More Traveling and More MIRL - Part I

I've been trying to get here to update, but have been having a hard time even getting the laundry done, the house put back together, the bills caught up - plus, the little rascals do take a lot of time and energy! I am going to do an update on them soon - fun times with them.

We returned Monday evening from the second long week-end trip. I had been planning the Homecoming trip for a very long time, and the fact that the opportunity to visit Maine butted up against that first trip was surprising and a bit serendipitous.


When I became acquainted with three women from Maine over the last 3+ years, I never ever dreamed I would get out there and that things would work out to meet all of them. They all went to great effort to arrange it so that we could connect.

Over the last two week-ends, I have flown on 8 different airplanes and been in 6 different airports. What are the odds that you can experience no delays, lost luggage, bad weather, crying babies, seatbacks in my lap?? I did sit by a little guy who got fussy for a few minutes and let out a pretty good scream or two, but I started playing peek-a-boo with him and it seemed to help. In fact, on the flight from Denver to Detroit, early in the morning, the plane was sparsely booked, so we each had a row of seats to ourselves. I slept most of that leg, so it went really fast.


American Airlines doesn't even give a peanut or a pretzel. Delta gives you a tiny package of very tasty snack mix and a package of cookies, and Continental gives you mini pretzels. Continental actually has a sign in the walkway from the plane to the terminal that states they serve free meals during "mealtime." I asked a flight attendant, a male with a great sense of humor, if we were flying at the "right time." I figured 6:00 p.m. was prime dinner time, but it turns out that we were about an hour off. He said they were all starving too. I realized that you can fly from hither to yon and never once hit an actual mealtime in any given airport. So we had lunch at 10:00 a.m., dinner at 4:00, breakfast whenever.


The one thing I regretted - I have all these new socks I've just recently purchased, and wouldn't you know, I'd put on an old sock with a small hole in the toe (well, it WAS 3:00 a.m.!), and didn't realize it. Oh, well, I'm sure they've seen much worse.


Every time I rent a car, I learn something new to never do again. The lesson I learned in Oklahoma City is to never link to a car rental from Travelocity. You can get a much better price if you just log onto the rental agency yourself. AND - never rent a car from the airport if you can help it. They add so many fees it is unbelievable. In OKC, I paid 11% "airport access fee." In Portland, Maine, we spent $6.40 to get to Enterprise 3/4 mile from the airport and saved probably 4 times that much by doing so. Then they took us back to the airport when we turned in the car. Turns out that if they'd have come to pick us up when we arrived, we'd have still had to pay the airport fee. This was all information I got from the rental agents at both locations.


We took our GPS with us, put in Groovy's address, and headed from Portland to her home, about an hour away. She lives out of town a fur piece, on a dark country road. We were very thankful for the GPS. But we arrived safely and were so delighted to meet Groovy, Mulletman, Girlie-Girl and Silly-Head. The girlies are beautiful and sweet (and a bit shy). Mulletman and DC had a great time together, which was such a blessing. It's great to have husbands who are tolerant of our blogging obsession!


It was wonderful to sit down at the table and break bread with new/old friends - true friends I had made through cyberspace - who would have ever believed this a few years ago?? We had delicious enchilada casserole, wonderful applesauce Groovy made that day, yummy squash, corn, and ice cream for dessert.



Even though we'd been on the go since 3:00 a.m., mountain standard time, we sat and talked until 10:30 or 11:00 (which of course was 8:30 or 9 on our body time). Mulletman and DC enjoyed talking about geographical topics, thus the road atlas in MM's lap.






But eventually, after learning a lot about each other that we didn't know before, DC and I headed up the steep Maine stairs to a comfortable place to rest. There we found a lovely display of gifts for us - all very thoughtfully Maine-appropriate -- two blueberry scone Yankee candles with a little ceramic bowl done by a local potter, maple syrup candy, two coconut candies, an adorable lighthouse Christmas ornament, and delicious blueberry spread - from Groovy's mom, whom I never got to meet. She loves Teen Challenge, so wanted to share with us as we came to visit Kev at TC. What a blessing all of these specially chosen gifts were.




We had delicious Blueberry Buckle for breakfast the next morning (oh, my goodness, it was good!). I love this shot of Groovy's family before we headed out for lunch with yet another blog friend - Maine Mom.





Joey and her mom headed down from Bucksport to meet with DC and me in Augusta at the Ground Round. They were going to do some shopping afterwards, so I felt good that I was able to facilitate a day with her mom and a day off from her six kiddoes. We had such a delightful time together, and a delicious lunch.




Joey has six beautiful children and they made me the most adorable card. If you can enlarge it, you can see that the kindergartener, Eleanor, wrote "My kids vare nis (are very nice). So cute!








Kev's Maine location is outside of Augusta, in a rural area near Winthrop. They are on 600 wooded acres, which has been donated to Teen Challenge. They live in a very old, once beautiful Civil War-era house, which had been owned by the original owner of Doan's back pill company (which seems to be a very controversial company right now, when I Googled it).





The guys spend a lot of time working outside on the property - tearing down one building all by hand since he's been there, clearing of trees, cutting them into fire wood - the pile shown below is just a fraction of what they've done in the last six months - they'll burn it in the 3 fireplaces.





This view from the back of the house gives a glimpse of Mount Washington in New Hampshire (immediately to the right of the bush). According to DC, who is a veritable encyclopedia of knowledge that he can bring up on the spur of the moment, the top of this mountain has the most inclement weather anywhere in the US. It's not high in comparison to the mountains here in Colorado, but it sounds like a place I do not want to visit.






We got the grand tour of the house, meeting his dozen roommates and fellow students, as well as staff members. The students are divided into two not-very-large bedrooms with 3 hand constructed bunk beds. He did share with us that first night that it gets a bit tiresome being surrounded by people all the time. But they're doing well together. In this shot, Kev was lying on his bed, looking at the pictures he has taped on the slats above him. That window right by his bed has him a bit freaked out for coming cold weather - so we got him a warm comforter when we were out and about those two days we were together.





These guys eat very well - he gained a lot of weight when he first got there, in spite of all the physical labor. He's been working hard at getting back down to a more healthy weight, and is doing well at that.





I got a bang out of this sign in the bathroom - apparently they have quite a bit of trouble with their well and septic system~~Kev says they don't follow the rule too much!





When we got there, he wasn't quite ready to go with us yet - they were rehearsing their choir numbers for that evening's banquet. We went into the room they use as a chapel and sat listening to the rehearsal - we were blessed with the sounds of these men's voices, as they all look to Jesus for release from the demons that bind them with drug addiction. I actually shed a few tears as I listened to them, and looked forward to the evening's activities.





STAY TUNED FOR PART II - the banquet, the trip, another blog friend meeting, and more!

Homecoming and MIRL

I'm home safe and sound, after 4 flawless flights - a nice occurrence. I did have one scary moment when I was renting the car - I discovered that when I printed the message from my friend, telling me her address and directions to her house - the house number and a good bit of the directions had been cut off. I was going to use my GPS, but didn't have the house number. I called her, but she didn't answer. Fortunately, she did call eventually, and I made it safely to her house. Sharon, who had been my bathmate (ugly word which means we shared a bathroom between two dorm rooms) my senior year, was my hostess with the mostest.

As I mentioned in the last post, I had not visited with Sharon for 40 years, since I was a bridesmaid in her wedding. Her husband died a year and a half ago from complications from diabetes, so we had much catching up to do. I am very proud of her and the way she is handling her life alone. We talked way too late, but the next morning after she went to work, I headed over to campus to pick up the tickets for our upcoming events. I have to say that, for some reason, the emotions were right on the surface as I walked around the grounds. I have such wonderful memories of this place, and they rushed into my senses that morning.

Above is the dorm that Sharon and I lived in our senior year. Below, on the right, is the other side of the same dorm. To the left of the dorm is an empty spot where my first dorm used to be. I also lived in that missing dorm my sophomore and junior years, serving as freshman RA.

So much has changed, and so much remains the same. The Lamp of Learning still burns in the middle of the original campus.

Above is the library back then, and below is the library with the Lamp of Learning, this past week-end.

Above is the Student Center back in the 60s. Below is the same building, which is now the Fine Arts Building.

Below is the newer Student Center, which is called The Commons.

This lovely fountain is outside The Commons.

As I said last post, I had many classes in this building. It has now been made into the Administration Building, which is shown below.

As I was walking toward the administration building, I came around the corner upon this --



As I saw this sculpture, I did a double take - I actually said out loud, "Well, hello, Dr. Floyd." I could not believe the realistic portrayal of this dear history professor, who seemed old when I was there, but was there many more years. I felt like sitting down on that bench and having a conversation. I have often said that I loved every minute of college days. I must admit, that is a tiny bit of an exaggeration. I did not like Physical Science and I did not like Art class. This view brought back an unpleasant memory of having to stand on this corner and draw Main Street in perspective - if you knew my artistic ability, you would understand this feeling.



At this time I headed north to the little town of Stroud. I've never been to Stroud - in fact, I haven't been to Stroud yet. I went to a little bar-b-que restaurant on the turnpike exit at Stroud. This is where I met our good blogging friend, Susan from Penless Writer, and her sweet husband, Mickey. Stroud is halfway between Bethany, where I was staying, and Susan and Mickey's home town. I was a little early, so was sitting in the car talking to my mom on the phone. All of a sudden, Mickey was at my window - they were early too, and noticed that I pulled in and didn't get out - guessing that it was me, and they were right. We only had about an hour together, but we were able to cover a lot of ground in that time. This was my 6th time to meet a blog friend, and it is just as delightful every time. Susan and Mickey are just as wonderful IRL as they are here on the computer. We enjoyed delicious pulled pork sandwiches.

Mickey took pictures of us - in front of their cute orange car. . .

. . . and in front of my cute little rented yellow VW Beetle - I have always wanted to drive one of these little cars, and I enjoyed every minute. When I get to the point in life when I don't need a gramma van, this is what I want to have!

Susan and Mickey presented me with a lovely gift - such a nice surprise. They gave me a lovely little Christmas goodies cook book. I can hardly wait to try it. And, best of all, a jar of the honey they make from Mickey's bees. YUMMY!


Thanks so much, Susan and Mickey.

On the way home, I decided to stop by Braum's for a totally unnecessary bit of dessert. I did this for a rather ornery reason. I have a friend at church who quite often mentions how much she misses Braum's from when she lived in Texas. I asked the young man behind the counter to take a picture of me with the cone - so here it is, Coe!





The day continued -- at 6:00 Sharon and I headed for the first gathering of the Class of 1969. We had a great time visiting with those who had arrived so far, while there was a basketball game going on below us - it made it a bit difficult to talk, but we made the best of it. I didn't get many pictures, but here is one of Sharon and me with one of our classmates.



Saturday morning we had a brunch, by which time many more classmates had arrived. Nobody wanted to leave - we had a really good class and it is always so wonderful to catch up. By the time you are at this time in your life, nobody is trying to prove anything - we're too busy showing pictures of our grandkids! Our freshman class president, who was an amazing young man, was tragically killed in a car accident the summer after our freshman year as he was out traveling with a quartet. The sponsor and another quartet member were also killed. The young man that was elected as president for the next 3 years gave us a few words. He made the statement that he never realized when he was elected that it was a life time office.



This lady was one of the popular kids in college days. I wasn't in her league back then. But it is amazing how these many years later, all types of hierarchy are gone, and we all just enjoyed each other's company. She has been an executive for Redken cosmetics and has lived in New York for years. She did a great job coordinating the whole week-end. We spent quite a bit of time that day making a video that will be worked into a recruitment tool. We had quite an emotional time, as we related the many reasons we have such fond memories of our years in college.



The rest of the week-end I spent going to a football game (going, as opposed to watching!), going to a banquet honoring alumni awardees, going to church with my brother and SIL, eating lunch with them, going to dinner with Sharon, and finally getting to bed early last night. I was awakened a bit later than planned, so had to do a bit of a rush to get to the airport. I had plenty of time, as it turned out. The rest of the day went flawlessly, and I got home in good order. Now I have to get everything ready to leave again on Thursday morning for Maine. Our flight leaves at 6:30 a.m., so we'll be getting on the road around 4:00. Yikes.

I am looking so forward to seeing Kevin and meeting his friends. We have a banquet there, and will hear some wonderful testimonies and music from the guys. We get to spend two days with Kev, and we hope to do some good touristy type activities. We're staying with Groovy and her family, having lunch with Joey, Maine Mom and her mom, and breakfast with Midlife Mom. Over the years of blogging, when I have made friends with these three women from Maine, it never occurred to me that I would have the opportunity to meet them. What a blessing. More to come when we return next week!

A Winner and a Week-end Trip

Thank you so much for all who entered the give-away contest. I did the drawing the old-fashioned way and drew a slip of paper from a cereal bowl. The winner of the book and CD by Steven Curtis Chapman is:

Chappyswife at Journey to the Prize

I hope you enjoy it very much. It has been fun to see all of those who came over to visit and enter. Come back soon!

When I was a junior in high school, I took my first trip to visit the college that would eventually be my home for four years - four wonderful years. I went with a bunch of kids from our church - it was an opportunity to look over the college to aid in our decision as to where to attend when it was time.

It was my first trip to Oklahoma. It was the school that our church supported with funds. (Interestingly, the winner of the contest, Shawna, is from Oklahoma). I had never seen red dirt before. It was rather windy. But I had a great time there that week-end, and found the students to be very friendly.

I began to count the days until I could go there as a student. The day finally arrived, and the story of my time there and the way God kept me there financially, is one I love to share. I believe I have shared it here before.

I took a lot of pictures of the buildings during that first week-end.

This is the Student Center, where we spent a lot of time eating, checking our mail, studying, visiting over a Coke.

The library.

The administration building - don't you love the 60s car?

A classroom building where I had many of my elementary education classes.




The Lamp of Learning -- I loved this in the middle of the campus.




For my sophomore and junior years, I worked as a resident assistant in a freshman dorm. My senior year, I had a bit more freedom and lived in Honors Housing in this dorm, Bracken Hall.

Many changes have occurred on the campus since I was there, of course. But most of these buildings are still there, although with different roles.

Here I am with two of my suite mates for that year. This picture was taken on the bus on our senior trip to a resort at Lake Eufala. My most vivid memory of this trip is that it had been raining for several days. We had been praying for nice weather. As we packed for the get-away, my roommate (in the middle) and I tried to decide if we should take umbrellas or not. We felt it would show a lack of faith if we took umbrellas when we had been praying for the rain to stop. So we left them home. It rained all the way to the designated location, and as we turned the final curve, the sun came out, giving us a wonderful week-end of weather. It was a great moment in my faith journey.

Don't you just love all the teased hairdos??

This is my graduation picture.

So why am I taking you on this trip down memory lane?? It's because tomorrow morning, I am heading down there for my 40th reunion - I find it hard to believe! But I am very much looking forward to this long week-end.

I will be staying with the girl on the left of the picture on the bus. I was in her wedding right after graduation. I think I've seen her at one reunion since, but we haven't had a meaningful conversation. We have ALOT to catch up on. The one in the middle is my roommate (and we also roomed together our first year of teaching), but she doesn't get to come this time.

And - on top of it all, I get to meet another blog friend! Susan, Penless Writer, and I will meet for lunch on Friday. I'll take lots of pictures!


I will leave you with this picture out in my back yard this morning - the setting moon was just gorgeous.