Through Every Season

Tag: Getaway for Two (Page 2 of 3)

D.C. Birthday Trip: Crystal City and The American History Museum

For Mike’s Birthday, I got to go with him on a week long trip to DC.  We had a wonderful time.  I love visiting there.  There is so much to see and do.  I think I walked 100 miles.  Loved the freedom of riding the metro around to wherever I wanted to go while Mike was in conference three of the days.  And the icing on the cake: I got to see my good friend, Lee Ann, and her family. 
We stayed in Crystal City in one of several hotels just a couple of blocks from the metro.  The metro is key.  Also near the Crystal City metro…
This gorgeous water park.
 And a jogging trail that goes all the way to the Reagan Nation Airport. 
 Beautiful spring flowers.
And one of Mike’s favorite places to eat.  Yum!
After lunch, we hopped on the metro and road into DC.  
It was raining so we made a beeline for the American History Museum.
 As did a bunch of other people.. we had to wait in line in the rain to get in.
 One of the coolest things we saw there was a piece of the Berlin wall.
Abe’s Hat  
 The Gunboat Philadelphia from the Revolutionary War. 
See the hole at the bottom left?
The ship was under water for 159 years.
It’s hard to describe how incredible it was to stand next to it.
It was almost like if you stepped into it you’d be stepping in to history.
And for the grand finale we got to see the original Star Spangled Banner.
The actual flag from the song.  We weren’t allowed to photograph it.. 
but it looked pretty much like the photo above.. just much larger.
Just out side the museum there was this rally going on in the Mall.
We saw some Jesus Saves signs and thought we’d go check it out. 
 It was pretty intense.  This small group of less than 100 people 
were arguing that there is a God..and His name is Jesus 
at the first national atheist rally called “The Reason Rally.”
I am sure it’s name “The Reason” was purposly stolen from Christians’
attempt to protect Christmas: “Jesus is the reason for the season.”
They used it in contrast to stand for: 
“There is no Jesus; trust in science and reason.”
What’s really sad is that the science and reason they are 
choosing to believe in is false.. and wide spread by our government.. 
in our schools.. and true science and reason are on their Creator’s side.
In reality, they are asking for the separation of “Truth and State.”
As we walked through the crowd of about 10,000 to the other side of the mall,
we mostly felt compassion for them.  Most were really hurting.  The reason
they decided not to believe in God was because they felt like 
He or the Church had failed them.  
A few that we walked by were not atheist.. 
one girl stood out.. she didn’t know what to believe.  
She was there with a very angry boy friend.  
Most were very young like they were.
Others were obviously under Satin’s rule.  I wondered if they 
could see I was a Christian as plainly as I could see who they were. 
Judi said, “It must have been scary.”  And it was a little..
On the other side Mike told me that he’d been praying in the Spirit 
all the way through.  I laughed a little.. because so had I, 
but only a little because I was so thankful that we had that gift..
of knowing and experiencing the One True God.
I wished I could reach out and touch each one and have the 
power of God touch them the way He has touched me 
so they’d know He is real and loves them intensely. 
 We heard the main speaker speak as we were walking through.
He was sharing his testimony; telling how after he had children he decided 
to try the church of the “kinder God of the evangelicals.”  The crowd laughed.
“I asked Jesus in my heart many times,” he said.  But that he had 
many questions.. that he asked his Christian friends and pastor.
He felt like he lived as a Christian by day and a sceptic by night. 
Then when the twin towers fell, he decided that there couldn’t be a God.
Their laughter, cheers, sadness and anger all tell me that 
the church in America as a whole is not the bride God created us to be.  
We are meant to really know God, to walk in His fullness, 
in His wisdom, in His love, in His power, with signs following, 
 to share the Gospel of Grace of Love of Forgiveness of Healing
with the broken, hurting world around us.
My prayer lately has been “Lord show me your glory, so that I may 
behold it and be transformed by your Holy Spirit into your likeness.”

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”  2 Corintians 3:18

Love,
Jenny

P.S. After finishing this post, I went to run errands. Halfway to the store, 
I realized that I hadn’t grieved for the mass of people there. 
I almost pulled over to weep. 
Walking through that crowd had a profound effect on me. 

God has been doing a great work in how I see others. 
Showing me how inherently flawed and broken I am. 
We are all in need of the Savior – daily.

All His judgement was poured out on Jesus at the cross.
When we receive the gift of His sacrifice, we are set free.
Hallelujah!

Fall Field Trip

For Veteran’s Day Mike took me to the coolest mill we’ve ever seen.
It’s called Falls Mill and it’s only about an hour from us.
This is a treadmill for a dog.. 
He treads and the butter churns in the thing in front.
 The water wheel was over a hundred years old.
Up stairs they had a museum.
 This player piano plays 20/30’s music and comes
complete with drums and cymbals.
 They had a collection of cast iron.
 And I thought Mom would like the cameras.
I really liked the spool organizer.
Where can I get one of those?
For a while the mill was used to spin thread. 
I thought demonstrating this weaving loom would be a cool job. 
 Here’s where the water runs down the wheel. 
And a picture of the mill from down below.
The sun wasn’t real cooperative. 
 We were there.
Most of the leaves had fallen
in this valley.
 Loved these berries.
 This tree was gorgeous.
 The garage.
On the way home we passed this barn
 and Mike stopped so I could photograph it. 
Nice. 
Love,
Jenny

Busy Week with Mitch and Nana

I decorated for fall for the first time.  
I think I am normally just too busy with school this time of year.  
 I bought these flowers last December at 80% off with 
the intention of making a wreath.  At least I got them out.. 
and I made the pumpkins from scratch with some found wood.
Back in in 2003, after we’d just moved to Florida, I ended up with 
second degree burns on my right arm after opening this pressure 
cooker while it was under pressure.  I was tired, wasn’t thinking clearly, 
and couldn’t find directions on how long I should cook the fresh 
corn on the cob I had just bought from the vegetable stand.
 We decided to make chili for Mike’s parents one night last week, 
and I took some time to look up the best way to cook dried pinto beans, 
because ever since I started making my chili in the crock pot 
my beans had been coming out crunchy – yuck!
I found the national bean council’s suggested method for 
“gas free” soaking:  Wash, cover with water, boil 3 minutes,
 cover, set aside over night, rinse, cook.

Then I stumbled upon a you-tube video on pressure cooking beans,
and decided to conquer my fear and try it out.  It worked great!  
Just 12 min. under pressure and they were done.  
Way better than 2 hrs. simmering on the stove. 
Can’t wait to try out some more recipes. 
While the chili was simmering in the crock pot, we got to go 
to an open house at Mike’s work.. first one they’ve had one in years.
All the kids had off work and Mitch and Nana had just happened to plan 
their visit at the right time.  It was great to learn about what all his office does.
We’d planned to pick up our favorite BBQ another night..
only to discover that Chuck Wagon was closed because they had a booth
at the 45th Annual Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers’ Convention.
How fun.  We had no idea what we’d been missing all these years.
Gatherings of fiddlers playing blue grass while dancing.. gospel singing.  
Banjo, dulcimer, dobro, harmonica.. all ages.. competing for the title of
 Tennessee Valley Fiddle Champion.  Food, arts and crafts, perfect weather.. 
Can’t wait to go again next year.
Saturday we went up to Fort Payne to show Nana Little River Canyon Falls.
 The weather was perfect all week.
 And Fall was really starting to show it’s colors.
 We took the scenic drive.
 Saw some hawks.
 Had a really good time.
 Got a few pictures.. but the sun wasn’t especially corporative.
 Sunday afternoon we had a partly cloudy day 
and decided to try for a family picture.
 Took a ton of pictures.. this was the last one.. somehow the last one 
usually turns out to be the best one.. glad we took “one more”.
Our eyes are a little squinty.. but it’s better than last year.. we never got one.
It was great seeing Mitch and Nana.  Judi won every game she played..
didn’t matter who her partner was.  The boys had a couple of days
off work and it was great to get in some family time.

Talladega Trip: Favorite Part

If you were to ask us what our favorite part of our trip was,
we’d probably both agree: eating – with friends, at Shakey’s Pizza,
Blue Bell ice cream, at a stake place down the road from our 
time share at the Cheaha State park with a view..
Mike’s second would probably be the speedway..
My second would be photographing this mill and covered bridge..
 It was just so beautiful..
(inside)
And easy to photograph..
Kymulga Grist Mill and Bridge
Mike asked..  
“Why did they build covered bridges?” 
 Do you know the answer?
 A friend told me last year.. 
 To protect them from the elements.. 
Keeping the ice off them helped them last much longer.
 They actually have a camp ground at this park.
 And a nice trail..
 Mushrooms.. 
 So nice..
Love,
Jenny

Talladega Speedway

Before heading back we had to stop at the Talladega Speedway.
And visit their museum. 
We saw a bunch of cars.
 Including a rocket car (on my left)
that broke the sound bearer driving 739.6 mph.
Mike’s favorite..
 Trying on one for size.
 Then we took a private tour of the speedway.
(We were the only ones there.)
Stood in the winner’s circle.
 Learned things like..
Their bleachers run a mile long…
 The track banks at 31 degrees.  So steep you have  
drive at least 80 mph to avoid falling off.
 At 2.6 miles long, it’s Nascar’s biggest race track.  
Start your engines.

Talladega National Forest ~ 2

On my birthday we went to Sylacauga, AL for a special treat:
 a tour at a Blue Bell Creamery that ended with a big scoop of ice cream.  
Mike had his standard: Mint Chocolate Chip and I tried something new:
Mocha Madness.  It’s my new favorite.
There are only 3 Blue Bell creameries in the country.  
This was my first factory tour.  Pretty cool.
Did you know that they make 42 different flavors.
Over half they rotate through – the year.
Mike and I decided that we could never work there.
Their employees get 4 breaks a day and are allowed to grab
and eat 1/2 a gallon on each of their breaks.
We also stopped by the Comer Museum.  It’s an art/history/ Jim Nabors’ 
museum.  Jim grew up there and sang in the school and church choirs. 
 

Wednesday we went to Cheaha State Park.
Saw a beautiful tower.
 You could see for miles.
I’d like to watch an approaching storm from there someday.
 I am a little obsessed with taking pictures of my little car.
It looks so at home in the forest that
I found a forest name for it.. (see end of post).
This little dear was hungry; we had nothing to feed her.
While waiting for time for our lunch we took a
hike down Bald Rock Boardwalk Trail.

and saw signs of fall.
We are so glad it’s September and the weather’s turned cooler.
What a view.
Here we are.

at Bald Rock

 Here we are with the view in view.

Before leaving the park we at at the Cheaha Restaurant;
reasonably priced, great food with an awesome view.
Did I mention that were are on the highest mountain in Alabama?

Next we drove about 6 miles South to find High Falls Trial.

I’d found impressive pictures of the falls on line.
The trickle we found there was a little underwhelming.
We climbed up the side of the falls along it’s three tiers.
Lowest tier above.  Middle tier below.
Then way up these stairs..
The grand finale.  Maybe we should try again in the Spring.
The on-line review of the hike described it as short;
they forgot to mention steep.  It’s not named “High Falls” for nothing.
Time to catch my breath.

At least it’s cool in the shade.

Loving the trees.
Did I say steep?
Some flowers along the trail.
And something that reminded me of my car.
Green and small.. but big on the inside.
“My Little Green Acorn” – does the name fit?

Talladega National Forest ~ 1

For my birthday week Mike took me to the 
Talladega National Forest for a relaxing time away.
On our way there, we stopped at a new outlet mall 
just East of Birmingham where I scored big time.
 Got this new cordless tool set for $75 with tax 
and some new dresses and slacks.
Saturday we went out to explore the area around a nearby lake
 Gorgeous roads.
 We took my car.  Mike got an amazing 38 miles to the gallon one time.
It averages around 27 mpg.
It’s so cute.  Doesn’t it look right at home in the woods?
Sunday we went to Montgomery to visit old friends.
and their kids
River’s Edge Church was celebrating their 6th anniversary.
Red Robbin is our favorite place in Montgomery to eat with friends.
 It was great seeing everyone.
Before going back to our time share we drove an hour and a half 
to Shakey’s to catch part of a football game and of course
 for some of our favorite pizza, mojos and chicken.

On Board..

Another “We were here.”
 Our cabin is just to up and to the left of this life raft.
 Mountains
and more mountains…
This picture is making me miss them.
Mike, 
Thank you for the wonderful trip and for the 
wonderful husband and father you have become.
Enjoying every moment with you.
Love,
Jenny

Victoria, BC.. Canada

Hanging out on our favorite deck with a sea bird.
 Miles and miles of ocean.  
There are whales, dauphins, and seals in there.  
I know because we saw them. 🙂
They order and plant over 300,000 tulips from Holland every year.

 The Butchart Family was in the cement business.

This used to be a rock quarry.
See?
Bleeding Hearts
 Love these.
 Cherry Trees!
 Believe me about the tulips?
 Love the contrasting colors!
 Original Butchart Manson
 Tired of flowers yet?
 How about a waterfall?
 How about a tree?
 Not just any tree.. a REDWOOD!
 Me and my tree.
By the bay.. the Empres Hotel
And government buildings.
… This was our last port before returning to Seattle.
We had such a WONDERFUL time!

Ketchikan, Alaska

 Want to move to Alaska?
Ketchikan was my favorite Alaskan city.
 This floating village will follow you where ever you want to go along the water.
 Eagles Galore
 Wow!
Guard Island Lighthouse
 Our ship, the Norwegian Pearl.
Doesn’t it just look fun?
 A house by the bay?
Back out to sea.
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