Planes, Trains and Automobiles - Literally!

So after a fun wedding weekend at the Jersey Shore, I took the commuter train into New York's Penn Station.  Having never ridden a train before (besides the one at Disney or the Zoo) I was very excited for this experience.  It would be a four hour ride into Boston. 

Since I was already up North, I decided to combine my trip and head on up to New Hampshire for my annual Fall trip to Emily's.  What a fun and relaxing way to travel!  Not to mention spacious.  I had a nice window seat with electrical outlets and WiFi.

I could have easily napped but I was too afraid of missing something.  We traveled out of New York, through Rhode Island, Connecticut and into Boston where I caught a bus to meet Emily in New Hampshire.  I was a month earlier than usual so the leaves weren't changing yet, but it was still beautiful and a fun experience.


Bruce and Emily purchased a new home back in the spring and I was excited to be able to see it first hand.  They have been busy painting, decorating and making it theirs for the past several months.

It's perfect for their large family.  Lots of space inside and out.

So happy for them to finally feel like they are settled in New Hampshire.  Owning your own home helps to put down roots and create a feeling of permanency.  God has provided so many things for them and continues to confirm that their move was His plan for their family.  It's been amazing to watch them trust Him through this journey and see all the blessings unfold.

So, I spent the first part of my week just chillin with Emily at the house.  It was so nice to just relax, chat and catch up.  Bruce took Thursday and Friday off so we could go play as usual.  The last two years we have headed into Boston and had a blast.  This year we wanted to do something a bit different.  Bruce suggested a road trip into Maine.  When we discovered we were only an hour from Kittery - we got so excited!!!  We got on the internet and figured out a day trip - we could travel up the coast, never more than about 2 hours away and search for lighthouses!  Eeeeeeek!!!!!

I love this kind of travel.  Russ and I do it all the time.  Just hop in the car and go explore. So that's what we did.  We took off on Thursday morning and headed to Maine.

 After a stop at the Visitor's Center to pick up maps and get directions along the coast, we stopped here in Kittery to see out first Lighthouse of the day.  The Whaleback Light. Such a beautiful area.

We took off driving again and came across this area near York Harbor.  We decided to get out and walk a bit.

We had lunch at an adorable restaurant on the water at York Beach.  The weather was perfect and the ocean beautiful!

 View of Boon Island Lighthouse from our table.  It's about 6.5 miles off shore.

Cape Neddick (aka Nubble lighthouse) 

Also from our table

After lunch we took off for a closer view of the Nubble Lighthouse

Like the others, the Nubble is only accessible by boat.

 

So many fun things to stop and see along the way.  We loved this church. So pretty.  I'm a sucker for stone architecture anyway.  Would love to have it incorporated into a home one day.








Our next stop was Ogunquit, Maine.

 Beautiful area.  And the beginning of The Marginal Way - a mile long walking path along the coast.

I had to walk down and put my fingers in the water.

We enjoyed this area so much.

Next, we headed into Kennebunkport.

Lovely little town with lots of shops.

And just outside of town is President Bush's home.  How cool is that?

Our last Lighthouse of the day - Didn't catch the name of this one.

 We knew that we had to try Lobster while in Maine.  I had never had it before - at least not like this:

Ya - a bit overwhelming.  Couldn't quite get past the thing staring at me.  Suddenly I felt like I was in Science Class again.

At least we looked cute while trying something new, right?

While the lobster was good - we both decided that all of that was way too weird and too much work.  I'll stick to my shrimp.

So - we had so much fun on Thursday, that we hopped in the car and headed back on Friday to hit all the shops.  This time we started in Kennebunkport and headed South.

I was the navigator on our trip and I did manage to get us off course a few times.  But sometimes those are the BEST times.  We got off the map a little and wound up at this beach area at sunset and had the best time exploring!

 I ventured out on the rock and soon discovered I was in the middle of wildlife!

These little guys covered every rock

The bigger they got, the prettier their shells.

And we soon discovered that they traveled!

 They are quite talented, don't you think?

We made one last stop where we began the day before.  At the harbor in Kittery.

Beautiful -

Between the layovers, the wedding, the train ride and our journey into Maine, I was in 10 different states this trip.  Kind of blows my mind.  The New England area is so beautiful and I am really thankful I was able to experience more of it this time around.  It really was hard narrowing down all the photographs.  I hope you enjoyed them.....

As always, time spent with Emily is so special.  Very thankful to have a friend like her in my life.

 We decided that next year we might want to try Whale Watching.  How fun would that be????

Until next time.....

God's Sweet Blessing of Friendship

In January of 1999, Russ and I moved to Opelika, AL.  He had accepted a position as Youth/College Pastor.  We had been married a little over a year and found out two weeks before the move that we were expecting Jarod.

I cried for days.

I mean seriously. 

Ugly crying.

Russ didn't know what to do with me.  I had never lived far away from my mom - my family - my home.  I was leaving everything I knew - everything familiar and I was so scared. 

I begged God - I mean begged him to give me a friend.  Someone I could confide in - someone who was a kindred spirit.  The very first night we were there - unloading the U-Haul, Karesa stopped by our house with her then 4 year old Kadie.  We hit it off instantly.  The other amazing thing was that Chuck and Russell hit it off as well.

Our friendship grew in the next 3 years. They were what we needed being so far from home. We spent lots of time together - even had a few sleepovers when we lost power or our septic tank backed up.  Oh!  The memories!  And then the day came when they helped us pack and stood in our driveway waving as we drove off to move home to take care of my mom.  More ugly crying. 

Over the next several years, we kept in touch - we went to Disney together, did other vacationing together, and we would travel back to Opelika over the 4th of July to catch up and hang by their pool.  We tried to get together as often as possible but the last few years have been so hard.  Our lives have remained so busy that we could never get our schedules to match.  It has been 3 years since we have physically been together.  

We would chat on the phone and catch up when we could.  Actually Russ and Chuck were soooo much better about it then we girls were.  Sometimes it was all we could do but to keep up through them.  Crazy. 

This past Wednesday night at like 10:00, I texted Karesa telling her I was thinking of her and remembering the times we had been together over the 4th.  I heard back from her immediately saying that Kadie (who is now graduated from High School) was out of town and they had NOTHING to do all weekend - so "COME ON!"

Russ and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

I called her to confirm the invitation.

And by 10:30, I was messaging our cat sitter, Jarod was folding the clean laundry and we were getting ready for a road trip!  Talk about spontaneous!!!

We got so excited it was after 2 before Russ and I fell asleep.  We were up at 7 and packing.

We didn't get to lay by the pool or see any fireworks because of the rain - but we were able to just sit around on their porch and catch up. We played games, laughed and thoroughly enjoyed being together again!

It was a much needed time out of town for us - sometimes we just need to get away and change scenery.  Let our minds forget about the day to day stuff.  Since both the guys are in ministry, we were able to sit and encourage and just love on one another.

We are so thankful for these two.  They are our special gifts from God.  He answered my prayer over 14 years ago by giving me a sweet friend, and blessed us doubly by allowing Chuck and Russ to connect as well.  And you know that it's God when you can pick up right where you left off no matter how long you've been apart!!!

The exciting part is that their oldest daughter, Jessi is getting married in November and both Russ and Chuck will be officiating.  This year, we get to spend Thanksgiving together.  We won't have to wait long at all to be together again!

Thanks Chuck and Karesa for having us!  We love you and can't wait to celebrate your family in November!

Girl Time!!!!

It was that time of year again!  Time to take off and visit Emily for a long girls weekend.  I visited for the first time last October and we decided then and there that we would make this an annual trip.  I had a very busy month, but finished it off in New Hampshire.

I boarded my plane early Thursday morning, with a layover in Newark on my way to Manchester, NH.

I purposefully chose my seat on the right side of the plane so I could watch the sunrise.  And boy was I thankful.  Such a beautiful morning.  The bad part was that as we flew into Newark, New York City and the Statue of Liberty was on the OTHER side of the plane.  Oh Well!

I had a 3 hour layover and wished I could have gone and explored NYC but there wasn't enough time.  The people watching at the airport proved most interesting though. 

I landed in Manchester and Emily picked me up.  We had a late lunch/early dinner and just enjoyed being able to actually talk face to face instead of on the phone.

Late Thursday night we make all the preparations to spend the day in Boston again.  It's much easier to take the public transportation than to try and maneuver it all ourselves.  So Emily checked the bus schedules and I figured out what subway lines we needed to be on.  We woke up early Friday and headed to the bus station feeling much more confident than last year because we had done it before.

 We spend the day wondering all over Boston and finishing the Freedom Trail Tour that we began last year.  This time it took us to the North Church, where the lanterns were lit.  "One if by land, two if by sea!"















Fortunately I didn't miss the Fall colors!  Boston was so beautiful.

Paul Revere's House

U.S.S. Constitution or "Old Ironside"

After a stroll through The Boston Common, we headed back to Cheers.  We ate here last year and it was so good that we decided to go again.

After dinner, we decided to go on a hunt to find Mike's Pastry.  We had been seeing lots of people with boxes from there so we assumed it was good.  We had to check it out for ourselves.  This meant some more exploration on the subways.  Last year, I didn't want to look obvious so I avoided taking pics but this time, having more confidence, I didn't care.

Besides - it's just so cool.  At least to this Florida girl anyway.

And it comes with it's own entertainment while you are waiting!

We made it!!!!  Wonderful Italian bakery!  Definitely a must if you are in Boston!

We found a spot in the park and enjoyed our desserts leisurely.  After all, Emily had checked the bus schedule and we still had plenty of time.

We hopped back on the subway and headed back to the bus station.  We took our time as it had been a long day of walking.  We arrived at 9:35 - a full hour before the LAST bus was to leave.  Or so we thought.  As we checked the schedule on the screens in the bus station, I could not find one leaving for home at 10:30.  I could only find the 9:30 bus.  It had just left. I looked at Emily - she checked the schedule in her hand again and it said 10:30.  We headed to the ticket counter go get it straightened out.  One the way, Emily discovered that she had been looking at the wrong line the ENTIRE time.  UGH!!!  The bus arrives HOME at 10:30 - not that WE arrive at the bus station at 10:30.

We missed the last bus home from Boston!  We were stranded!

All I could do was laugh.

I could totally throw Emily under the bus here - but I can't - it already left!!  She was horrified - I thought it was funny!  But - she won't live this one down for a while!

So - What now? 

We asked the guy at the ticketing counter - he said we could spend the night and catch the next bus in the morning or take a bus into another town.  Hmmmm.

Emily called Bruce.

His first question, "What did you do?"

Ugh - poor Bruce.  He had to come get us.  We two crazy girls stranded in Boston.

We sat in the bus station for over an hour and all we could do was giggle.  I think it will be a long time before Bruce can laugh about it.  We were very thankful for his rescue.  

We arrived back to Emily's around 12:30 am.  It was a day we will always remember!

On Saturday, we took off for Deerfield, Mass.  This time we had Emily's van AND the GPS!!  Bruce had already given us instructions that he was NOT coming to get us!

We were in search of the HUGE Yankee Candle Store there.  We spent the whole day and closed it out at 8:00 that evening and we each took one of these little guys home.

Isn't he cute?

By Saturday night, Russ was calling and telling me I needed to pay better attention to the storm that was approaching.  When we got home that night I got on the computer and realized that I needed to head home early.  My original flight was supposed to leave Manchester on Monday at 5pm - the exact time that the storm was to hit the area. 

I spent 3 hours on the phone - on hold - with the airlines.  No luck.  Never did get through. Sunday morning, I packed my bags and we headed to the airport.  I was willing to take any flight out that day.  They were predicting that Emily and Bruce would lose power and it could be out for days and expecting all of the airports to close.

The lady behind the counter worked and worked.  I got the last seat on the only plane out of Manchester on Monday morning.  The flight would take me over the storm to Charlotte and then home.  

Since I wasn't leaving until the next day, Emily and I hit the mall and made the best of our last day together.  That night, I made cupcakes for the boys.  Yep - I sugared them up and then left the next morning!

Bruce took me to the airport EARLY Monday morning and when I walked up to the counter EVERY flight was cancelled - except mine!  God is good.  My flight left on time - took me up and over Sandy and I was home by 1:00 in the afternoon.  So very thankful.

Emily wound up with cancelled schools, a lot of wind and rain, but they kept their power.  I came home exhausted and with a cold.  But an AWESOME time was had by all.  Well - maybe not Bruce.  Hopefully he will let me come back again next year.