MY HEROES (Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2019)

Our standby flights winged us from Indianapolis to Nashville, Tennessee, without a hitch and we were able to spend a couple of days with friends before heading on to Crossville, Tennessee, and the Wyndham Resort at Fairfield Glade.  We would spend the next five days there enjoying the company of seven other couples from our past.The Dicers, the Solomons, the Rosses, the Dunningtons, the Halls, the Bittenbenders, the Moores, and the Smiths have been friends for a long time.  Some since childhood and all since our days at Olivet Nazarene University in Illinois.  We have gone our separate ways but have somehow managed to keep the flame of friendship alive.

For the past three years we have been able to clear our calendars and meet for some days of remembering and just being together.  Everyone is free to be themselves and do what they would enjoy doing.  Some hiked, some played golf, some shopped, some did picture puzzles, some watched sports on TV, some went to bed early, some got up early, and some played games.

This year I was able to book two 4 bedroom condos at "the Glade" for five nights at a 50% discounted rate.  This meant that we could add two couples to our usual group.  Dr. and Mrs. (Jane) Don Dunnington from Bethany, Oklahoma made the long drive to Tennessee as did Wes and Marcia Bittenbender from Indian Lake, Michigan.

Eight couples, all married around 50 years ago, shared side splitting laughter, and quiet tears as they reflected on their journeys through life.  No two couples the same but all with continued faith in God and His plan for their lives.

What a wonderful time we had as we told story after story of days gone by and consumed so much food that we didn't think we could eat another bite (but we did).  They were days that, I hope, we will never forget.

REFLECTIONS

As I looked around at all who had gathered I was overcome with a sense of gratitude.  I was reminded how blessed my life has been.  I had wonderful parents who loved me and each other.  I have a big brother who has become my friend.  I have pastored some wonderful churches and folks.  And I have a great number of "long time" friends (that sounds so much better than "old")!  

My heroes are not in the political arena, they are not on the sporting fields, they are not in the entertainment industry.  My heroes were with me at the Wyndham Resort at Fairfield Glade this week.

These 14 who gathered on the Cumberland Plateau for five days are an example of lives lived rightly and marriages that have endured.  It can be done.  Unfortunately, it seems that today many give up too easily.  Friendships are cast aside over trivial matters and marriages are ended without much effort to sustain them.  We have become a throw away society in way too many ways.

So I pay tribute to these wonderful people who have bucked the trends of the times in which we live.  I pay tribute to these who, when they said "til death do us part", meant it.  They are my heroes!

The Solomons

The Halls

The Rosses

The Smiths

The Dunningtons

The Moores

The Bittenbenders

BACK HOME AGAIN IN INDIANA AGAIN (August 29 - September 27)

The month of September has become the month in the fall that we spend in Indiana.  The time is split between our small cabin outside of Bloomington and with our daughter and her family in Avon.

The summer is drawing to a close and the cooler evenings are pleasant for sitting on our wrap around porch.  Open windows, at night, let in the fall breeze, which brings with it the sounds of  night time in the forest.

It is a month to regroup and enjoy some time with family.  The time at the cabin is spent cleaning up our property and cabin, visiting with Sherry's brother and sister in law, visiting Sherry's mom in the Nursing Home, and enjoying the beauty of the natural surroundings.  Rose of Sharon is still flowering, the song birds and humming birds are feeding constantly as the weather cools, and the white tail deer are starting to move along their fall routes as they prepare for the "rut".

Our time in the Indianapolis area is spent being grandparents to our two granddaughters, Abigail and

Adelyn

Adelyn.  We love being with Scott and Autumn but let's be honest, it's all about those girls.

September means volleyball and more volleyball.  Adelyn plays on her 7th grade team and Abigail, a 9th grader, plays on the High School Junior Varsity.  Abigail should be on the 9th grade team but was good enough to make JV in a High School that has over 3,000 students and that was Indiana State Volleyball Champs in 2017 and Runners Up in 2018.

Abigail

We are so proud of them both and believe they are both exceptional players worthy of much praise.  But then we are "the grandparents".

Even at Autumn's home in the "burbs" I can watch turkey and deer in the field and woods behind their house.

It is also a chance to visit with our doctors and dentist before heading out for the fall and winter adventures.






REFLECTIONS

We have been doing the "nomadic" retirement thing for nearly three years now.  They have been enjoyable and memorable times.  I know that many don't understand what we are doing but, for us, it is a perfect fit.  We love to land somewhere different and we love to land somewhere familiar.  Both places call to us.

We love to be alone and we love to be with family and friends.  We know that we are blessed and, as long as we can get these aging bodies from place to place, we will continue to travel hither and yon and enjoy each other and all that the Lord has granted us.  Right now, it's just great to be two dedicated volleyball fans.  GO ORIOLES!

A MEMORY LANE NAMED FAIRFIELD GLADE (July 27 - August 28, 2019)

One more time we made our way to Crossville, Tennessee and the Wyndham Resort at Fairfield Glade.  Travel from Indiana went without a hitch and we rolled our bags into a two bedroom condo in the Kensington Woods section just like we did when we first visited in 1983.

Then, there was just a sales trailer, a hand full of townhouses, a brand new 9 hole golf course, and a lot of promises.  Now, 36 years later, the promises have become reality.  Ninety holes of championship golf, lakes, time share units, private homes, shopping center, conference center, indoor recreation facility, swimming pools, mini golf, and on and on and on.

This was to be a five week stay to just relax and enjoy the retired life.  It was not vacation.  It was life

and it couldn't have been better.  Sundays were church and the brunch at the Country Club.  Mondays were outdoor concerts and food trucks at the park.  Wednesdays were Mrs. Millers donuts and the Farmer's Market.  The weather on the plateau was pleasant and the trails worth walking.

But what was most memorable was.....the memories!  Memories that drifted back into my mind as I walked past the playgrounds where our children played and laughed (and got mad at each other).  They were 7, 4, and 1 that first year.  The old lodge has been taken down but, as I stood where it used to be, in my mind I could hear endless "Marco.... Polo" calls echoing across its indoor pool.

The mini golf course has been redone but the layout is the same.  I walked the entire route while

envisioning those excited kids as they tried their hardest to put that little ball into the big hole while avoiding the various impediments that stood in their way.

We walked along the cascading creek and stopped to take a picture of the three seated on the jagged rocks while the waters rushed by.  The littlest trying to big and the biggest trying not to be bored.  The middle one just trying not to hurt her arm, broken in a fall from a horse.  What a struggle to get them where they needed to be seated.  Now, it is a moment frozen in time.  It is a moment that reminds me once again about the importance of family and how quickly those treasured times are gone.

Being old enough to retire and travel is wonderful but there is a certain emptiness to it.  Maybe we now just have too much time to reflect, to remember.  Remembering is a blessed part of the aging process but it is a mixed blessing.  One must learn to balance the remembering with the dreaming, the melancholy with the adventure of each new day.  I am still learning how to do that and, as a tear runs down my cheek, I pack to head back to Indiana and Missouri to see the grand kids and make more memories..

TURNING ADVERSITY INTO ADVENTURE (June 27 - July 26, 2019)

Pair A Dice Point @ Camp Clifford

Betsy Ross Home

Our flights from Anchorage to Cincinnati went well and, after picking up a vehicle from good friends, we made our way back to Indiana and our cabin.  Our time in Indiana was spent between watching our daughter's house while she went on vacation with her family and the cabin. 

We packed for a week's visit to Michigan and headed back to Cincinnati and the airport.  This time, standby flying didn't go so well.  All flights to Chicago were canceled because of weather and all flights to everywhere else filled up with those flyers trying to find a way home.  After talking about what to do, we decided to find a plane with empty seats and have an adventure. 

Philadelphia it was and we boarded for a couple of days in a city we had never visited.  Lodging was taken care of by our Wyndham Rewards Points and, with just the clothes on our backs, we spent a full day, in 95 degree temperatures, visiting the sites in the Historic District.

Camp Meeting in Howell, Michigan

Somethin' Fishy

We finally made it to Michigan a couple of days late and enjoyed a visit to the Eastern Michigan District Camp Meeting on the Water's Edge Campgrounds in Howell.  It was there that I attended church camps as a kid.  We went with friends Gene and Judy Smith and Fred and Linda Hall.  Fred, Gene, and I went to those camps together as boys 60 years ago.

Grouts

We spent most of our time with Gene and Judy at their wonderful country home outside of Davison.  Temperatures in the 70s were pleasant and the fish were biting.  Hours were spent visiting and we took a trip over to Lake Huron.  On the way, we stopped by to see Bob and Eleanor Grout.  They are distant relatives for whom I was their ring bearer back in 1953!  They are both around 90 years old and still active in farming a 6,000 acre farm in the thumb.  Then it was back to Indiana to have three teeth pulled.

REFLECTIONS

Once again, we were reminded that things don't always go as you plan.  Once again, we choose to make the best of the unexpected and turn it into an adventure.  So the Philadelphia jaunt just added to the entire experience of a summer journey.

The Michigan part of the trip was absolutely perfect.  Long time friends (I refuse to say old), fishing until the sun went down, traveling down memory lane with family I hadn't seen in years, and walking the ground I had walked so many years ago as a kid, all went together to make the perfect interlude between lengthy times away.  I could have done without the oral surgery at the end but "it is what it is".  Now, it's off to Fairfield Glade, Tennessee for five weeks.  And the beat goes on.

Dicers and Smiths

ALASKA 2019: THE ROAD (June 10-26, 2019)

Richardson Highway

Horse Tail Falls

After arriving in Anchorage by railroad, we rented a vehicle and drove the hour or so to Big Lake, Alaska where we began the road trip segment of our Alaskan adventure.  I've thought about the best way to tell about this over two week, 2,000 plus mile trek part of our experience and have decided that a machine gun type of explanation might work best.  So here we go.

Our time included overnights at a B & B (Glennallen), a church campground lodge (Big Lake), friends' homes (Chugiak, Soldotna), a church guest room (Homer), and a tent ( Ekultna Lake State Park).

During this time we visited Valdez (Richardson Highway), Eagle River (Eagle River Nature Center), Seward (Exit Glacier), Thunder Bird Falls, Gridwood (Alyeska Resort), Seldovia (Nature Cruise), Portage (Portage Glacier), Wasilla (Iditarod HQ), Palmer (Musk Ox Farm), Talkeetna, Hatcher Pass (Independance Gold Mine), and North Pole.  There were many other stops and places, but these are the main ones.

  Ekluta Lake

We saw eleven eagles at once on the shores of Cook Inlet, a Moose (up close and personal), a grizzly bear (walked through campsite), sea otters, thousands of nesting sea birds, Dall Sheep, Reindeer, Alaskan Pipe Line, glaciers, waterfalls (Bridal Veil and Horse Tail on the Richardson Highway near Valdez were the best), and mountain after mountain.

We ate at places named;Summit Lake Lodge (Moose Pass), Bobby's (Chugiak), Little Richard's Diner (North Pole), Old Roadhouse (Talkeetna), Denali Family Restaurant (Wasilla), Lucky Wishbone (Anchorage), Artic Roadrunner (Anchorage), Moose Is Loose (Soldotna), Louie's (Kenai), Duncan House (Homer), Land's End Resort (Homer) and, above the clouds, at Boar Tide Deli (Girdwood).

As huge as Alaska is, its road system is about the size of the road system in New Hampshire.  Having said that, it really doesn't matter which way you go there is always something spectacular around the next bend.

Seldovia

REFLECTIONS

Big Lake

Our month long Alaskan experience came to an end with an exciting road trip from Homer to Anchorage.  In order to make it back to the airport in Anchorage, we cut things a day short so as to make it through the edge of the 50,000 acre Swan Lake forest fire.  The blaze was threatening to shut down the Sterling Highway (the only artery through the Kenai Pennensula).  We sat in the 400 car line waiting for the guide vehicle to lead us on the ten mile stretch of  ground where the fire bordered the road.  The wait was well over two hours.

Many times the journey of our lives come down to an end that we could not anticipate; an end sparked by things beyond our control.  Most of us have stood beside someone whose life adventure came to unexpected stop and the waiting was long and difficult.

For those of us who are Christ followers, we believe that this waiting is but a pause before the One who said "I am the Way" comes to guide us through the smoke of death to the beauty on the other side.  It is then that we say with the song writer; "I'll fly away".

Sterling Highway (Swan Lake Fire)

ALASKA 2019: THE TRAIN (June 5-9, 2019)

Grandview , Alaska, Hiking Stop (End of the line)

Spencer Glacier

After disembarking from our ship in Whittier, Alaska we shortly boarded the Alaska Railroad train for an excursion to Spencer Glacier and Grandview.  This short but beautiful rail trip would bring us back to Whittier later in the day and then continue on to Anchorage where we would spend the night.

Thanks to an Alaska friend, who works for ARR, we had been given "family passes".  These passes allowed the four of us to travel 1/2 price for one continuous booking.  Sherry figured out a way to get us on every inch of passenger track with the exception of the spur to Seward.  All told, we spent about 36 hours on the rails.  I would highly recommend that any trip to Alaska include at least a short trip on the ARR.  I would recommend the run to Grandview or the run from Anchorage to Hurricane Gulch and back.

Time on the train can be spent reading, sleeping, or enjoying the scenery from the upper level of the observation car.  From this vantage point we saw eagles, swans, beavers, moose, bears, homesteaders, mountains, valleys, passes, waterfalls, rivers, lakes, and so much more.  It is an excellent way to get from Anchorage to Fairbanks and back without the hassle of driving.

REFLECTIONS

There is an old gospel song entitled "Life Is Like A Mountain Railway" and I would have to say after spending such a long time aboard the Alaskan Railroad that the journey did remind me a little of my life.

There were times of weariness as we chugged through the final hours of a twelve hour ride.  There were times of excitement as we watched a moose run along side the tracks.  There were times of awe as we encountered breathtaking scenery and the high waterfalls splashed down the mountainside.  There were times that were good to be shared with others and times when it was right to just be alone and drink it all in.

Put it all together and it was an interesting and enjoyable experience.

Such is life.  There will be together times and alone times.  There will be times when we get caught up in all the beauty of the things that have appeared along the track of our life.  And, yes, there will certainly be times when we are just weary; warn out!

Put them all together.  See them all as a wonderful tapestry and, as you look back, you will understand what a beautiful adventure you have been on.

Keep on rollin' and be blessed.

ALASKA 2019: THE CRUISE (May 28 - June 4, 2019)

After going the long way around (Indianapolis to NYC to Seattle to Vancouver) we found ourselves aboard the Coral Princess on our way to Alaska.  This would mark our 5th visit to the "Last Frontier" for Sherry and me but the 1st for Sherry's brother, Curt, and his wife, Jenny.  We would be their willing "guides" for the next month.  The weather was great and each port of call provided wonderful excursions.

We stopped at Ketchican, Juneau, and Skagway and cruised through Glacier Bay and College Fjord.  College Fjord was absolutely the most spectacular sight I have seen in my lifetime!  The deep blue skies, the fluffy white clouds, the towering mountains, and the bluish glaciers brought almost more than I could take in!

Sharing a small cabin with two bunk beds was interesting to say the least but it did not diminish the wonderful time we all had as we traveled.   The food was delicious, the service was outstanding, and no one got sea sick!  It was also great to be able to celebrate our 50th Wedding Anniversary with a formal dinner with special friends.

After the seven day journey, the ship dropped us off at the dock in Whittier, Alaska and we began the next stage of our adventure.  This time, the Alaskan Railroad would be our transportation as we started to explore this expansive state.

REFLECTIONS

Sometimes, when on a cruise ship, we begin to think that all the food, entertainment, and lodging are free.  It's great to be able to eat all you want, anytime you want, and they never bring you the bill.  The problem is that we forget that we paid for all this up front.  The fact is that you are only getting what you paid for!

Many times, life is so much like that!  We find ourselves enjoying the blessings of life or struggling with the issues of life and forget that, in reality, we might be getting just what we paid for.  Paid for with choices that we made somewhere along the journey.  It is a life principle that we often overlook.  It's called reaping and sowing (getting what you paid for)!

Please understand that I am not saying that there will be times when, in spite of right choices, things don't turn out just like you hoped.  Nor am I saying that if you make poor choices sometimes everything just seems to work out.  What I am saying is that you have a good chance to receive good results if you've made good choices to start.

Cruises can also be very demanding and hectic.  They can wear you out.  It's good to find a place where you can be renewed.  Life, too, demands much and can get very busy.  We must be able to find a place were we can "center down" and be refreshed in body and soul.

Be blessed, make right choices, and cruise on.  Now to get back on that diet!