Recent Events (and It's Only Thursday)

Yesterday afternoon I had sat down before my computer with the intent to complete the draft of a blog post begun the day before when a text message popped up with the disturbing news about the shooting of Charlie Kirk. 

At that point, I checked the Internet for the veracity and details of the news and then began praying all would turn out well. I stepped out to the lanai to tell Gary. The blog post was put on hold and we turned on FOX news. You know the rest. 

My response was shock, tears, and few words spoken the rest of the day and into the evening. I folded laundry, steamed some fresh vegetables for a light supper -- all within easy view of the TV news. We eventually changed the station to an old movie and then checked back with FOX before going to bed. 

Some interesting things have happened (to me, anyway) since my last blog post on September 2nd. I want to share those highlights here because this blog is a record of my life. Before I do that, however, I have searched my thoughts for something profound to say regarding Charlie Kirk's passing, which applies to all the souls lost 24 years ago on this day. What can I say that has not already been stated by so many others? Probably nothing.

But this much is clear to me: death does not silence the life message of the one whose earthly existence has come to an end. Often, that testimony is actually emphasized more after the death. 

When someone dies, we tend to examine their life to determine the meaning of their presence on earth. What can we learn from their experiences, their attitudes, their responses, their choices? Does a test of their life teach us lessons or give us warnings?

Yes. We do ourselves a great favor to learn from the stories of others.

Those who willfully take a life do not really silence, or put to an end the influence of that life but actually enhance it. In the case of Charlie Kirk, his legacy of faith, courage, and an ability to draw people into Truth is very strong. He will be missed but the wise among us will pick up where he left off and it will be good.

We have survived the heat and humidity of Florida. Schools are back in session (as well as homeschools 😉), the weather is more comfortable, and retirees take to the roads for adventure. 

bridge over the Ohio River

To preserve the privacy of family, I won't be overly specific about our locations nor the order in which we visited various places. As usual, I'll let the snapshots from my cell phone tell much of the story.

When "my former life" came to an end, I packed up and/or disposed of my refrigerator magnets. Now when Gary and I travel, I scour the gift shops and gas stations for new ones that illustrate where we've been together. Yes, if you look at the above snapshot closely you'll see we've got some from our home states (Colorado and Idaho, plus Wyoming), of which we have not (yet) visited together. But the rest are memories we share over the past three years.

truck traffic

While Gary does not mind if I drive, and I have proven myself capable behind the wheel, I much prefer he do it. He did it all as we accumulated nearly 3,200 miles on the Toyota's odometer. 

atlas on my lap

My assignment most of my adult life on road trips has been to keep an eye on the atlas, so I continue with that, although we depend much more heavily on GPS. We use WAZE,  https://www.waze.com/live-map

We had some planned stops along the way, but this one was a pleasant surprise: the World's Largest Culver's!

proof we were there

We had left Illinois behind us and were thinking about where to stop for lunch when I spied a large billboard advertising the largest Culver's in the world. We do our best to keep Culver's in business where we live, so this sign settled the lunch question for that day.

It was indeed large, spacious, clean (like-brand-new-clean), and not yet crowded for the noon-time meal.

Gary at lunch

The seating was comfortably spaced, bright and cheery. 

informational sign in Wisconsin

Since we are retired and can travel at our own pace, taking time to read the informative signs at the rest stops is interesting. I had not given much thought to sphagnum moss until I saw this.

souvenirs

We picked up snacks and souvenirs at one of the gas stops.

But our BEST souvenir is this photo:

Gary with his 4 great-grandchildren

In the years Gary and I have been married, he has been blessed with four great-grandchildren. This past April the little red-haired girl came to see us in Florida, but we had not met the 3 boys, two of whom are twins! They are all a fun bunch of kids. Gary made the observation that not once did we see them squabble during this visit!

four generations

Of course, we took pictures of all four generations on the couch. This is Gary with his son (in the green shirt to Gary's left), that son's four adult children, and one of the four great-grandsons (held by his mommy). 

all the moms

This snapshot is all of the moms in Gary's family. On the far left is the very proud grandma with the mothers of the 4 little ones. 

The two young  couples have recently moved to larger homes due to the expansion of their families. I love seeing houses, so it was a special treat to see where they now live. We were in the far north (not quite within spitting distance of Canada), so in both of the homes the entry hall had a coat closet (seldom seen in Florida homes) and a  bench to sit down and change shoes to accommodate the COLD weather wardrobe requirements.

local weather forecast

Speaking of cold weather, we started our trip wearing shorts and sandals. In the days that followed we wore longer pants, long sleeves, socks, and jackets. For one of us it was a refreshing change, while the other of us grimaced with chattering teeth. (I won't mention any names but his preferred dress code is what he calls, "Florida Casual.")

The homes we visited decorated according to their locale and interests. I noticed folded, warm blankets neatly stacked in the corner. (reminders of my years in Colorado)

We were no longer in the land of sea shell decor and palm trees! I lost count how many times we crossed major rivers on this trip, including the mighty Mississippi, several times! Of course that one narrows down gradually, the farther north one travels.

At this time of year I usually start having people take our picture with hopes one of them will look good for our Christmas card and/or annual newsletter.

us at the Mississippi River

This won't be the one. The wind took care of that decision with my unflattering hair style!!

breakfast at Country Inn & Suites

When we travel, we stay in hotels instead of homes, a personal preference that means we avoid nocturnal encounters in a darkened hallway with others while in our jammies. The hotel free breakfasts are always good, too, not requiring our hosts to accommodate our dietary idiosyncrasies. 

We made a delightful discovery on this trip. Drury Inn provides not only breakfast but also a great supper buffet! The one night we were at a Drury Inn, the buffet had all of the following:

pulled pork on slider buns

chili

hot dogs

baked beans

macaroni and cheese

green salad

cole slaw

nacho chips with hot cheese dip

popcorn

beverages

Our room was reasonably-priced at $160 per night with all of that food. We will keep this chain in mind whenever we travel in the future.

my parents' graves

On a somber note, we stopped in Chicago to visit the graves of my parents. Although my mother died last October, we were not able to go to the cemetery the weekend of her funeral, so we closed the chapter on that during this trip. I had not been to this cemetery in many years, so Sister gave me instructions on how to find the headstone.

When my father died in 1986, Mama chose the cemetery and paid for the flat headstone instead of one that stands upright. I remember her telling me it cost less to have a headstone that the lawnmowers can ride over instead of paying more to have the grass clipped around a monument. 

Well, that is true. However, unless you know exactly where to look (depending on upright monuments for guidance), grass will grow over the flat headstone, making it tricky to find the right grave. When we found it, Gary and I both ended up on our knees, pulling up crab grass that had networked and nearly obscured the headstone. That was disappointing and even felt disrespectful. 

As my long-time readers know, Gary and I visit fairly often the graves of our late spouses at the veterans' cemetery in Florida. Those grave markers are all upright, very easy to find.....

Bowling Green, Kentucky

The last destination on this trip was the National Corvette Museum. Gary is a car guy, having owned two 'vettes in the past, as well as the Ford T-Bird he acquired the same week as our first date.

Gary and the 2002 Ford Thunderbird
December 2021

He's also had a Camaro, a '60 Impala, a '61 Impala, a '66 Impala, a couple of Mustangs, another T-Bird, and more. 

the museum, gift shop, and grill

While we could not go into the factory to watch car assembly, the museum was large, well-done, and interesting. In 2014 there was a massive sink hole in the Skydome, that area of the above picture with the yellow roof and red pointed cone. It opened unexpectedly, swallowing 8 Corvettes. The hole measured 40 feet wide, 60 feet long, and 30 feet deep. 

one of the damaged cars
from the sink hole

That area has been restored and was a big part of what we visited. Here (below) is what that area looks like now:

inside the Skydome

Since Gary knows cars, he was able to identify the year of many of these without even looking at the signs. I learned that the flip-up headlights were not a part of the design until 1963.

1961

This sweet number from 1961 was my favorite with its cute shape, classic lines, and the white coved area on the sides.

Gary's favorite

This white one was Gary's favorite. I was going to buy it for him until I realized at the check-out that my wallet didn't have enough $20s. 🙄😆🤭

1967 Corvette

At the end of our visit to the museum, Gary signed up for a raffle to win this green '67 Corvette. Since he is totally against keeping a vehicle outdoors, I asked him where we would put the car if he wins; he's still considering options. 

gift shop sack

As you may have guessed, we are not big spenders. At the gift shop I bought another refrigerator magnet and a calendar. The orange paper bracelet was a complimentary gift from the admissions desk.

gas station flowers

It's been an eventful start to September. The faith of many has been challenged but I hope strengthened, too. This verse helps me to remember that our sincere faith, which is the reliance on God's good character is our source of peace:

You will keep in perfect peace

him whose mind is steadfast,

because he trusts in you.

Isaiah 26:3 NIV

Until next time, grace and peace.