Saturday, September 25, 2010

heading south

I doubt anyone reading this really cares where we have spent the last week but I decided to think of this as just a journal to ramble on.   And I have some spare time while sitting enjoying the cool  evening in Tenn. where we are visiting my brother Doug and wife Wendi.  Tomorrow my niece Bethany is getting married here at Fairhaven ministries retreat center.  It is beautiful here.  It is tucked in the mountains with cabins throughout the woods.  Each cabin is situated near enough Roaring Creek to be able to hear the water.  My only regret is that it is not 3 weeks from now when the trees most likely will be in their fall colors...guess we might have to come back :)
We arrived in Hillsdale, MI  saturday evening.  It is like stepping back in time.  Everything slows down.  People sit on their porches and watch traffic go by, traffic goes slower and there are deer everywhere and can be seen almost any time of the day in various people's yards.  Of course the residents don't appreciate it that the deer make a meal of their flower beds but I enjoyed seeing them out in the open.  At times there are herds of them crossing the street in one area of town and it stops traffic. We spent a few days catching up with my mom.  She is 81 and doing remarkably well but definitely slowing down.  One day I attended her exercise class with her at the senior citizen center nearby.  what a hoot...but  I kept thinking that in about 30 years from now I hope I am able to move like those people there.  I am so proud of her for going 2-3 times a week.  Not only is it good for her to move but good for her to have the social time.
We also were able to visit my brother Mark and his family.  He has 3 sweet kids that I wish were closer to us so I could get to spend more time with them.
On Wed. Roger and I headed south.  We decided to take it slow and go on 2 lane roads part of the way.  Ohio is a very loo...ong state :)  We drove through so many small towns along the way and i began to see that they had a lot in common.  Each one had an old grand courthouse in the center of town, and a tattoo parlor...and a tanning bed place...and a goodwill store.  Just some random observations of things that survive when times are tough.
We stayed the night in a town somewhere along the way and were joking on the way there about how surely there would be an outlet mall nearby cause they are in random out of the way places.  Well as we drove to our hotel...there it was...an outlet mall.  Sad to say it only had 2 stores open.  Vanity Fair and Lee.  They were stocked with great deals and i was so excited to check a few things off my list of things I needed to buy for the upcoming trip.
Natural Tunnel self shot with sun in eyes
The next day we again spent some time traveling on roads we never have been on.  That is significant because we have made...umpteen trips to the north over the years and so a different route was nice.  We went through the Cumberland Pass in VA and stopped at a state park (Natural Bridge State Park) for an hour "hike"...and then arrived at Fairhaven around 4.
One of the things Roger and I have talked about was how every now and then we get a bit nervous about our trip.  You would think it had something to do with timing and his lack of job etc but no...its the concern of being away from home and wondering if we will get half way done and be ready to head home but then when we think of the friends we will see along the way and our goals for the trip we are sure it will be fun.  And we decided if we get to the point of feeling overwhelmed at being in other people's homes etc we will retreat for a few days alone.  Its all an adventure and the unknown is what is a bit unnerving.
And so tonight we are sleeping on the 4th bed since leaving home a week ago...good practice for what's to come :)
One thing that happened this week that has been hard was to hear that our friend Brian Denny's dad passed away rather suddenly from liver cancer.  Our hearts are hurting for his family and we are so relieved that we will be coming home in time for the memorial service.
So...another blog.  We are planning to head home early sunday in time to get back to Sandhills for church.  One of the things we will really miss on our trip :(

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Blogging Practice

So….I guess a blog is something I should be adding to and we realize we sure got an early start telling you about our trip 10 weeks before we planned to leave.  So I thought I might as well start practicing writing now. 
Some people have asked what happened to Roger’s job and if he is retired.  The company he worked for closed the division which affected 900+ people and he was one of them.  He is not retired, not that he would not like to be.  He will be doing consulting for this company for the next year.  We are thankful that the God provided that for now and are hoping he will be able to add to his clientele over time.
So what have we been doing? 
We had planned to visit my (Jan’s) mom in Michigan this month leaving on the 17th and staying a few days before going to my niece’s wedding in TN.  BUT…we found out that Lucas and Jamie and the kids (Sam and Sophie) were going to be camping on Thursday (16th) thru Saturday (18th) and so we decided it would be a fun side trip.  We try to take every opportunity to spend time with them and of course the grandkids.  So on Wednesday afternoon we made the decision to go, managed to pull camping gear together, pack up and find the dog a place to stay (thank you Mandels).  We left at 3:45AM , taking turns sleeping throughout the day.  We love driving through the mountains near Ashville and I was so disappointed that the sun was not up enough to enjoy the beauty of that area.  The change of landscape through 6 states is always so amazing.  We enjoyed the mountains and hills and then the flat farms of Illinois where the color of the fields with the sun shining on them made me realize where the phrase of “amber waves of grain “ came from…I changed the song to “golden fields of soybeans and corn “ :) We arrived at the campsite at 5PM.  What a long day.
We have camped a lot over the years and feel like it’s a great way to really spend time with someone in an undistracted way.  It was so good to sit around the fire and talk and also share creative ideas for camping food.  Jamie is an amazing cook.  And when camping gets very creative.  One of the things we had that I had never tried was grilled bananas.    We put them over the fire on a grill in their peels till they got heated through.  When they are soft and hot you split them open and fill the middle with chocolate, peanut butter, marshmallows or whatever you think would be good.  What a delicious treat!!
We enjoyed being with Sam and Sophie too.  Sam is 3 and extremely active and curious about his world.  He had a big wheels bike that he loved to ride around the loop of the campgrounds.  I am sure he put several miles on it in the 2 days we were there.  His legs did not quite reach the pedals enough to get him going fast but that did not bother him.  His little legs just pushed him along at a fast enough pace I often had to jog a bit to keep up.  Roger enjoyed taking him in the woods to find firewood, sharing his “special’ flashlight with him and hanging out with him in the car during the rain storm while he pretended to drive.
Sophie is 4 months old and sweet as can be.  I loved watching her play on a blanket or just listening to her sweet cooing.
The quote of the camping trip was when Lucas and Sam were building the first fire of the morning and Sam was standing close to the fire to warm up.  He rubbed his warm legs and said “My legs are hot…but  from the fire, not from pee pee”.  Potty training is so hard especially since they travel so much these days.
We said goodbye on Sat. aft and drove to Michigan with a van full of the smell of camp fire smoke and flies that snuck in as we packed up….and my heart was torn between the happiness of a couple days of memories of camping with them and a sad and breaking heart as I wondered when I will see them again.  Lucas and Jamie will be heading back to Siberia (Lord willing) Oct 22nd and it’s hard to say goodbye …again….
So now we have a few days here in the beautiful cool Michigan weather and enjoying seeing some trees changing the color of their leaves…and time with Mom and my brother Mark and his family before heading south again.
When we get home there is so much to do in the next few weeks…our schedule needs to firm up, tickets and visas and shots to get…clothes to sort thru and figure out how to pack for being gone 4-5 months, haircuts to get (yikes! Who will cut my hair on the other side of the world?)  Lots to do…hmmm…but it is going to be sooo fun as we start on this adventure…I can’t wait!!

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Yes it's true

We are Roger and Jan and have been married for for 32 years and lived in over 15 homes.  For the last 9 years we have lived in the same place and were starting to feel like moving but we do not want to leave our friends and church in Columbia.  We also have friends around the world and felt a desire to visit them (sorry, life and cash is too short to see all of you) and see their work first hand, assist where possible and at the same time get the moving bug out of our system.  Roger lost his job due to the economy and we decided this would be a good time to make this trip. You may be thinking "Are they crazy?"  You will have the opportunity to decide whether this is true by following us on our blog over the next several month.  Jan has gone where Roger's job has dictated and now we are going where we want to at our own pace (no reference to age).

On November 18th we will be leaving Columbia to visit these friends.  We will blog regularly so you can be a part of our trip and vote on how crazy we are.   Feel free to follow us on this journey.  Call it mid life crisis, running from responsibility, pure insanity or whatever you want but we are going to call it a fun adventure and refuse to become concerned if we get delayed in an airport, lost as we drive to places we have never gone or have no way to communicate where we don't know the language.  We can't wait.  You can see the places we plan to visit on this map.

LOCATIONS WE WILL VISIT