed home.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
1095 days, 26280 hours, 1576800 minutes
That's how long we have been married! July 3, 2005 we promised to love each other forever. It's been a great three years. Loving Nick forever hasn't been too hard, it's the liking him forever that I sometimes struggle with- good thing that wasn't in our vows. We have grown so much and have learned so much about each other in the process. I can say the third year of marriage has been the best so far, I can only hope it keeps getting better.
Nick, you are the love of my life. You are both my husband and my best friend. And I thank God for you and the life we are blessed with.
Our Vows
I, Nick, take you, Mary Leigh, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God’s holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge thee my faith.
I, Mary Leigh, take you, Nick, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God’s holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge thee my faith.
Nick, you are the love of my life. You are both my husband and my best friend. And I thank God for you and the life we are blessed with.
Our Vows
I, Nick, take you, Mary Leigh, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God’s holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge thee my faith.
I, Mary Leigh, take you, Nick, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God’s holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge thee my faith.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Back from Boston
before we head to the beach this weekend I wanted to update my faithful two readers (MawMaw and Hallie) on the Boston adventure.
Since I was in Boston a full 7 days, I feel I can now make some general sterotypes and comments on the entire northern population. So here they are:
1. Turn signals are simply an accessory and do not serve a useful purpose.
2. The lines in the middle of the roads are also optional. If it looks like you can make the off ramp a three lane, by all means, go for it. Same principal on roundabouts. Just get on and spread out.
3. There is NOT a Walgreens on every corner, but there is a Dunkin Donuts on every corner. In fact at one point we saw two Dunkin Donuts across the street from each other- just makes it more handy when you are headed both into and out of the city- no need to turn across two lanes of traffic.
4. No sweet tea. I knew this going in, but come on, sugar after the fact is NOT sweet tea. I would have thrown the tea overboard too. You only think the settlers were mad about taxing, but the Boston Tea Party is a result of no sweet tea.
Those are my 4 comments on the overall trip, now to the details.
We got there Monday late afternoon and picked up our rental car, a nice blueish, purple Ford Focus. Although I have to say, not a bad car and AWESOME gas mileage, we are talking about 30 miles to the gallon! We headed to our hotel and found it without getting lost- whoohoo!
Tuesday morning we were up and at 'em pretty early as we planned to do the entire Freedom Trail that day. We took the hotel shuttle to the airport subway station and then rode that into the city. We had no trouble finding our way - red line to green line, or something like that. I grabbed my map and we were off. We got majority of the trail done before lunch, and stopped for lunch at Cheers 2 in Quincy Marketplace. Then it was a walk through the North End (little Italy) and over to Bunker Hill Monument. The monument is this tall tower thing that you can walk up and look out. They said 264 steps to the top. I didn't think it would be that bad, but after about 50 steps I was breathing hard- hello, out of shape! There is no air movement inside the tower and the staircase wasn't wide enought for two people which was fun when someone was coming down and you were going up. Once we FINALLY made it to the top, I just sat on the little bench while Nick took a few pictures, then it was back down. It had started raining while we were climbing, so we walked back to the harbor in the rain. The rain stopped just in time to take the ferry back to the city. Once back in the city since we finished the freedom trail and it was barely mid afternoon, we decided to get back on the subway and go find the flagship store for Life is Good. Life is Good was founded in Boston, so I was excited to see the store! After Life is Good, we sat in Boston Commons deciding where to eat. We decided on Ye Ole Seafood, which is the oldest eatery in the country. As we were walking back to the subway station, it started to POUR. We had to RUN to get to the station before the bottom fell out. We made it to the resturaunt semi dry, and I had my first offical bowl of New England Clam Chowder. I have to say I loved it! Now my shrimp, take it or leave it. We walked back to the subway station and back to the airport for our shuttle back to our hotel. I just knew my legs would be sore from all that walking and climbing, man was I right!
Stay tuned for Day Two highlights!
Since I was in Boston a full 7 days, I feel I can now make some general sterotypes and comments on the entire northern population. So here they are:
1. Turn signals are simply an accessory and do not serve a useful purpose.
2. The lines in the middle of the roads are also optional. If it looks like you can make the off ramp a three lane, by all means, go for it. Same principal on roundabouts. Just get on and spread out.
3. There is NOT a Walgreens on every corner, but there is a Dunkin Donuts on every corner. In fact at one point we saw two Dunkin Donuts across the street from each other- just makes it more handy when you are headed both into and out of the city- no need to turn across two lanes of traffic.
4. No sweet tea. I knew this going in, but come on, sugar after the fact is NOT sweet tea. I would have thrown the tea overboard too. You only think the settlers were mad about taxing, but the Boston Tea Party is a result of no sweet tea.
Those are my 4 comments on the overall trip, now to the details.
We got there Monday late afternoon and picked up our rental car, a nice blueish, purple Ford Focus. Although I have to say, not a bad car and AWESOME gas mileage, we are talking about 30 miles to the gallon! We headed to our hotel and found it without getting lost- whoohoo!
Tuesday morning we were up and at 'em pretty early as we planned to do the entire Freedom Trail that day. We took the hotel shuttle to the airport subway station and then rode that into the city. We had no trouble finding our way - red line to green line, or something like that. I grabbed my map and we were off. We got majority of the trail done before lunch, and stopped for lunch at Cheers 2 in Quincy Marketplace. Then it was a walk through the North End (little Italy) and over to Bunker Hill Monument. The monument is this tall tower thing that you can walk up and look out. They said 264 steps to the top. I didn't think it would be that bad, but after about 50 steps I was breathing hard- hello, out of shape! There is no air movement inside the tower and the staircase wasn't wide enought for two people which was fun when someone was coming down and you were going up. Once we FINALLY made it to the top, I just sat on the little bench while Nick took a few pictures, then it was back down. It had started raining while we were climbing, so we walked back to the harbor in the rain. The rain stopped just in time to take the ferry back to the city. Once back in the city since we finished the freedom trail and it was barely mid afternoon, we decided to get back on the subway and go find the flagship store for Life is Good. Life is Good was founded in Boston, so I was excited to see the store! After Life is Good, we sat in Boston Commons deciding where to eat. We decided on Ye Ole Seafood, which is the oldest eatery in the country. As we were walking back to the subway station, it started to POUR. We had to RUN to get to the station before the bottom fell out. We made it to the resturaunt semi dry, and I had my first offical bowl of New England Clam Chowder. I have to say I loved it! Now my shrimp, take it or leave it. We walked back to the subway station and back to the airport for our shuttle back to our hotel. I just knew my legs would be sore from all that walking and climbing, man was I right!
Stay tuned for Day Two highlights!
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