To Maine and Back Again

It was a week ago tonight that I was writing my last post as I sat in Kevin and Angie's family room and they watched a football game. This week has gone so quickly, since I've been back home.

My Facebook status update after I arrived at Kev and Angie's house on Thursday night:

The enormous full moon sitting on the snow-topped mountains, as I looked in my rear view mirror on the way to the airport was the highlight of the trip. It was downhill from there.

• discovered that my flight was 8:10, not 8:51, as I was checking in
• there was no seat assignment for me
• when I got a seat, it was window - I am only comfortable on the aisle
• lady in front of me decided to put her seat back in my lap, which doesn't help the claustrophobia
• my injured foot was killing me by the end of the flight - must have been tied too tight and it swelled
• just enough time in Detroit to grab a bagel
• from Detroit to Manchester, NH was on a "mini plane" with mini seats, mini aisles, and a mini rest room
• driving 2 hours in pouring rain in the dark in unfamiliar territory a bit unnerving (thank the Lord for the person who invented the GPS!)
  
  
  SO GLAD to be here - Angie had a lovely pot roast dinner waiting.
  
  Friday morning, Kevin and I went to a cute little old-fashioned diner for breakfast after Angie went to work. He needed to study for a major test in his statistics class the next day, so I headed over to visit my dear blogging buddy, Groovy. We had a too-short, but sweet, visit, and it ended with an introduction to her newest family members --
  
  
  
  
  When I got back to Kev's house, I discovered that he had not been studying after all - he'd fallen asleep and had a wonderful long nap (which he must have really needed). So I relaxed all afternoon, reading a good book, while he struggled with studying for his exam. By the sound of his struggling, I was really nervous about how he was going to do. I was praying for him to have peace of mind, and clarity.
  
  Late in the afternoon, we headed over to Augusta and picked up Angie from work, heading for the annual Teen Challenge Harvest Banquet - which was the great excuse I used for going out for this visit. The banquet is always held in the house that used to be the governor's mansion. It is a lovely place for such an event.
  
  Kevin was asked to be the first on the program. He was able to give a bit of his testimony, which is always such a thrill for me.
  
  
  We met this young man sitting next to Kevin when we were out there in July. He has had his struggles, as all of these young men do during the program, but I have faith that he's going to persevere and make it to the end this time. He's a lot of fun, and he and Kev have a similar sense of humor, which makes them fun to watch in their interactions.
  
  
  
  
  
  Kevin and Angie were enjoying their time together.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  There is a young man who is staying at the Teen Challenge house with the guys. He is an amazingly gifted artist with wood. I wish I had taken pictures of some of his things. He set up his wares at the banquet and contributed 20% of his sales to the program. I bought one of the adorable snowmen for my collection. I wish I had his web address so I could send you over there to look at his things. He is so very talented. Unfortunately, the right "arm" broke on the way home, so Dwight is working on getting it fixed. It may involve finding another stick. I was so sad when I opened it after I got home and realized that I hadn't taken sufficient care of it. It's very hard to carry something so fragile and keep it safe on such a long day's trip.
  
  
  
  

  
  

  Saturday we left the house bright and early, because Kev's exam began at 8:30, and the university is in Portland, an hour away from their house. He was a nervous mess. Angie and I went along for the ride, and waited in the car in the parking lot. We had planned to do some running around, but it was a cold, breezy morning and that didn't sound very inviting. He thought the exam would take him 2 hours, but after an hour and a quarter, he kind of bounced out of the building with a smile on his face and a thumbs up - he felt really good about how he'd done. He called today to tell me had scored a 93%!
  
  We headed for brunch at a little cafe in downtown Portland. It's very popular, and required quite a long wait for a table. But we weren't in any hurry and enjoyed visiting and people watching while we waited. The parking situation was pretty grim, and I was so amused and confused by these signs!
  
  
  
  
  The time sped by much too quickly, and before long it was Sunday morning and time to re-pack everything so that I could head for the airport in Manchester, NH, right after church and a quick lunch. Kev and Angie are working on getting acquainted and involved at their new church.
  
  The drive back to the airport was much easier when it was daylight and not raining. I left at noon so that I'd have plenty of time to get the rental car turned in, find my way to my gate, and not be in a rush. It was hard to find good music to accompany my trip, but I did manage to find a Christian station out of North Carolina that played old, old, old music, old, old music, and old music. It was the kind of songs that brought back many good memories - many of the ones that Dwight and I used to sing in church as duets.
  
  I have to say that the only thing about Maine that I really dislike is the ridiculous abundance of toll booths! They get you coming and going, over and over again. It can add up very quickly. (Of course, I've never been there in the winter, so that might be the other thing I would dislike).
  
  I had plenty of time before my 4:13 flight, and enjoyed the peacefulness of the small airport - it was amazingly empty that day, and it was so nice compared to most airports. When we boarded the puddle jumper for the first leg of the journey home, I was happy to have a seat to myself - there was only one seat in each row on the left side of the plane, and two on the right. I wondered how this could be balanced! The one and only flight attendant was a guy at least my age, hopefully older, since he looked like he was in his 70s. I remember when I was young and used to think it would be fun and glamorous to be a "stewardess." That was before I realized they were basically waitresses in cramped, uncomfortable conditions, high in the sky. I was too tall in those days. Now you can be old, young, man, woman, tall, short, fat, thin.
  
  The flight to Newark was uneventful. I must say that the Newark airport is my least favorite ever. This was my second time there, and perhaps my last, if I'm lucky. From the very serene and peaceful situation in Manchester, I couldn't believe how crowded the waiting area was when we got off the plane.
  
  
  
  
  I was happy to have a couple of hours to maneuver the change of concourses, and time to eat in the Food Court. It was like a little United Nations in the Food Court - interesting to watch and listen. I have to say it's much easier to read when the conversation around you is a language you don't understand. I wasn't so excited to get to my gate and find out there was a minor delay, which turned into a much more lengthy delay. I finally learned that the plane we were to leave on was coming in from Jamaica, and had been held up in Customs for some reason. We finally boarded at 9:30 p.m. for a 4 1/2 hour flight against a head wind from the west. It was a crowded flight, but I was thankful for the aisle seat this time. We landed finally at around midnight Denver time. By the time I got to the shuttle but, to my car, and finally home, it was 2:00 a.m. It took me the better part of this past week to feel back to normal.
  
  I know several things for sure:
  
  

  • I missed my traveling buddy - it's not as much fun alone.
    
  • I will always check luggage - it's worth the price. Especially when I'm alone.
    
  • I will never fly anything but Frontier or Southwest again - preferably Southwest, because baggage flies free! And because they have a sense of humor, nicer planes, and generally a better attitude toward those of us who pay their salary.

  
  Have a wonderful week as you look forward to Thanksgiving Day and ponder the many things to be thankful for.
  

  

Maine Vacation 2011, Part I

We set the alarm for 3:30 a.m. in order to get the car parked, the shuttle ride taken, and be on the plane by 6:00. We flew to Boston by way of Baltimore on Southwest - the best ticket price I could find. We got a nice new rental car, set the GPS to Kev and Angie's address, and headed north to Maine. We stopped for a sandwich at Subway along the way, arriving at their house around 6:00 p.m. It was sauna-like, inside the house and out. Fortunately, we were blessed with the basement for our sleeping time there. Kevin and Angie have been blessed with a house to live in rent-free for a few months at least. I'm aggravated that I forgot to take pictures outside the house, so here are two tiny ones that she posted from her camera on Facebook. It's in the woods and is so peaceful.

We got up early in the morning to head for the Teen Challenge house, so Kevin could do his last minute arrangements for the golf tournament. It was 86 at 7:00 that morning. It was the beginning of the hottest July day they'd had in many years. I tried to get a picture of the air you could visibly see at the golf course.

The foursome was set up, and the day began. There were 48 players in 12 teams.

It was so hot that water was one of the most important elements of the day. Some of the Teen Challenge students spent the day delivering bottles of cold water to the parched players. Kev and Dwight said they each drank at least a dozen bottles. (I never did hear how many bathroom breaks they took!)

The tournament was held at the same place as last October, when I froze to death in the club house - the course is built on an old farm, and the club house is the barn. There's no insulation, so it was frigid last fall and blistering hot on this incredibly hot day. I'm guessing it was at least 90 degrees in there all day. I could have spent the day in the basement, where there's a nice rocking chair in the ladies' room. But I feared if I went down there, I would never come back up into the heat. I spent the day reading in front of a very large, noisy fan that didn't do much, but was better than nothing. But I was really glad I was there, because the guys kept coming up and introducing themselves to me, then telling me their stories, and then telling me how much Kevin means to them. It was such a blessing to this mother's heart.

One of Kevin's duties in preparation for the tournament was to put together prize packages for a raffle at the end of the day, during the dinner. He worked really hard at it and had some lovely prizes. I gave him $20 to supplement what he had so he could have a few chances to win one of the packages. How excited we all were when he won the big "date night" prize.

In October, there's going to raffle off this - which Dwight sure wishes he could win! But the tickets are $100 each - and then he'd have to ride it cross country to Colorado~~




When Kevin was able to leave, we headed to Augusta to visit Angie's office - all of us looking like something the cat dragged in. I was so happy that none of the players had fainted from the heat! It was so much fun for Kevin to be able to tell Angie that he had won something --



And then he told her what it was - Two nights in two nice hotels in Portland, a gift card for a restaurant, an hour massage, tickets to a museum, and some beautiful salt water pearl jewelry - necklace and earrings. This was so perfect, because their 10th anniversary is on September 1 and they were wondering how they'd come up with the money for a nice celebration. This is such a special anniversary, because they've been together only about 5 of their 10 anniversaries.

It was so great to meet Angie's co-workers and learn how much they're appreciating her in her new position. She's doing great and loves her job. We met the head doctor in this large pediatric clinic who told us, "She's showing her true colors this week!" I'm not sure exactly what that means, but it has something to do with some tough issues she's had to deal with and done it very well.

We ended up taking a young guy to meet up with his parents in a town about 45 minutes away, and caught a bite to eat on the way back to their house - which was 89 degrees inside when we got there.

I'm happy to say it cooled down overnight and was in the 70s the next day, which was perfect for Part II - stay tuned!

The Week in Review

Well, actually, it's a review of the last couple of weeks -- we've had one really hot day, two or three perfect days, and several wet and cool days. Never a dull moment around here. The Big Thompson River is running really high and fast, but so far no flooding down here.



I've actually been up to Estes Park twice this week - really quite hard to believe. The first time was with my two dear friends from high school in Nebraska. These two are like extra sisters to me, and we've seen each other through a lot in the last 25 years since we've connected here in Colorado. One is back in Nebraska, but has a cabin out here in the mountains. The other one lives about 20 miles from me. We get together as often as we can.



Monday we spent about 6 hours catching up, and had a lovely dinner at one of our favorite places above Estes Park called The Bald Pate Inn. It has a fun history, so check it out if you're interested. They have the most delicious soups, salad, muffins, breads, and pies.



The inn is old and rustic, made of logs, and has sloping wooden floors which add to its charm. They employ several college students every summer from all over the country, in fact the world, who are majoring in Restaurant and Resort Management. It's always fun to visit with these young people who are enjoying their stay in the mountains for the summer. I just learned that the book and Broadway play on which the name of the inn is based is inspiration for an outdoor drama they do each summer in their amphitheater. I'd love to go back up there and see it, but it doesn't look like it will happen this year.

A couple of days later, DC and I headed back up there with his sister who lives here and his brother and SIL who were visiting from Georgia. It was one of those cold, wet, gray days down here. But as we headed up, we broke through the clouds and in fact could see them below us as we climbed. The elk were out in great numbers on this day - we even saw one at the top of the mountain, which is highly unusual this early in the season - he was eating brown grass when the ones down below were dining on succulent greens.


You can see brown trees in this picture - they are victim to the pine bark beetle, which is destroying so many of our forests. It is very sad. They haven't figured out a way to stop it yet.

As we got higher, we found our picnic spot and enjoyed a bit of sun and warmth (if you sat right in the sun). This was in the Lawn Lake area, where a devastating flood roared through in 1980, due to the failure of a dam. It did great damage to Estes Park, just 4 years after the Big Thompson flood, which started below Estes, but caused tourists not to be able to get there for a couple of years. So they suffered about 6 years or more to their tourist economy. Here you can see reminders still evident.



But the area was beautiful and we enjoyed ourselves, along with many others who were out with the same idea. Many of them were spotting big horn sheep up on the rocks in the trees, but I never was able to locate them.






We proceeded to the top of the world via Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuous highway in the US. There was so much snow up there this past winter that the opening, which is usually around Memorial Day, was the latest in 20 years. Driving between the plowed banks felt as if you were going through a tunnel.

I took this one outside my window. I love the puffy cloud and deep blue sky above the snowbank.

The road had only been opened for 5 days, the first several were so the workers could get up to the gift shop at the top and get it ready for the onslaught of tourists. When we got there, the shop was doing a booming business in souvenirs and lunch. It was SO cold, though sunny, up there. The wall of snow that had been scooped off the parking lot was amazing.



I stayed in the car and "let" DC take all of the rest of the cold pictures - I seriously thought the wind was going to whip him off the edge of the world at one point. I just love the shadows of the clouds floating above the snowy peaks.







Two weeks ago, we went into the mountains at the southern part of the state, up to our church camp. The occasion was especially poignant for our church, for it was the groundbreaking for a new chapel which will be named after the young man, Dan Walker, who died three summers ago while he was working there for the summer. The chapel will be so beautiful and in a setting unparalleled in its beauty, facing Pikes Peak.

Dan was a wonderful young man with a huge future. Though he is gone from us, the ripples of the impact of this chapel will be even more huge.

Dan's family turned the first shovels - mom, dad, and 3 brothers.

Kevin and Angie had quite an adventure getting to Maine. Thirteen states, 2500 miles, 45 hours in total - all driven by Kevin. Just a few miles down the road, their brand new wheel alignment proved to be inadequate - they turned back around to Cheyenne and found that the company in Fort Collins had done absolutely nothing - $168 worth of nothing. Amazing. The same company in Cheyenne did the right thing and fixed it for them, and were very kind in the process. They hit lots of construction, causing big delays. Trying to make up for lost time, Kev got a speeding ticket in Lincoln, Nebraska. They finally made it to their destination where I'd made them a reservation (they had no phone bars throughout the day) until 1:00 a.m. The second night they made it as far as Cleveland and stayed with the parents of one of the TC students. It was such a blessing to spend time with these neat people, and very refreshing to them - all of them. When the phone worked again, Angie found out she had 3 calls from the jobs she had applied for - all asking her for interviews. A fourth one came later, so she had 4 interviews coming up on that Monday. I loved the way they took it all in stride and just enjoyed being together.

On Thursday they made it to Utica, New York and had a good night's rest. The next day they got to see Niagara Falls on the Buffalo side - such a treat. They enjoyed the beauty of that part of the country and felt like tourists rather than weary travelers. The friend with the truck had gone ahead, because he had to be back at work.

They finally arrived at TC in Winthrop, Maine Friday afternoon and spent the week-end with the pastor in whose home they are staying until they can get into a place of their own. This is wonderful except for two things - ticks and black flies - oh, and no bars on her phone. But it's all sorting itself out. She had 4 interviews on Monday and one more on Thursday. Three of the 4 on Monday offered her positions - I don't know if she's heard from the 5th one, but she accepted the one on the Ob/Gyn clinic in Lewiston, Maine. It was a tough decision for her - several of them were very inviting. Talk about feeling desired! We are so proud of both of them. Keep them in your prayers if you think of them, because there's a lot of "settling in" ahead of them.

I know this is way too long, but just a little update on the kiddoes -

Miss Emma is on her second round of pink eye, and miraculously none of the rest of us has caught it. She had it in both eyes and kept saying, "I have a pink eye." Katie would then say, "I don't have a pink eye," in the tone of voice that indicated she couldn't figure out why she didn't, since they always do the same thing together.

I love listening to them when they don't know anyone's listening or watching - they love to sit at the table for a long time after the meal, making games with their toast, their silverware, and anything else they can make into a toy. They also make a huge mess in the process! That hot dog bun ended up into about 100 pieces on the floor. Oh, well, that's what brooms are for.




And just for the pure fun of it ---

Maine-ly For Fun, Part 2 - The Golf Tourney

We had an enjoyable, though very short, time with Groovy and her husband, and after a lovely breakfast, we headed for Leeds, Maine --



As you can see, Leeds is a very old town. I'd love to know the history, because there is not much left but the golf course, at least that I could discern. The course is located on what used to be a large farm.

The farmhouse is occupied, probably by someone who works at the course.

The barn has been turned into the clubhouse - it was incredibly cold in there, because it's not insulated. But it's a fun place nevertheless.








Kevin had asked me what I would do while they were golfing. I told him not to worry - I'm good whenever I have a book in my hand. It was so very cold that morning, and windy, that I went out to the car, covered up with a blanket we happened to have in the car, and read (when I wasn't dozing).

It wasn't my idea of a good time, but the golfers were really excited as they headed out.

The sun came out around noon and it warmed up nicely. I finally got out of the car and began exploring. First stop, of course, was the ladies' room downstairs in the clubhouse. I thought the decorations were fun --

I love this very rustic lawn chair beside the herb garden ---

I couldn't resist taking a picture of these enormous mushrooms - for some reason, they reminded me of Pea's fairy garden.

The course was beautiful - once the sun came out, the players enjoyed themselves ever so much more.









I headed down the country path to explore a bit more - I shot this what I call "typical" old country church in Maine - I love them and wish I'd had time to stop and catch them all.

Guess what I found down the road a ways? Another old cemetery --



This family plot was impressive --

The really special thing about this golf tournament was the fact that Kevin arranged and organized the event as part of his new position as intern. It has been an all-consuming job since he returned to Maine in early August. He did a super job.

At 3:00 we were treated to a very nice meal prepared by a couple of the students and staff members. We had Chicken Marsala, beef tips, broccoli, biscuits, potatoes, and strawberry shortcake.

Here Kevin is with his friend, mentor, and "boss", Aaron.

Kev and his dad enjoyed playing together so much. It had been 11 years since Kev had played. He remembered the last time very clearly and mentioned several times how wonderful it felt to feel good when he was playing - not to be hampered by drugs in his system. What a blessing!

The icing on the cake was when Kevin got to present his dad with a prize for hitting a ball on a certain hole closest to a certain spot. I don't remember details - suffice it so say that DC won a very nice putter and was honored to shake his son's hand as he accepted it.



Stay tuned for Part 3 - on to Midlife Mom's place --