Windshield Sunsets

Two days of driving to get from DeLand, FL to Dallas, TX.  Two beautiful sunsets.

Vicksburg

We didn't plan to drive through Vicksburg, MS on this trip.  It just sort of happened.  Actually, what happened was we had decided to try to make the drive from DeLand, FL to Dallas, TX in 2 days rather than 3 days.  This is a distance of about 1,100 miles which means a couple of long consecutive days in the car.

We stopped Monday a little over halfway to Dallas at Slidell, LA.  This ended up being a very good choice for both location and logistics.  On Tuesday morning I happened to think to check the traffic situation down the road ahead of us for Baton Rogue and discovered that our interstate highway was shut down completely due to a bad accident.  Traffic was backed up for miles and not moving.  Since we were still far enough away to not run into the back of that parking lot, we took a 50 mile longer route up I-55 to Jackson, MS and then over I-20 from there to Dallas.  This route put Vicksburg right in our path and I figured, we might as well make the long day even longer by taking a couple hours to drive through the Vicksburg National Battlefield to see what was to see.

Turned out there was a lot to see.  Way more than we could enjoy in just a couple hours, but we did our best to maximize the visit and learn as much as we could absorb in a short time.  We're glad we stopped.  It would have been great to spend an entire day there and maybe even longer to see the city and some of the historical sites in the area.  We didn't even see the city of Vicksburg.  The topography was different from what I expected.  Lots of bluffs and hills.  I should have imagined that, but I hadn't.

Thanksgiving 2011

Today...

For the first time since 2003, we enjoyed Thanksgiving inside the borders of the USA.

For the first time since 2003, we enjoyed a day together with all four of my siblings and my parents.

For the first time since 1995, we enjoyed a Thanksgiving (or any holiday) with my parents as well as with all my siblings and my parents.

For the first time ever, Cameron and Dayton enjoyed a holiday with their McManus grandparents and also their McManus uncles/aunts.

It was a rare event, a great day, and of course, we forgot to get the camera out of the van.  Fortunately, there were other cameras (better than mine anyway) taking a few snapshots.  Here are a couple I've snagged from Facebook so far.

I guess you can kind of see why we don't do this very often!  It gets a little rowdy!

Seriously, it was a great day, a special time, and one we'll remember.  We probably won't be able to take another shot like this on a Thanksgiving Day with all of us still here on this side of eternity.  God has been good to us and we have more to be thankful for than we can tell.

We were blessed to have a special guest today who we were quite happy to be a part of our photos...she's from a country that is sensitive to reveal and which has ongoing safety issues with its citizens as well as with foreigners.  She was fine with us posting the photos with her in it, but I feel better about not revealing her identity or country just in case.

Good Eats

After our visit to Blue Spring State Park we stopped in at a local Puerto Rican restaurant to try the combo of the day: beef steak with 2 sides and a drink.  We love flattened, fried plantains called "tostones" and so we got 2 orders of those for the sides.  We would have tried more tastes there but the boys were wanting to try New York style pizza down the road which was pretty good, but nothing nearly as good as the foods at Lelo's BBQ (http://www.lelosbbq.com/menu.php). 

Our sister-in-law, Esme, is Puerto Rican and makes awesome tostones.  I think hers are even better than these, but hey, these were available, and today, they were delicious.

Blue Spring State Park

Today we visited Blue Spring State Park just outside of Orange City, FL, which is neither a city nor filled with oranges but is located in Florida.

This park is known for being a popular destination of large, swimming, mammals that enjoy warm water.  No, not people (necessarily!)...manatees!  Of course, people often fit that description too I suppose but let's not go there.

This park is also known for being the largest spring along the St. Johns River.  The park brochure stated that the spring exudes about 104 million gallons of water every day.  In doing a little reading on Wikipedia regarding the River, that site cites a source claiming something over 64 million gallons a day.  Either way, they both agree that Blue Spring provides the most water of any spring along the river.

Finally, the park is also notable because it was the location of my first-ever job.  I was a summer, seasonal worker called an O.P.S. the summer between my junior and senior years of high school.  That would have been 1984.  It was a glamorous position.  I mowed a lot of grass, picked up a lot of trash, cleaned a lot of bathrooms, and lost a lot of sweat.  I was paid all of $3.35 an hour for the 40 hour work weeks.

With manatees in the immediate area of the river, swimming, snorkeling, and diving is now closed for the winter.  It was hot enough to really want to take a dip but we were contented with nature watching.  We didn't view any manatees (they were out in the river during the warmth of the day) nor alligators, but we did see a lot of fish, some birds, and no large, swimming mammals that didn't belong in the water which is always a good thing.

Florida Scenes

We've spent 2 days in Florida.  We're staying four nights in Daytona across from the big race track.  It's relatively close to my parents' home (30 minute drive).  They can't house us and so we're staying at a clean, cheap motel on the main highway.  On Sunday, we'll pack up and move in to a Bed & Breakfast that is only 2 miles from my parents.  Because we'll end up staying there for 8 nights, the British owner has given us a nice discount and it will only be $60 a night (plus tax) which is a great deal and save us the commute.  Thanks a lot mate!

Today we stopped in at the Daytona Flea Market.  The boys weren't sure what to expect and I think we enjoyed it.  We ended up buying...yeah...you guessed it...used books.  It's gotta be some sort of mental illness...or maybe we're just normal missionaries with a 10,000 book library.  OK...it could be both.  We also picked up two yummy loaves of homemade bread baked by a nice Colombian baker.  We enjoyed trying to keep up with his rapid Spanish.  We also purchased a bag of Indian River navel oranges, some fresh squash (which Beth fried this evening), and a cheap shoe organizer (because Beth's shoes back home have an organizational deficiency...trust me on this...we've tested them).  We just barely passed on a large skull and crossbones flag that read: "Until Morale Improves -- The Beatings Will Continue."

We picked up some Thanksgiving supplies at a nearby Sam's Club and then spent some time at my folks' house.  We're working on a long list of projects at their house but wanted to break that up today a little bit.  One other diversion we enjoyed was a trip to the nearby wildlife refuge at Lake Woodruff and walked a mile or so and took a few photos that might be worth sharing.

Tomorrow...we deep clean the kitchen.  Pray for us.  :-)

A Drive Through Snowy Roads

One of our small hopes for this fall trip was that we would see just a bit of wintry weather without having to actually deal with it.  Last Friday, we did just that as we drove from eastern PA to north central OH.  In central PA we drove through some snow squalls that actually stuck to the ground and roofs.  The roadway was never icy and our lack of winter clothing was not a problem either.  

We thank God for continuing to keep us safe on the roads as we've topped 8,000 on this brief home assignment which began on September 23.  We have many people to thank for their hospitality and generosity.  We're finally in Florida to visit with my folks and to spend Thanksgiving here with them and all four of my siblings and their families.  We expect to begin our drive back to Dallas from Florida on November 28.

Gideon Slew the Mennonites (not quite)

We're staying in Lancaster, PA with friends while we commute each day to visit with Beth's sister.  Actually, with both of Beth's sisters because the one from Indiana is here visiting as well.  So is Beth's mother.  That's why we're staying in Lancaster because there is no room in the inn here.  Cameron is staying overnights here while Beth, Dayton and I commute back to Lancaster.  It's about 40 miles and takes a little over an hour, including a brief stop at Dunkin Donuts for coffee and a couple of yeasty diabetes inducers.

On our way over for today's visit we were pointing out the local Amish and Mennonite culture and some of the differences between them (as much as we know and understand).  Dayton piped up, "Didn't Gideon kill the Mennonites?"  Uhhh...yeah...something like that.

Home Assignment - Time Zone Update

OK...this has been one crazy week.  Where to start?

After returning from Iowa and Illinois this past Monday, we arrived back at the home of Beth's sister and brother-in-law in Chesterton, IN.  My plan was to use our time there this week to prep for this Sunday's first hour Sunday school and then message for the 2nd hour.  However, the Lord had other plans.

A phone call to our good friend and my old college buddy, Tim, who lives near Dayton, OH resulted in an unexpected change of plans.  On Tuesday morning I left Beth and the boys in Chesterton and I drove the 300 miles to visit Tim.  His wife and kids were away for the week with her parents so we had a brief but very special time just to talk and laugh and catch up on life and ministry.

On Wednesday I spent the day with Tim in his 3rd grade public school classroom and gave a little presentation to each of his two team-taught classes.

That evening we drove over to visit Tim's parents and Tim treated his dad and me to a nice dinner out in honor of our birthdays (mine was that day).  Afterward I shared a ministry update at his parents' home for a Wednesday night prayer group from their church which is one of our ministry partners.  It was a very sweet time as we closed in a couple rounds of prayer.

Early Thursday morning I headed back to Chesterton and on Friday morning we loaded up again and headed to WV to stay overnight with some friends on our way to our ministry update tomorrow morning near Grafton, WV.

As a result of all the traveling this week, I started the week in Central Time Zone then spent a day and a half in Eastern Time Zone thus turning the clock forward an hour; then spent nearly a day in Central Time Zone turning the clock back an hour; before returning to Eastern Time Zone putting the clock forward an hour; and tonight ends Daylight Savings, so I will change the clock back one hour once again!

After lunch tomorrow we head to Lancaster, PA and we'll be visiting with Beth's sister and brother-in-law and their 9 kids from Monday through Thursday.  We'll be commuting the one hour to their home each day.  They won't have room for us this visit because Beth's sister from Chesterton and her 4 kids and her mother are all staying there too!  Our hosts in Lancaster, PA are dear friends and we're looking forward to spending some time with them.  It should be a fun week.  

I do hope I get the time I need to prep for the following Sunday's set of messages!  Something tells me with 15 kids in the house, this might be a tricky endeavor!