Look at this, I am so responsible, I'm writing another post only 2 days after the other one. Man, am I good.
As I may have stated before, We left my Aunt Julie and Uncle Bobby's on Saturday morning. We didn't leave until a little after 9 and we had a really long drive, to Crawfordsville, IN. This was the only day that we went through 5 states, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana. This was the third day in a row that it didn't rain but that brought its own problems, for example, when we camped out in a KOA that night, it never cooled down below 70 and we both got bitten by around 30 mosquitos since it was too hot for our sleeping bags.
The Next morning, we left town around 10 since we only had 6 hours to drive and we gained an hour crossing into the central time zone. We were headed toward Fayette, IA and Upper Iowa University where my buddy Greg Tehvin helped run an STLF Leadership Camp. Some of you may have seen me wearing a STLF sweatshirt around, it stands for Students Today, Leaders Forever and it is a student run organization that promotes service and leadership among mainly high school and college students. This camp was run by college kids for those in high school.
It started off awkward, since we arrived around 4 and Greg still wasn't back with a bus full of students from Minneapolis, so we kinda walked around and looked kinda sketch. But once Greg arrived, things started to straighten out. Much of the staff was amazing, we were only going to be there for one night but they were all extremely friendly, especially a couple of them named Ted and Abe. I even got to run the computer and press buttons during their opening and introduction performances where they introduced the staff. We still stayed somewhat separate, since we knew that it wouldn't be good to try and engage the kids if we were only going to be there for a short time, but that didn't go for the staff or for one guy, J.J., who happened to be from Clackamas, OR. Don't worry, he was outgoing enough to survive through it.
So we took some pictures, one with Harry and the entire group, played some ice breaker games, and took part in their calming closing for the night ceremony. After that we chillaxed and played some pool, table tennis, and shuffleboard, thats right, with some of the kids and staff until 11 pm which was the campers curfew. We were sleeping in the staff meeting area so we didn't get to sleep until around 1 am, and then we were interrupted at about 3 that morning by a couple of cleaning ladies, who just came in, started talking, turned on the lights, stared at us for a second until we woke up and looked at them, and then left. Kinda weird, especially in the wee hours of the morning.
That morning we got up, packed up, had breakfast, talked for a bit and then left, since we had to drive from north eastern Iowa to south western Missouri. There's no question that this was really a worthwhile stop. Obviously it started off awkward, and we knew that it would be, but everything couldn't have turned out better. With a staff, and a friend in Greg, who are so outgoing and friendly, it doesn't take long to begin to fit in. We both would have loved to stay longer, especially for the entire week, but we knew that wasn't possible and that it was probably for the best, for the campers sake, that we didn't hang around for the entire morning.
It took all Monday to drive down to Branson, MI and we got there around 6. Branson, we decided, is the Las Vegas for old people. We drove down the strip and it's just full of shows, but shows that usually include Dolly Parton and the return of the Osmand Brothers. It's the type of place that my dad would like and that my mom would never allow him to go to.
We went down there to visit a high school friend who I haven't seen since then, her family moved to Missouri for a job and she goes to the College of the Ozarks. This is the most rediculous school on the planet and the only good thing about it is that you come out of school debt free. Otherwise, here are some of the restrictions: You can't drink, they have a one strike policy and on just the word of someone else that you were drinking, even if you're 21, you're gone; they have a 1 am curfew; No boys or girls allowed in the opposite sex's rooms ever, and only for a certain amount of time in the lounges; there are guard gates at all the entrances to the school that can enforce many of these rules; etc, etc etc. Savannah, nor any of here friends like it, but it's non-accredited so if someone does get kicked out, or decides to leave, they have to start over.
We went to dinner at a restaurant where one of Savannah's friends worked. They had delicious food, my pulled pork and Luke's ribs were both great. After that is when we did the tour of the strip and then decided to stay in a hotel instead of camping, since we obviously couldn't stay with Savannah. No problem, though, since it was only $35 for a room with a double bed. We hung out with Savannah and 3 other buddies for a while longer and then went to our delicious beds.
It was a bit out of the way to drive down to Branson but in the end it was worth it. I don't think we've ever gone to a place, on this entire trip, where we've regretted going there. Some places have been better than others, sure, but nothing has been bad or un-fun. We're almost done and we only have one more stop, Denver, CO, and I doubt that we'll regret that.
Chris
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Virginia
So, as I said, I'd finally get around to talking about what happened in Virginia, where I was typing the last post. Well, that was quite a while ago but we've been on the move for a few days and now I finally have a chance to sit down and talk about it. Tomorrow or the next day I hope to catch up on what we've done recently, aka in the last couple of days.
So, on our way down to Virginia we drove on Skyline Drive of the Shenandoah National Park. It was a beautiful drive, no joke, even for a kid from the west with its scenic and majestic views. No, the mountains weren't as high or as rugged but they were completely covered in greenery and afforded overlooks of the valley which were ridiculously beautiful.
We came out of there near Grottoes, which is were my Aunt Julie and Uncle Bobby live, near Harrisonburg, VA. They had a delicious meal awaiting us, Uncle Bobby recently retired and is one of the best grill masters I know. We really didn't do much but we stayed up and talked, read, and went to bed, Aunt Julie had to work the next day.
In the morning we got up and I made the most delicious cup of coffee. Ok, so they have this coffee maker that makes one cup at a time but it makes it super quick and super delicious. It also makes tea and hot chocolate, no joke, this thing was for real, it was legit. I am now in the market.
We watched golf all morning. It was Friday and they had postponed the U.S. Open because of bad weather on Thursday, if you remember, so it was on all day. Sadly we didn't get to watch it all day as my cousin Jon came over and with his buddy Kevin, all four of us went to Grand Cavern, a cave nearby. It was pretty cool, some of the largest collection of stalagmites, stalagtights, and shield formations in the world, if you know what those are. It was kinda sad that many of the formations had been damaged in the past by trophy hunters but you could still see most of the stuff.
The best, and worst, part of the trip was our tour guide. She was ridiculous. I'm sure that this was her first summer and she'd only given a few tours and she followed everything from the book to a T, but she did nothing more. It was like she was a robot spewing forth the information that had been grilled into her head, no personal imagination. On top of that she had the most annoying high pitched voice in the world, and it wasn't even her real voice, it was her tour guide voice. We got a short video of it that I hope we'll be able to share.
After that the four of us took a short hike, up and around behind the cave to another small cave that Jon and Kevin knew about. There wasn't a trail and we cut cross country, and Luke, Jon, and I were in sandals, but I only slipped once so no harm done. After that we had a rock climbing experience, up to a rock formation called Horse-head. I afforded us a pretty good view of the mountains to the east and was just a really cool place to chill for a bit. That we did mainly because the climb down was pretty intense. Still, it was great exercise, and we got our fill of critters, horseflies, ticks, and one rattlesnake. Kevin had 5 ticks on him at one checking.
That night was once again pretty relaxed where we chilled and had grilled chicken and peanut butter pie. We had a long drive in the morning and we wanted to go to bed decently early.
One thing about Virginia, I'm proud to say that this was the first time on our trip that we had back to back days of beautiful weather, no rain. Of course, once the rain stops, the 99% humidity begins and as dry heat, if we even have heat, Oregonians, that wasn't the most pleasant experience. But you know, I'm sure that we'll suffer though a bit of humidity when we can have the benefits of no rain.
Well, that's all I'm gonna say, tomorrow I'll try and help out those folks who are wanting us to catch up. Don't worry, Luke will soon be back to re-invigorate your blog interest.
Chris
So, on our way down to Virginia we drove on Skyline Drive of the Shenandoah National Park. It was a beautiful drive, no joke, even for a kid from the west with its scenic and majestic views. No, the mountains weren't as high or as rugged but they were completely covered in greenery and afforded overlooks of the valley which were ridiculously beautiful.
We came out of there near Grottoes, which is were my Aunt Julie and Uncle Bobby live, near Harrisonburg, VA. They had a delicious meal awaiting us, Uncle Bobby recently retired and is one of the best grill masters I know. We really didn't do much but we stayed up and talked, read, and went to bed, Aunt Julie had to work the next day.
In the morning we got up and I made the most delicious cup of coffee. Ok, so they have this coffee maker that makes one cup at a time but it makes it super quick and super delicious. It also makes tea and hot chocolate, no joke, this thing was for real, it was legit. I am now in the market.
We watched golf all morning. It was Friday and they had postponed the U.S. Open because of bad weather on Thursday, if you remember, so it was on all day. Sadly we didn't get to watch it all day as my cousin Jon came over and with his buddy Kevin, all four of us went to Grand Cavern, a cave nearby. It was pretty cool, some of the largest collection of stalagmites, stalagtights, and shield formations in the world, if you know what those are. It was kinda sad that many of the formations had been damaged in the past by trophy hunters but you could still see most of the stuff.
The best, and worst, part of the trip was our tour guide. She was ridiculous. I'm sure that this was her first summer and she'd only given a few tours and she followed everything from the book to a T, but she did nothing more. It was like she was a robot spewing forth the information that had been grilled into her head, no personal imagination. On top of that she had the most annoying high pitched voice in the world, and it wasn't even her real voice, it was her tour guide voice. We got a short video of it that I hope we'll be able to share.
After that the four of us took a short hike, up and around behind the cave to another small cave that Jon and Kevin knew about. There wasn't a trail and we cut cross country, and Luke, Jon, and I were in sandals, but I only slipped once so no harm done. After that we had a rock climbing experience, up to a rock formation called Horse-head. I afforded us a pretty good view of the mountains to the east and was just a really cool place to chill for a bit. That we did mainly because the climb down was pretty intense. Still, it was great exercise, and we got our fill of critters, horseflies, ticks, and one rattlesnake. Kevin had 5 ticks on him at one checking.
That night was once again pretty relaxed where we chilled and had grilled chicken and peanut butter pie. We had a long drive in the morning and we wanted to go to bed decently early.
One thing about Virginia, I'm proud to say that this was the first time on our trip that we had back to back days of beautiful weather, no rain. Of course, once the rain stops, the 99% humidity begins and as dry heat, if we even have heat, Oregonians, that wasn't the most pleasant experience. But you know, I'm sure that we'll suffer though a bit of humidity when we can have the benefits of no rain.
Well, that's all I'm gonna say, tomorrow I'll try and help out those folks who are wanting us to catch up. Don't worry, Luke will soon be back to re-invigorate your blog interest.
Chris
Friday, June 19, 2009
New York to Gettysburg
So, I'll try and catch you guys up a bit, starting with my experiences in NYC thru Gettysburg. Galaxy, McKinzie, and I got up and got going by about 9 am, Luke was already gone and this was the earliest Galaxy had yet been up since reaching NYC so we were pretty proud of ourselves.
The apartment that they both live in is about right in the middle between downtown and midtown so we went south, to downtown, to start off the day. We say Union Square (where they were filming something as they seem to do regularly in NYC), the Brooklyn Bridge, took the Staten Island Ferry (which is free and gives you a great view of the Statue of Liberty and into the great state of New Jersey), then went up to Ground Zero (where they're actually rebuilding stuff so it wasn't what I expected but is ok once you realize how important prime real estate is in that city and that they are making a memorial), Trinity Church, St. Peter's Catholic Church (which has a memorial set up inside for the 9/11 attacks), and Wall Street before going back to their apt. for lunch.
Afterwards, I took a nap until some maintence men showed up. Then I had to quickly get up and shove the couch cushons from the lounge that I was sleeping on under the bed. This was because we weren't supposed to have anything from the lounge and I swear that I heard the maintence men talking about how there were cushons missing from the lounge. Oh, well, they never found out who it was while I was there.
Afterwards I people watched for a bit. This was Sunday, and right out front of their building was a street market. They are only on the second floor so it's pretty easy to see the variety of people in the City. I can safely say that I didn't care for the city but people watching, which I did all year from my apt. I did.
Around 4 we went to visit some of the Mid-town sites. We were first headed to the Rockafeller buildings but it took us a whole lot longer then normal because it was Puerto Rico day and the streets were a mass of spanish speakers decked out in their Puerto Rican finest, aka flags. It was the same as we headed over to Central Park, and in it as well, but we found a huge rock to sit on and once again people watched, which was great when you're in a park full of Puerto Ricans and everybody else. I tell ya, I've never seen that much skin, or booty, in one place in my lifetime.
After that we went to look at the United Nations building which, since it was sunday, was kinda boring. Suddenly a firetruck showed up, and another one, and another, until there were 6 or so. We were caught standing next to the building and couldn't cross the street since it was blocked off by ginormous red trucks. It must have been a false alarm, they left without doing anything, but it was a suprise, and well worth our trip out to the UN.
After that we went back to the apt, had pizza, and watched a movie before going to bed. I was up in the morning and out of there by 7:30 to catch the 8:45 bus back to Stony Point so that about ended my New York experience, but not quite. I was waiting for the bus when I remembered that I hadn't got a ticket, my stupidity. I looked at the clock and saw that I still had 6 min. so I went downstairs to get a ticket. I wasn't worried, I new it was enough time, but that was under normal circumstances. Two people in front of me, the couple decided to ask all the questions about NYC in the world of the ticket salesman. The person right in front of me ran out of cash and had to scrounge through their purse for loose change. Then I was up, in and out in less than 30. sec. I still missed the bus. Now I had to wait until 11:15. So I did, and that was that. We didn't leave Stony Point until 1:00.
That wasn't a big deal since we reached Gettysburg in under 4 hours but it was a big hassle. My impression of NYC was not all possitive. I did like the people watching, but that was when I wasn't IN the people. The city was just so crowded. I know that I've been to London, and I really didn't mind that, but NYC just didn't click with me. It certainly wasn't Galaxy and McKinzie's fault, they were very gracious and Galaxy was able to put up with my lack of going out at night skills. Maybe I should give it more time but I really don't want to. I think that I'll stick with Portland being my city experience.
So, here's a good break time, if you need to use the bathroom or take a drink. Intermission music. Ok, now on to Gettysburg.
We got in to Gettysburg at My Uncle Jeff and Aunt Pam's around 5. They had delicious bbq sandwiches for us and great company, Aunt Pam and Luaren, my cousin, were great. I mean, great conversation, great food, great bed, just all around great hostesses. We couldn't have asked for a better place to mooch off of for 3 nights.
Anyway, Uncle Jeff gave us a tour of the city after that, I don't know why. I mean, I've been there before and I know the basics. Aunt Julie may have dropped him on his head a few to many times as a child and my dad might have kicked him while he was down. Probably not though, Uncle Jeff developed this way on his own and there is no help for him. Bless her heart, Aunt Pam does what she can, and Lauren is always there for support, but he's beyond repair.
P.S. Uncle Jeff, I love you for who you are, don't ever change. It's just much easier to pick on you here where you can't threaten to put me out in the back yard.
Later that night I got to see Aunt Jan and her fam, at least cousin Milty, his girlfrind Alicia (A-LI-SHA), and Uncle John. That was all, though, and we went back to bed.
The next day we woke up late and didn't get out of there until around 11. We went to the new Gettysburg Visitors Center which, though it cost $10.50, we got in free. We flashed our national parks card, got told it was not good, and then Luke's credit card got refused as well. We didn't complain. The video we saw as actually pretty good, much better then the patriotic propoganda in the video on Mt. Rushmore. Obviously we could nit-pick about it's faults and rediculous use of patriotic music, but overall it was more informative and truthful about what was said.
The Cyclorama upstairs was an up and down. The painting as it was was awesome, an 83 or something foot painting in a circle depcting Pickett's charge at Gettysburg, painted over 100 years ago, and including over 20,000 figures. The downside was that we were in the viewing room with 50 other people and it was difficult to see everything, especially when they try and make you focus on the presentation with lights and explosions instead of the painting itself, which was also bad. On top of that, they hustled everyone through in 15 min. so that the next group of people coming out of the other movie theater could come in. It was a let down but if you focused just on the painting, it was pretty sweet.
The regular visitors center was pretty well done as well. It explained everything, and had relics, from before the battle of Gettysburg, during the battle, and after. We could have spent hours there, but we only had 45 min. because we needed to meet Uncle Jeff for lunch. We went the the Appalachan Brewing Company, we've been searching for a micro-brewery and so we found one. It was good. So was the food. So was Uncle Jeff's company.
(If you haven't yet figured it out, Uncle Jeff was terrorized by my dad as a child and he takes it out on me. His sarcasm directed at me is nothing compared to the trauma he experienced from my father, or so I am told by Uncle Jeff. Sorry dad, we all love you and know that you've matured into a magnificant specimin of human ingenuity and kindness. We also know that Uncle Jeff never passed 6th grade.)
After lunch we toured the battlefield, doing the driving tour and really only stopping at a few places, the peace light, little round top, and devils den to climb on the rediculously fun rocks. We went straight to Aunt Jans around 5 and Milty took us out to his father's families round barn, a really cool feat of engineering. It is a round barn, duh, and it was totally built by hand almost 100 years ago. They own an orchard so after the barn and the burros, we took Milty's favorite truck up mud riding in the back part of the orchards. We only got kinda stuck once but not really and it was quite a ride, other than Luke was in the bed of the truck and got soaked as it had started pouring as we were on the top of the hill.
After this we had dinner at Aunt Jans, with Meme, my grandma. She'd come out for my graduation only a few weeks before but suprisingly enough, she wasn't tired of us. After dinner I saw Uncle Jon, the middle brother. He was in great shape still, though Aunt Tammy was at home because of a migrane, and it was great to at least see him. Then Lauren came over and we went out to Ice Cream at Dairy Queen. Luke and I got Dilly Bars, Mmmmm.
The Next day wasn't quite so busy. We got out around 11 again and went to the gospel mission thrift shop. Luke got a pair of pants for $4 and we together got 8 books for $0.96. it was pretty sweet. We went to the outlet stores after that and I picked up shorts and swim trunks and Luke a sweatshirt. Everything in the men's dept. was half off.
For Lunch we went to the Dobbin house, an old house from the 18th century which had been used on the undergroud railroad, with Aunt Pam and Lauren. The soup that we had was delicious, though I can't remember what it was called. It was probably half cheese.
After lunch we went back to old navy to pick up a couple more things before heading back to Uncle Jeffs. They were leaving around 4 for their 20th anniversary (CONGRADULATIONS AUNT PAM, YOU SURVIVED!!!!) and we had dinner with Meme around 5:30. Her dinner included a stuffed chicken, potatoes, applesause, green beans, and a blueberry pie brought over for dessert by Aunt Barb and Uncle Raymond. They are my dad's aunt and uncle, so my Great aunt and uncle, and I don't get to see them very often either. We sat and talked until the wee hours of the morning, and left around 8:30. I went over to Aunt Jan's to say goodbye to them before heading back to Uncle Jeffs.
It was wierd to only be back for a few days. I think the shortest I've ever been back in the past is 1 week and that was because I'd mainly come for the Naval Academy Summer Seminar for the other week. It was good to see everybody, and I hope to make it back soon but I do wish they could get out to Oregon sometime, some of them have never been and dad's been here over 30 years.
We didn't leave until around noon the next morning. Uncle Jeff came back around 9 to cook me breakfast, Luke wasn't up yet. We talked for a bit before he had to go back to work. Truth be told, I really like Uncle Jeff. I know, everything that I've said may lean toward the contrary but that's just not true. He's a big boy, he can handle my sarcasm, he's even more of a master of it than I am.
Anyway, after some talking with Aunt Pam and some volleyball between Lauren and Luke we left. The drive down to Aunt Julie's wasn't too long and we took our time but for now, that's for another time. I feel like I've written a novel and have been at the computer for around an hour. So, I'll bid you adeau and since this gets you up to only a day and a half ago, I feel very accomplished. Please support me.
Chris
The apartment that they both live in is about right in the middle between downtown and midtown so we went south, to downtown, to start off the day. We say Union Square (where they were filming something as they seem to do regularly in NYC), the Brooklyn Bridge, took the Staten Island Ferry (which is free and gives you a great view of the Statue of Liberty and into the great state of New Jersey), then went up to Ground Zero (where they're actually rebuilding stuff so it wasn't what I expected but is ok once you realize how important prime real estate is in that city and that they are making a memorial), Trinity Church, St. Peter's Catholic Church (which has a memorial set up inside for the 9/11 attacks), and Wall Street before going back to their apt. for lunch.
Afterwards, I took a nap until some maintence men showed up. Then I had to quickly get up and shove the couch cushons from the lounge that I was sleeping on under the bed. This was because we weren't supposed to have anything from the lounge and I swear that I heard the maintence men talking about how there were cushons missing from the lounge. Oh, well, they never found out who it was while I was there.
Afterwards I people watched for a bit. This was Sunday, and right out front of their building was a street market. They are only on the second floor so it's pretty easy to see the variety of people in the City. I can safely say that I didn't care for the city but people watching, which I did all year from my apt. I did.
Around 4 we went to visit some of the Mid-town sites. We were first headed to the Rockafeller buildings but it took us a whole lot longer then normal because it was Puerto Rico day and the streets were a mass of spanish speakers decked out in their Puerto Rican finest, aka flags. It was the same as we headed over to Central Park, and in it as well, but we found a huge rock to sit on and once again people watched, which was great when you're in a park full of Puerto Ricans and everybody else. I tell ya, I've never seen that much skin, or booty, in one place in my lifetime.
After that we went to look at the United Nations building which, since it was sunday, was kinda boring. Suddenly a firetruck showed up, and another one, and another, until there were 6 or so. We were caught standing next to the building and couldn't cross the street since it was blocked off by ginormous red trucks. It must have been a false alarm, they left without doing anything, but it was a suprise, and well worth our trip out to the UN.
After that we went back to the apt, had pizza, and watched a movie before going to bed. I was up in the morning and out of there by 7:30 to catch the 8:45 bus back to Stony Point so that about ended my New York experience, but not quite. I was waiting for the bus when I remembered that I hadn't got a ticket, my stupidity. I looked at the clock and saw that I still had 6 min. so I went downstairs to get a ticket. I wasn't worried, I new it was enough time, but that was under normal circumstances. Two people in front of me, the couple decided to ask all the questions about NYC in the world of the ticket salesman. The person right in front of me ran out of cash and had to scrounge through their purse for loose change. Then I was up, in and out in less than 30. sec. I still missed the bus. Now I had to wait until 11:15. So I did, and that was that. We didn't leave Stony Point until 1:00.
That wasn't a big deal since we reached Gettysburg in under 4 hours but it was a big hassle. My impression of NYC was not all possitive. I did like the people watching, but that was when I wasn't IN the people. The city was just so crowded. I know that I've been to London, and I really didn't mind that, but NYC just didn't click with me. It certainly wasn't Galaxy and McKinzie's fault, they were very gracious and Galaxy was able to put up with my lack of going out at night skills. Maybe I should give it more time but I really don't want to. I think that I'll stick with Portland being my city experience.
So, here's a good break time, if you need to use the bathroom or take a drink. Intermission music. Ok, now on to Gettysburg.
We got in to Gettysburg at My Uncle Jeff and Aunt Pam's around 5. They had delicious bbq sandwiches for us and great company, Aunt Pam and Luaren, my cousin, were great. I mean, great conversation, great food, great bed, just all around great hostesses. We couldn't have asked for a better place to mooch off of for 3 nights.
Anyway, Uncle Jeff gave us a tour of the city after that, I don't know why. I mean, I've been there before and I know the basics. Aunt Julie may have dropped him on his head a few to many times as a child and my dad might have kicked him while he was down. Probably not though, Uncle Jeff developed this way on his own and there is no help for him. Bless her heart, Aunt Pam does what she can, and Lauren is always there for support, but he's beyond repair.
P.S. Uncle Jeff, I love you for who you are, don't ever change. It's just much easier to pick on you here where you can't threaten to put me out in the back yard.
Later that night I got to see Aunt Jan and her fam, at least cousin Milty, his girlfrind Alicia (A-LI-SHA), and Uncle John. That was all, though, and we went back to bed.
The next day we woke up late and didn't get out of there until around 11. We went to the new Gettysburg Visitors Center which, though it cost $10.50, we got in free. We flashed our national parks card, got told it was not good, and then Luke's credit card got refused as well. We didn't complain. The video we saw as actually pretty good, much better then the patriotic propoganda in the video on Mt. Rushmore. Obviously we could nit-pick about it's faults and rediculous use of patriotic music, but overall it was more informative and truthful about what was said.
The Cyclorama upstairs was an up and down. The painting as it was was awesome, an 83 or something foot painting in a circle depcting Pickett's charge at Gettysburg, painted over 100 years ago, and including over 20,000 figures. The downside was that we were in the viewing room with 50 other people and it was difficult to see everything, especially when they try and make you focus on the presentation with lights and explosions instead of the painting itself, which was also bad. On top of that, they hustled everyone through in 15 min. so that the next group of people coming out of the other movie theater could come in. It was a let down but if you focused just on the painting, it was pretty sweet.
The regular visitors center was pretty well done as well. It explained everything, and had relics, from before the battle of Gettysburg, during the battle, and after. We could have spent hours there, but we only had 45 min. because we needed to meet Uncle Jeff for lunch. We went the the Appalachan Brewing Company, we've been searching for a micro-brewery and so we found one. It was good. So was the food. So was Uncle Jeff's company.
(If you haven't yet figured it out, Uncle Jeff was terrorized by my dad as a child and he takes it out on me. His sarcasm directed at me is nothing compared to the trauma he experienced from my father, or so I am told by Uncle Jeff. Sorry dad, we all love you and know that you've matured into a magnificant specimin of human ingenuity and kindness. We also know that Uncle Jeff never passed 6th grade.)
After lunch we toured the battlefield, doing the driving tour and really only stopping at a few places, the peace light, little round top, and devils den to climb on the rediculously fun rocks. We went straight to Aunt Jans around 5 and Milty took us out to his father's families round barn, a really cool feat of engineering. It is a round barn, duh, and it was totally built by hand almost 100 years ago. They own an orchard so after the barn and the burros, we took Milty's favorite truck up mud riding in the back part of the orchards. We only got kinda stuck once but not really and it was quite a ride, other than Luke was in the bed of the truck and got soaked as it had started pouring as we were on the top of the hill.
After this we had dinner at Aunt Jans, with Meme, my grandma. She'd come out for my graduation only a few weeks before but suprisingly enough, she wasn't tired of us. After dinner I saw Uncle Jon, the middle brother. He was in great shape still, though Aunt Tammy was at home because of a migrane, and it was great to at least see him. Then Lauren came over and we went out to Ice Cream at Dairy Queen. Luke and I got Dilly Bars, Mmmmm.
The Next day wasn't quite so busy. We got out around 11 again and went to the gospel mission thrift shop. Luke got a pair of pants for $4 and we together got 8 books for $0.96. it was pretty sweet. We went to the outlet stores after that and I picked up shorts and swim trunks and Luke a sweatshirt. Everything in the men's dept. was half off.
For Lunch we went to the Dobbin house, an old house from the 18th century which had been used on the undergroud railroad, with Aunt Pam and Lauren. The soup that we had was delicious, though I can't remember what it was called. It was probably half cheese.
After lunch we went back to old navy to pick up a couple more things before heading back to Uncle Jeffs. They were leaving around 4 for their 20th anniversary (CONGRADULATIONS AUNT PAM, YOU SURVIVED!!!!) and we had dinner with Meme around 5:30. Her dinner included a stuffed chicken, potatoes, applesause, green beans, and a blueberry pie brought over for dessert by Aunt Barb and Uncle Raymond. They are my dad's aunt and uncle, so my Great aunt and uncle, and I don't get to see them very often either. We sat and talked until the wee hours of the morning, and left around 8:30. I went over to Aunt Jan's to say goodbye to them before heading back to Uncle Jeffs.
It was wierd to only be back for a few days. I think the shortest I've ever been back in the past is 1 week and that was because I'd mainly come for the Naval Academy Summer Seminar for the other week. It was good to see everybody, and I hope to make it back soon but I do wish they could get out to Oregon sometime, some of them have never been and dad's been here over 30 years.
We didn't leave until around noon the next morning. Uncle Jeff came back around 9 to cook me breakfast, Luke wasn't up yet. We talked for a bit before he had to go back to work. Truth be told, I really like Uncle Jeff. I know, everything that I've said may lean toward the contrary but that's just not true. He's a big boy, he can handle my sarcasm, he's even more of a master of it than I am.
Anyway, after some talking with Aunt Pam and some volleyball between Lauren and Luke we left. The drive down to Aunt Julie's wasn't too long and we took our time but for now, that's for another time. I feel like I've written a novel and have been at the computer for around an hour. So, I'll bid you adeau and since this gets you up to only a day and a half ago, I feel very accomplished. Please support me.
Chris
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
NYC (from Luke)
New York: 6/13-15
We were up again early this morning for around an 8 hour drive to catch a 5 pm bus from Stony Point, NY into downtown NYC. We have two separate places to visit in New York: my buddy Nathan Ballentine is staying at a retreat center in Stony Point, working to gut a house that will later be used for an intentional Muslim community house, and Chrodg and my friend Galaxy Slight and her friend Kinzie are staying at NYU over the summer trying to find jobs in the Big Apple.
We arrived in Stony Point about 4:30 (having missed a turn to Stony Point and being stuck on the turnpike to Albany for a solid half hour…and almost getting run off the road by a crazy New Yorker on the Palisades Parkway) and took off to find the bus stop. We were thrown for a loop, however, when the enormous bridge through town was missing, and we therefore how no way to cross the huge gap to get to our bus stop. We started hiking around, but fortunately met a nice man that told us the new bus stop was in fact behind us, and that he was taking the same bus! What good fortune to run into him! He even shared some sweet cookies with me as we waited for the bus and talked about life. He was just one of those chance meetings that really brightened my day.
The bus into the city took about 2 hours, and the overcast skies didn’t lend themselves to a very climactic view of the New York skyline. We arrived at the Transit Authority right on time, and made our way out to Times Square to meet Galaxy and Kinzie for dinner. We enjoyed a great meal at Dave and Buster’s before we took off walking, seeing the bustling heart of the city before taking off on side streets to make our way to the Empire State Building.
If you ever want to go up in the Empire State Building, do it at night. It is an absolutely gorgeous sight to see the city lit up, stretching on as far as the eye can see. In a way, Chrodg and I felt overwhelmed by the fact that we were absolutely surrounded by a MASS of humanity...we weren’t sure we liked that aspect of it. But really…it was just a beautiful beautiful thing looking out from the highest point in the city…
We ran back to Galaxy and Kinzie’s NYU apartment before heading out to a local pub to enjoy some drinks and get a chance to chat. We tried to stay decently late to make Galaxy happy, but the reality was that Chrodg and I were pooped from a long day and were ready to go to bed relatively early (which we did).
I have to say, though, that New York surprised me. Until January of 2008 my only impressions of the city had been negative, but a visit with Michael Arbogast that January had turned me around a little—I’d gotten to explore a little more and I think honestly I enjoyed the hectic pace of everyone around me. And then Saturday when I stepped out of the bus station onto the streets….I just breathed it in and loved it. There is so much energy, so much life going on…I really enjoyed being back in it. I don’t think I’d ever want to live there…but I do like visiting.
Sunday morning came early for me as I was up at 7 to take an 8:45 bus back out to Stony Point to hang out and go to church with Nathan. I found the bus without trouble and enjoyed the time on the way out to read and sort of get my thoughts together. Nathan called me about halfway out and asked, “How would you feel about going to a Quaker meeting today?” I said…HECK YES. Daniel Clausen had suggested to a group of us at Linfield during my junior year that we might be Quakers, and I really do agree with a lot of what they stand for, so I was stoked for my first official Quaker meeting! I found Nathan back at the Stony Point center and met up with Rick Ufford-Chase (the former moderator of the Presbyterian Church) and his two kids, along with Nathan’s buddy Billy from college.
So...a Quaker meeting (not a service, just to clarify), if you’re not familiar, revolves around slowing down, being quiet, and waiting for God to speak. They sit in silence, seated in a loose semi-circle in an unadorned and unspectacular room, listening for the Spirit. They suggest you meditate, pray, read…anything that helps you slow down enough to listen. After about half an hour, someone finally spoke, leading to around another 4 speaking before the meeting ended. They say you should never come to a meeting expecting to speak, nor come to a meeting determined not to speak. God will move where he does, and it is each participants part to be willing to speak if they feel led.
I loved it. I sat there at the beginning thinking…you know what is great about this? These people actually think God will show up. He has to. Otherwise they’ll sit here for an hour in silence and go home (which, by the way, happens sometime in Quaker meetings and is not viewed in any way as a failure). Sometimes I think we’re scared to be quiet and wait for God, because deep down we’re scared He won’t show up. The Quakers depend on Him to show up. “God is still revealing Himself to us, if we have ears to listen.”
Not only do I like the service at the “Religious Society of Friends,” but I love the structure. There is no pastor, no central figure guiding the spirituality and faith of an entire group. They are all pastors, part of the “priesthood of all believers.” Each has an equal say in the message any given Sunday. Why do we expect a pastor to give the message every Sunday? I told Nathan that I would respect a pastor so much if they came out Sunday morning during sermon time and said, “You know what? I didn’t feel inspired this week. I’m not sure the Holy Spirit spoke to me. Sorry. I don’t have a sermon.” I think it’s kinda ridiculous for us to expect spirit-driven sermons every week from one person…maybe that’s what the church is for.
But anyways. Enough of my musings on Quakers. I spent the rest of the afternoon debriefing on the service, graduation, and plans in life with Nathan and Billy…two guys in similar situations to me, with similar thoughts as me…just good times.
Ok…trying to summarize and keep things short now…Sunday night the young adults working at the retreat center went out with Rick and his wife Kitty to hear stories about their work, travels, and life….which was AWESOME. They’ve done some crazy things. Rick started the organization Borderlinks (check it out) and had ridiculous stories to tell about that, as well as share about an Iraqi war vet that is biking/hiking across America to tell his story (google “the contagious Love experiment”). I cannot say how great it was spending time listening to someone who not only dreamed the dream and prayed for its success, but put it into action and in a way, answered his own prayers.
Monday morning for me was longer than expected because Chrodgers missed the early bus in, so I got to rip out flooring with Nathan and Billy in the house they’re working on. It was SO nice to sweat—after 2 weeks of driving and riding in a car, I love the hard physical labor and satisfaction from seeing progress made. What a great time…AND I felt like I earned my keep a little, after enjoying 4 great meals at Stony Points delicious cafeteria for no cost.
New York…you always surprise me. I always hesitate to go…but love it when I do.
We were up again early this morning for around an 8 hour drive to catch a 5 pm bus from Stony Point, NY into downtown NYC. We have two separate places to visit in New York: my buddy Nathan Ballentine is staying at a retreat center in Stony Point, working to gut a house that will later be used for an intentional Muslim community house, and Chrodg and my friend Galaxy Slight and her friend Kinzie are staying at NYU over the summer trying to find jobs in the Big Apple.
We arrived in Stony Point about 4:30 (having missed a turn to Stony Point and being stuck on the turnpike to Albany for a solid half hour…and almost getting run off the road by a crazy New Yorker on the Palisades Parkway) and took off to find the bus stop. We were thrown for a loop, however, when the enormous bridge through town was missing, and we therefore how no way to cross the huge gap to get to our bus stop. We started hiking around, but fortunately met a nice man that told us the new bus stop was in fact behind us, and that he was taking the same bus! What good fortune to run into him! He even shared some sweet cookies with me as we waited for the bus and talked about life. He was just one of those chance meetings that really brightened my day.
The bus into the city took about 2 hours, and the overcast skies didn’t lend themselves to a very climactic view of the New York skyline. We arrived at the Transit Authority right on time, and made our way out to Times Square to meet Galaxy and Kinzie for dinner. We enjoyed a great meal at Dave and Buster’s before we took off walking, seeing the bustling heart of the city before taking off on side streets to make our way to the Empire State Building.
If you ever want to go up in the Empire State Building, do it at night. It is an absolutely gorgeous sight to see the city lit up, stretching on as far as the eye can see. In a way, Chrodg and I felt overwhelmed by the fact that we were absolutely surrounded by a MASS of humanity...we weren’t sure we liked that aspect of it. But really…it was just a beautiful beautiful thing looking out from the highest point in the city…
We ran back to Galaxy and Kinzie’s NYU apartment before heading out to a local pub to enjoy some drinks and get a chance to chat. We tried to stay decently late to make Galaxy happy, but the reality was that Chrodg and I were pooped from a long day and were ready to go to bed relatively early (which we did).
I have to say, though, that New York surprised me. Until January of 2008 my only impressions of the city had been negative, but a visit with Michael Arbogast that January had turned me around a little—I’d gotten to explore a little more and I think honestly I enjoyed the hectic pace of everyone around me. And then Saturday when I stepped out of the bus station onto the streets….I just breathed it in and loved it. There is so much energy, so much life going on…I really enjoyed being back in it. I don’t think I’d ever want to live there…but I do like visiting.
Sunday morning came early for me as I was up at 7 to take an 8:45 bus back out to Stony Point to hang out and go to church with Nathan. I found the bus without trouble and enjoyed the time on the way out to read and sort of get my thoughts together. Nathan called me about halfway out and asked, “How would you feel about going to a Quaker meeting today?” I said…HECK YES. Daniel Clausen had suggested to a group of us at Linfield during my junior year that we might be Quakers, and I really do agree with a lot of what they stand for, so I was stoked for my first official Quaker meeting! I found Nathan back at the Stony Point center and met up with Rick Ufford-Chase (the former moderator of the Presbyterian Church) and his two kids, along with Nathan’s buddy Billy from college.
So...a Quaker meeting (not a service, just to clarify), if you’re not familiar, revolves around slowing down, being quiet, and waiting for God to speak. They sit in silence, seated in a loose semi-circle in an unadorned and unspectacular room, listening for the Spirit. They suggest you meditate, pray, read…anything that helps you slow down enough to listen. After about half an hour, someone finally spoke, leading to around another 4 speaking before the meeting ended. They say you should never come to a meeting expecting to speak, nor come to a meeting determined not to speak. God will move where he does, and it is each participants part to be willing to speak if they feel led.
I loved it. I sat there at the beginning thinking…you know what is great about this? These people actually think God will show up. He has to. Otherwise they’ll sit here for an hour in silence and go home (which, by the way, happens sometime in Quaker meetings and is not viewed in any way as a failure). Sometimes I think we’re scared to be quiet and wait for God, because deep down we’re scared He won’t show up. The Quakers depend on Him to show up. “God is still revealing Himself to us, if we have ears to listen.”
Not only do I like the service at the “Religious Society of Friends,” but I love the structure. There is no pastor, no central figure guiding the spirituality and faith of an entire group. They are all pastors, part of the “priesthood of all believers.” Each has an equal say in the message any given Sunday. Why do we expect a pastor to give the message every Sunday? I told Nathan that I would respect a pastor so much if they came out Sunday morning during sermon time and said, “You know what? I didn’t feel inspired this week. I’m not sure the Holy Spirit spoke to me. Sorry. I don’t have a sermon.” I think it’s kinda ridiculous for us to expect spirit-driven sermons every week from one person…maybe that’s what the church is for.
But anyways. Enough of my musings on Quakers. I spent the rest of the afternoon debriefing on the service, graduation, and plans in life with Nathan and Billy…two guys in similar situations to me, with similar thoughts as me…just good times.
Ok…trying to summarize and keep things short now…Sunday night the young adults working at the retreat center went out with Rick and his wife Kitty to hear stories about their work, travels, and life….which was AWESOME. They’ve done some crazy things. Rick started the organization Borderlinks (check it out) and had ridiculous stories to tell about that, as well as share about an Iraqi war vet that is biking/hiking across America to tell his story (google “the contagious Love experiment”). I cannot say how great it was spending time listening to someone who not only dreamed the dream and prayed for its success, but put it into action and in a way, answered his own prayers.
Monday morning for me was longer than expected because Chrodgers missed the early bus in, so I got to rip out flooring with Nathan and Billy in the house they’re working on. It was SO nice to sweat—after 2 weeks of driving and riding in a car, I love the hard physical labor and satisfaction from seeing progress made. What a great time…AND I felt like I earned my keep a little, after enjoying 4 great meals at Stony Points delicious cafeteria for no cost.
New York…you always surprise me. I always hesitate to go…but love it when I do.
Steubenville
Waukesha to Steubenville (in Eastern Ohio) is something like 10 hours on the road, so we were up early from the Morrison’s to get things going early. We made it through
My aunt and uncle had a delicious dinner prepared as we caught up on the last 11 years of life and happenings. My family was last back East in 1998, so I literally hadn’t seen these relatives since then! It was really great to just spend time with them over the next two days: the first two days we spent in the same beds consecutively on the trip thus far!
The time in
I came into
It was really great to see Denise and the kids. Family is an amazing thing…you can pick up after 11 years and really have no problem connecting. Such a unique and special feeling.
I was back in
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Last day in the midwest
So, I know we're getting a bit behind but I'm gonna try and catch us up at least one day, wednesday.
In the morning we woke up in Eau Claire stiff and sore. Actually that's a total lie, I slept quite well. We went out and got some local brews then. I'm sure Luke already told you that Wisconsin brews are known as mass produced and bad but that's just one aspect of the whole spectrum. Some of their micro-brews are also delicious.
Afterward we had a coffee and walked around the campus of UWEC. It was actually pretty. Their campus is right along the Chippewa river and they have hills and trees and trails and stuff. In one place there is a rock that juts out into the river were you can just chillax and listen to the sweet sounds of running water. Luke can tell you more about it but it was a really nice spot to just go and relax.
We then went with our new friend Emily and played frisbee in a park for a bit before we went back to their house to wait for Katie to get out of her first day on the job. When that happened, we said by to everyone and left for Waukesha.
On the way there we had some fun. We passed a car of 4 girls early in the day and after we pulled off for a rest area break, we passed them again. Then, they started following us and doing everything that we did, speed up, slow down, change lanes, etc. So we took an exit and left the interstate. And then got right back on and passed them again. We saw them pointing at us and talking, it kept us entertained.
We arrived at the Morrison's around 530 and he had some of his guys from the college down to have a bbq once they got off work. Most of them were really nice guys, but what would you expect at New Tribes Mission Bible School? But seriously, they were all great.
Afterwards we got to sit down with Carla and Ben and look at his pictures from his visit to his brother in Mozambique with Nathan, his son. They got Ben talking and for the next hour or more we had a great theological discussion. Ben's got his stuff together, no question about that, and it was great to hear another Christian guy who is so strong in his faith share it with us.
After that we went to bed cause we had to get up early to take a 10 hour drive to Steubenville, OH, but that's another story, for now.
Chris
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Updated adventures of Harry the Haribou!
Harry with the Morrisons! Ben, Carla, Nate, Sydney, and Alec.
Harry enjoys the company of wonderful Eau Claire friends.
Eric and Becky model for their picture with Harry.
Harry surveys the lands of Pipestone National Monument.
Harry jubilates at Tinkerbell's achievement of 111,111!
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