Los Angeles!

This morning we met with a sweet church who were a great last stop on our journey. We had a big lunch with some of the members and headed out on the road, determined to make it all the way home before dinner, safe and sound. We did that, and we are all thankful to be snuggling into our beds this evening! I am thankful not to share a room or really much space at all with the children (after two months in a minivan our house feels quite spacious!), though this trip taught me that in a disaster we could all spend a lot of time in close quarters if necessary. :)

A few stats:

--62 full days
--over 10,500 miles
--19 states
--20 churches visited
--23 stops including the last one at our home in LA
--numerous hugs (someone asked me a few stops into the trip if I'd considered counting hugs; I thought it was a cute idea, but since I didn't do that I will think of them as the stars--too many to count :) )

We are very thankful to have had this opportunity to thank those who have supported us in the work here in Los Angeles. We are looking forward to getting back to work and to our life here, but please know that we miss all of you and that we would love it if you would come visit anytime!

Sacramento

"Welcome back," said the man at the fruit inspection station just after we crossed the border into California on Friday.

Instead of spending our time in traffic headed west from the hotel and trying to cram in a very short visit to San Francisco today, we went east away from all of that traffic and visited the state capital, Sacramento. The capitol building itself was very beautiful, and I began to cry during a special exhibit they have there right now on the Dust Bowl. The kids and I just studied that time period and even had an older member from the church come over and share his experiences.

It was strangely reassuring seeing lots of "California" stuff in the gift shop after two months away from everything California. I stopped myself from buying a cute tea towel with a 40s era map printed on it. (I might buy one at a later date!)

Hubs will speak for a church tomorrow morning, and then we head HOME.

Ashland

We left Portland on Thursday and meandered south through the foothills of the Cascades. On Thursday night we stayed in Ashland, Oregon, home of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. We didn't have the time to stop for a performance (not to mention that at least two of our children are too young), but I thought it was a cute tourist town.

Portland

We had a stop in Portland just because it was on our route south from Seattle to Sacramento, and I had never visited before (Ethan had been once before). Between gracious last-minute hosts and conversation, singing, sightseeing, friend time, and hugs, we had a lovely couple of days.


I fell in love with the rare sunny days in the Pacific Northwest, and I can even appreciate the dark beauty of the overcast skies and the marine layer that (unlike on the westside of LA) doesn't burn off by noon. :P

But home calls.... soon.

Seattle

We arrived in the east suburbs of Seattle on Friday evening and got to see and stay with a sweet friend of mine who moved away from LA last year. The kids had a great time, and I loved spending some time with her on her new turf.

Saturday afternoon we had lunch with Hubs' extended family members who live in the area and that we had never met. We had a lovely time!

After that we headed through downtown Seattle to do some drive-by sightseeing and went to Poulsbo for the rest of the weekend, visiting friends who live there. We had a great time seeing the touristy town as well as just enjoying a slower pace of life. It was very relaxing. For the first Sunday in weeks the Hubs didn't speak at church, so that probably lent itself to a more laidback pace as well.

Monday morning we left for Oregon, taking the very out of the way (but necessary since who knows if/when we'll ever make it back) route up to the entrance to Olympia National Park and then down the eastern coast of the Olympic Peninsula. It was a lovely cloudy morning, which I suppose is the way the Olympic Peninsula is supposed to look.

For Twilight fans, no, we didn't make it all the way to Forks.

...this time. ;)

Bozeman

We rolled in to Bozeman Thursday evening after a somewhat long day of driving (our second in a row, in fact). We stopped at Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Pompeys Pillar, both excellent stops that offered interesting history and great views. We found some good food, the kids enjoyed the water slide at the hotel pool (literally, just a slide into a pool... kind of random!), and I ran a couple errands. One was to a local food co-op, which was wonderful and offered cheap(ish) avocadoes: after weeks of seeing avocadoes at more than a dollar each, this store had them on sale for 79 cents a piece. That's not an LA price, but it's closer than I saw in Dayton, where they were $1.65 each. We got a chance to meet my youngest brother's girlfriend, which was fun! We turned in as early as we could after preparing for our next (and longest of the entire trip) day of driving.

Bismarck

We stopped overnight on Wednesday in Bismarck. My grandmother lived there as a child, so I was especially curious about the area. We found the house where we think she lived. The old part of town has been maintained some, and the new part is like most other Midwestern cities of a certain size; there is a Wal-Mart, there are schools, there are large hospital complexes. Something about Bismarck caught me, though; perhaps the stories I heard as a child made it especially meaningful, and then the evening we were there we witnessed a truly beautiful sunset.

Minneapolis

We stayed for three nights with my aunt and her family in suburban Minneapolis. No pictures were taken besides a couple random ones for Facebook related to a glass that I remember from my grandma's house. Sad for no pictures, happy for the good time we had. Leaving there felt like the official end of the "family" portion of our trip. Sure, from here on out we'll see friends and people who know us, but no one knows me like those who knew me when I was a wee lass.

Wisconsin

We spent last weekend in Wisconsin. On Friday we went to Madison, saw the Hubs' alma mater, took requisite pictures of the children on campus, and ate at Rocky Rococo (though sadly it's not as good as I remember, but what ever is?). From tsohere we headed to Stevens Point, where we stayed the rest of the weekend. We saw friends we hadn't seen in five years, including a couple we knew 8 years ago before they were dating who now have two babies and another on the way. Time flies!

Northern Illinois

We have been in our hometown for nearly two weeks now. In that time...

-Hubs spoke four days in a row at church
-we attended two family reunions
-the kids have slept off the previous month of travel (I think?) (side note: I need blackout curtains at home...)
-we visited our favorite city, Chicago
-the temperature has gone from 95 and humid to barely 60 and rainy back to just under 80 and humid -I have possibly eaten my weight in cheese
-Hubs and I went on a date! WOOHOO!

 ...and so much more!

We head to Wisconsin (ahem, more cheese) on Friday just before lunchtime. Au revoir!

Central Illinois

We stayed for a couple of days with dear friends in Urbana-Champaign, home of my alma mater, the University of Illinois. Being on campus again was a little strange, as most things had not changed and yet clearly my life situation has. I walked across the Quad not alongside my roommate or my close friend from down the hall, but rather with my husband and four children. Seeing multiple tour groups and realizing how much closer in age they are to my oldest daughter than to me was humbling.

Our oldest is already talking about following in my footsteps by going to the U of I; she must really like the cornfields, as she has visited UCLA and so far is not impressed. I told her she would want to make sure she lives in Illinois a couple years with the grandparents first in order to get in-state tuition, so we will see.

Our friends have a new baby, which was fun. Since I've known the wife of this couple for 15 years, it was a lovely time of reminiscing about how we were as college girls as well as acknowledging that we are both very blessed to be married to the good, strong Christian men we have in our lives now. God has truly blessed both of us.

We saw so many friends in the area, including at a potluck dinner at a friend's home in Peoria. What a lovely but brief time.

Northwest Indiana

Sunday afternoon we made the drive from northern Ohio to northwest Indiana in time to meet with people Hubs knew during college, the people who, if we are all honest, most encouraged him to be a minister. It was there in Hammond that he gave his first sermon. That evening we stayed with good friends who encourage us in our parenting journey; they have a large family, are homeschoolers, and are ardent believers in the power of life-long learning and thinking. The conversation was great.

Northern Ohio

We stopped in northern Ohio last weekend to visit the church Hubs worked with before our move to LA. We stayed with a family there and enjoyed seeing all of our old friends again. It was too brief of a stop!

NE Ohio/N West Virginia/W Pennsylvania

We spent Wednesday morning driving from Columbus to northern West Virginia, where my mother's paternal aunt lives. She lives in my great-grandparents' house, a home I've visited a couple of times before in my life: once in 1996 on a family history trip with my grandparents and a couple of uncles and their families, and once in 2006 when my great-grandma passed away.

There had been much rain in the extended region since we arrived in Dayton, and I'm told there had been some even before that. My aunt's basement had already flooded by Wednesday morning. It let up enough for a few excursions, including a trip to Thompson Park, where the kids played in puddles and mud and we met a sweet cat who needed a home but wouldn't let us take him somewhere safe.

I visited my great-grandparents' graves as well as the local hot spot, the Homer Laughlin China factory, including my favorite part--the seconds warehouse. Due to our travels I was not able to take any of the beautiful (but heavy) dishes home with us.

During dinner the rain started up again, and we were concerned about possible tornado activity; however, upon seeing the weather radar we realized we were north of where the low pressure system met the high pressure system, and thankfully nothing progressed beyond some storming. By the time we finished our dinner, there was only rain falling.

The church where Hubs spoke Wednesday evening had lost their power during the storms, so that made for an interesting time. It's not an evening we'll soon forget. We left there and headed back to Ohio and stayed overnight just outside Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The next morning we were able to get a few shots of Brandywine Falls in full rushing mode.

Columbus

We have had a quick pit stop in Columbus mostly to decompress as a family. It has been a great respite so far. We have enjoyed all of the rain that has come to the area this week. Yes, it forced us to slow down, and it has meant not getting as much sunshine (which at least one of the kids has mentioned she has missed!), but it has been LOVELY to be in real rain again! We have also given our faces a much needed break from the near-constant sun exposure we get in LA. It has me more resolved to use sunscreen daily when we get home. Yesterday on our way here (well, a very roundabout way) from Dayton we stopped to see friends in Chillicothe. We had a lovely visit, and between the three families represented there were 12 children there. Our kids are loving all of the time with other kids they haven't seen in a long time, and our oldest two kids are amassing quite the list of pen pals. We also went exploring to find a road on which my maternal grandfather lived when he was a child, and I think we found the house where he lived. It was an exciting little side jaunt, and I'm glad we made the time to do that. Tomorrow we head to the eastern-most point of our trip in western Pennsylvania!

Dayton

We stayed for a week with dear friends in Dayton. Hubs had a stop in Cincy the Sunday after our Sunday in Russellville, so there was no point going too far away from the area. The week was interesting, amusing, and so much fun. There are all sorts of shenanigans eight children and four parents can get into! We had field trips, lots and lots of rain (in fact, I began to wonder if we had visited Seattle already...), late night conversations, lots of thrifting, happy smiles and giggles, friendships formed or strengthened among the children, and lots of great food, home cooked and otherwise. It was such a lovely week!

Western Kentucky

We have spent the past two nights here in rural western Kentucky. We spent a lovely afternoon at Jackson's Orchard with friends yesterday. Today was spent with a church here who support Hubs in his work, and they are lovely people who have welcomed us and made us feel very at home. This congregation reminded us in some ways of the one we left when we moved to LA. It was very comfortable and familiar to us; connections to many of the people here made it seem more so as the day passed.

I keep packing away the sweet memories of these wonderful people for later. I know I will need them. Our hostess asked tonight if I had compiled a list of the people I've hugged. That would have been a lovely thing to do, but I haven't. I'll just have to save up the sweet memories the old-fashioned way--through the way they have all made me feel. 

Nashville

Our time in Nashville started out way more eventfully than I care to admit. Let's just say it didn't go very well. Everyone is healthy, but my ego is definitely in check, and it was just humbling, if not humiliating. We'll leave it at that!

We had a lovely visit, though, thankfully, and met a lot of wonderful new friends as well as had the chance to see old friends. (The kids have had a lovely time seeing so many kids. The older girls have more pen pals!) For the first half of our time here, we stayed with people who graciously opened their home to us even though they did not know us well, and for the second half we stayed in the home of people who have never met us but let us use their home while they were out of town. I am continually humbled at the kindness of people and am trying to absorb as much as I can for down times that may come in the future.

Louisiana

We left College Station around noon and headed to northern Louisiana where my cousin and her husband live. We made good time and had an enjoyable stay with them. We were able to see some of the riverfront in Logansport, which was idyllic with a wood bandstand complete with theatrical lighting. It was like something out of a movie about a small Southern town. I wish I had my camera with me that evening.

College Station

We spent the weekend in College Station and enjoyed getting to meet a lot of new friends as well as connect in person with long-time online friends. A big shout out to that long-time online and now in-person friend for offering her laundry room; I had not done laundry since we were at my brother's house, and even after only three days there was already a definite need!

We were greatly encouraged by the people here who support Hubs' work. We were fed well, provided with spacious accommodations, welcomed with warm smiles, and then sent off in an equally warm manner.

On to Louisiana tomorrow!

Austin

I couldn't help but think of my maternal grandma and Marty Robbins as we drove through El Paso early on in our trip from Las Cruces to Austin.



El Paso was also the first time in my life I laid eyes on anything remotely resembling a third world country. It was surreal to look to our right as we drove east and see Mexico in the distance. Zoning laws don't really exist there the way they do here, for better or worse, and with the brown of the desert land coloring the majority of the view, I felt as if I were looking at 1980s video footage of Beirut rather than sitting firmly on US soil and looking south. It was surreal.

Seeing the land change mile by mile was fascinating; we left brown, seemingly desolate, mountainous (including mesas) land and ended up in a much greener (in the middle of drought conditions, no less) hilly landscape.

We took TX 290 from I-10 to Austin in order to avoid the dip down to San Antonio, and in the process we stumbled on Fredericksburg. It's a quaint Wild West meets German settlement town and was a nice surprise.

We arrived at our destination in Austin at 8PM CDT, and Hubs suggested barbecue at Smoky Mo's. It was some of the best I've ever had. YUM.

Tonight we were able to meet up with one of my mom's first cousins whom I had never met. We had a lovely time visiting with her and her husband. Afterward they joined us as we met up with some other friends for ice cream at the Austin Arboretum. The kids were able to run and play outside, something they have not been able to do much with high daytime temps.

We head further east in Texas tomorrow!

Las Cruces

Our second stop was in Las Cruces, where my youngest brother is stationed with the Army; however, since he is currently deployed, we stayed in his house alone. It was nice to have our own space to stretch out, but we missed him!

We celebrated our oldest daughter's 10th birthday today and visited Old Mesilla. There were beautiful jewelry shops where we perused a wide selection of turquoise jewelry that reminded me of my maternal grandmother. I was also introduced to a beautiful stone called charoite. It's purple with swirls of lavender, and it's gorgeous. And of course the beautiful handcrafted silver bracelet I loved the most with a charoite stone inset was out of my price range. Hubs says I always like the nicest things. Well, I guess that's why I married him!

We were blessed to have dinner with some of the members of the church there this evening; one of the ladies made a cake for our daughter's birthday, which was very sweet. I know why my brother loves the people here, and I am glad they like him. (I am also glad a few of them thought I was his YOUNGER sister!) Tomorrow we have a long haul, one of our longest days of driving. Prayers would be appreciated.

Phoenix

Our first stop was in Phoenix; after a relatively uneventful drive we were astounded to find that there was significant traffic on the only road that goes from Phoenix to Maricopa, where we were staying. I received (in the matter of only a minute) two text messages from two different friends who live in Maricopa letting me know that the power had just gone out. With the temperature over 100, there was no way we wanted to wait in traffic only to be in a hot house. Hubs did a random u-turn in the median of the road (legally), and from the backseat came the dichotomous chorus:

"That was awesome!"

"That was illegal!"

After dinner in Phoenix we found out power had been restored to Maricopa and made our way there. We had a lovely late evening visit with friends and went to bed thankful that the first day had gone as smoothly as it had.