We drove from Billings to Fargo - a long day, but a good one. We followed the trail of river flooding throughout eastern Montana and North Dakota. The amount of water everywhere is incredible. It is like North Dakota has become the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes instead of Minnesota. And the wind! 40 mph everywhere. We stopped at one place to switch drivers, and when I opened the driver door it about blew off! Fortunately the wind was at our back the whole time. The car clocked some pretty heady mpg scores - 63 once!
Today was the 40th anniversary of the first time I went to Holden Village. I went to be on Volunteer Staff for three weeks and stayed for eleven. It was a simple idea by a friend in Tacoma, and it shaped the rest of my life. Amazing to think about for me.
Tomorrow we head first to St. Paul where I have a meeting re: candidacy work, and then down to Stockholm to Paul and Carol Hinderlie's Should be fun!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Wedding Road Trip, Day 2
We had a beautiful drive today through western Montana, albeit a wet and rainy one. The amount of mountain run-off into the main rivers is huge. The flooding, particularly along the Yellowstone River is significant. We kept commenting about the amount of water. Although it had compromised the roads from time to time (not so much on the freeway, except for one place east of Livingston), it was mostly the water just standing in fields and forest. It was everywhere. Due to the floodinng, we have had to change our travel plans. Instead of driving US 212 through northern South Dakota, or even US 12 (just slightly farther north) we'll have to stay on I-94. There are too many closures due to the flooding. But this is lovely country, and we've enjoyed the scenery and the animals - wild and domestic! Lots of deer, cattle, and sheep.
Tonight we're in Billings. We tried twice to go to local restaurants but they were both closed for Memorial Day! That's nice for their employees. So we ended up having burgers at Fuddruckers. They were very good.
That's it for today.
Tonight we're in Billings. We tried twice to go to local restaurants but they were both closed for Memorial Day! That's nice for their employees. So we ended up having burgers at Fuddruckers. They were very good.
That's it for today.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
On the Road Again
It's been almost three weeks since we returned from our Europe trip. (What trip? Did we go on a trip? ) They've been busy days, and now we're heading east for Minnesota/Wisconsin. I'm presiding at the wedding of my goddaughter Annelisa Steeber in St. Paul next Saturday. We'll be staying with Hinderlies down the river in Stockholm, Wisconsin, and driving up and down the Mississippi to do all the wedding stuff. Should be lots of fun.
Tonight we are in Couer d'Alene, Idaho. A favorite restaurant (The Wine Cellar) is not open on Sunday, so we tried a place called Scratch. It was very good! We had a lovely meal. The only downside was that they can't spell. The menu was full of misspellings! I might be being too picky here, but it kind of shows a lack of attention to detail. The food was terrific, and there was no detail deficit there. But they could spell the items correctly - just adds a nice touch, don't you think?
Tomorrow we drive through flood-ridden western Montana. If you've driven this route, you know I-90 crosses the Clark Fork something like 14 times. From the news it sounds like that river has run over its banks almost everywhere. Parts of West Missoula have been evacuated. Should be an interesting drive.
Tonight we are in Couer d'Alene, Idaho. A favorite restaurant (The Wine Cellar) is not open on Sunday, so we tried a place called Scratch. It was very good! We had a lovely meal. The only downside was that they can't spell. The menu was full of misspellings! I might be being too picky here, but it kind of shows a lack of attention to detail. The food was terrific, and there was no detail deficit there. But they could spell the items correctly - just adds a nice touch, don't you think?
Tomorrow we drive through flood-ridden western Montana. If you've driven this route, you know I-90 crosses the Clark Fork something like 14 times. From the news it sounds like that river has run over its banks almost everywhere. Parts of West Missoula have been evacuated. Should be an interesting drive.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
London to Seattle
Our day started with breakfast and breakage - while (or, as the English would say, whilst) putting a small drinking glass in the dishwasher, it slipped from my hand and landed on the tile floor and shattered into a thousand pieces all over the small kitchen. What a mess! So we spent the next 15 minutes getting that all cleaned up. Amazing how many places it went!
We finally got to breakfast and to packing. The packing got done, some thank-you notes were written, and I went out to post the cards while Larry did the hand dishes. When I came back, I heard a cry from the kitchen. Larry had broken an egg cup whilst doing the dishes! No bleeding, but a knuckle cut. We put a band-aid (plaster) on it, and got on with our departure preparations!
About a half hour before the car to the airport arrived, there was a knock on our door and our landlord (lives in the flat above) came and introduced himself. (He had been gone for several days, and the flat arrangements are through an agency.) His name is Charles Bingham, and we are very glad we met him. A very nice man. We told him about the breakage, and besides it being no problem at all (we assumed that to be the case), when we showed him which glass broke he told us they had been his grandmother's martini (make that gin and it) glasses! She must have liked her gin! The glasses aren't that small!
The driver took a lovely back route to Heathrow, so we were able to enjoy some more of London streets on a beautiful day. Now we are awaiting our flight. We have had an amazing and wonderful trip, and at the same time it will be very good to be home.
There will be more blog posts in the next few days - lessons learned, travel tips, some more pictures, and books. Stay tuned!
We finally got to breakfast and to packing. The packing got done, some thank-you notes were written, and I went out to post the cards while Larry did the hand dishes. When I came back, I heard a cry from the kitchen. Larry had broken an egg cup whilst doing the dishes! No bleeding, but a knuckle cut. We put a band-aid (plaster) on it, and got on with our departure preparations!
About a half hour before the car to the airport arrived, there was a knock on our door and our landlord (lives in the flat above) came and introduced himself. (He had been gone for several days, and the flat arrangements are through an agency.) His name is Charles Bingham, and we are very glad we met him. A very nice man. We told him about the breakage, and besides it being no problem at all (we assumed that to be the case), when we showed him which glass broke he told us they had been his grandmother's martini (make that gin and it) glasses! She must have liked her gin! The glasses aren't that small!
The driver took a lovely back route to Heathrow, so we were able to enjoy some more of London streets on a beautiful day. Now we are awaiting our flight. We have had an amazing and wonderful trip, and at the same time it will be very good to be home.
There will be more blog posts in the next few days - lessons learned, travel tips, some more pictures, and books. Stay tuned!
Monday, May 9, 2011
London, Day 7
This morning we went to the home of my old King's Singers friend Alastair Hume for coffee. We had a wonderful 2.5 hours of conversation - and a lot of coffee and chocolate digestive biscuits!
We walked back toward Angel Tube Station along the Regent Canal, which is a block or so behind the Hume's Islington home.
We took the train to Waterloo and walked to Lambeth, where Larry was able to talk to someone from the Library about the best way to find out more information about his putative archepiscopal ancestor. (Thought I'd use putative in a complete sentence once more and then throw in archepiscopal!)
We walked back to Westminster Bridge along the Southbank Embankment with its great views of the Houses of Parliament and the boats on the Thames. (It's the place where all the US London reporters stand!)
We took the Tube back towards the flat. When we arrived, Larry went to Holland Park to try to find the head gardener to get some iris names while I went to the computer to check us for our flight home. I went out and did a couple errands, and now we are organizing and packing to go home!
We walked back toward Angel Tube Station along the Regent Canal, which is a block or so behind the Hume's Islington home.
We took the train to Waterloo and walked to Lambeth, where Larry was able to talk to someone from the Library about the best way to find out more information about his putative archepiscopal ancestor. (Thought I'd use putative in a complete sentence once more and then throw in archepiscopal!)We walked back to Westminster Bridge along the Southbank Embankment with its great views of the Houses of Parliament and the boats on the Thames. (It's the place where all the US London reporters stand!)
We took the Tube back towards the flat. When we arrived, Larry went to Holland Park to try to find the head gardener to get some iris names while I went to the computer to check us for our flight home. I went out and did a couple errands, and now we are organizing and packing to go home!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
London, Day 6
When we talked about going to worship this morning, we had thought about heading out to St. Paul's for one of their wonderful orchestra masses, but we opted instead for the local church, St. James Norlands.
We're very glad we did! It is a small but lively community, and the liturgy and preaching were very good. It was wild with children! Lots of energy. I had looked at their website and was really drawn to the place. Their them is Breaking bread, sharing God. Perfect for this day with the Road to Emmaus text. You can click here to look at their website.
After church we came back to the flat for a while, and then went out for Sunday lunch at a place called Chimes of Pimlico. We'd heard about this being a good place for English food, and we enjoyed our glasses of cider and West Country Cidered Cod and Haddock. Very good.
After lunch we walked looking for flowers. It really is in between blooming seasons! We saw lots of dead tulips in St. James Park and the Embankment Gardens! We did find a statue of William Tyndale, which was pretty cool.
There is a really great book about Tyndale: God's Bestseller by Brian Moynahan. It is out of print (only published in 2003) but you can find it used at amazon.com and probably in libraries. It is well worth reading.
And, speaking of books, we caught the Tube at Embankment and went to Leicester Square to go to Blackwell's and Foyles. (For those of you in the know about London, the Tottenham Court Station is closed until 2012 for a huge remodel.) We bought a couple books, and walked along Oxford Street to the Oxford Circus station, and then back to Holland Park. We stopped and picked up a couple things for our last two days. We also decided we needed ice cream to go with the strawberries we'd bought on Saturday at the market! The local gelato shop was swamped! But we had fun standing in line with parents and children and grandparents and young adults and teenagers from all over the world, all just hungry for delicious ice cream on a warm Sunday afternoon. We finally got our ice cream and headed back to the flat. Another fun and interesting day in London.
We're very glad we did! It is a small but lively community, and the liturgy and preaching were very good. It was wild with children! Lots of energy. I had looked at their website and was really drawn to the place. Their them is Breaking bread, sharing God. Perfect for this day with the Road to Emmaus text. You can click here to look at their website.After church we came back to the flat for a while, and then went out for Sunday lunch at a place called Chimes of Pimlico. We'd heard about this being a good place for English food, and we enjoyed our glasses of cider and West Country Cidered Cod and Haddock. Very good.
After lunch we walked looking for flowers. It really is in between blooming seasons! We saw lots of dead tulips in St. James Park and the Embankment Gardens! We did find a statue of William Tyndale, which was pretty cool.
There is a really great book about Tyndale: God's Bestseller by Brian Moynahan. It is out of print (only published in 2003) but you can find it used at amazon.com and probably in libraries. It is well worth reading.And, speaking of books, we caught the Tube at Embankment and went to Leicester Square to go to Blackwell's and Foyles. (For those of you in the know about London, the Tottenham Court Station is closed until 2012 for a huge remodel.) We bought a couple books, and walked along Oxford Street to the Oxford Circus station, and then back to Holland Park. We stopped and picked up a couple things for our last two days. We also decided we needed ice cream to go with the strawberries we'd bought on Saturday at the market! The local gelato shop was swamped! But we had fun standing in line with parents and children and grandparents and young adults and teenagers from all over the world, all just hungry for delicious ice cream on a warm Sunday afternoon. We finally got our ice cream and headed back to the flat. Another fun and interesting day in London.
London, Day 5
After a leisurely morning getting caught up on logs and blogs and continuing to do some of the things that need doing at the end of the trip, we headed out for Portobello Road and the famous antiques market that has happened every Saturday for a very long time. It is quite close to where we are staying. We walked up the road to Notting Hill Gate and followed the massive crowds to the market street. Even with the crowds, it was a lot of fun, with lots of good people-watching!
After going to the market we went to a shop in Sloane Square, and then headed back to the flat via the meat market in our neighborhood. We bought two meat pies - one with lamb, one with chicken. We heated them in the over and ate them - well, half of them - with fresh asparagus we'd bought at the market. Yum! We'll repeat with the leftovers on Monday night.
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