Summer 2012 Trip: Baltimore

After our great day in Canada and at Niagara Falls, we hit the road VERY early to head to Baltimore in time for an afternoon Orioles game.

Friends of mine from Washington and Lee University (W&L) who live in Maryland joined us for the game and then we followed them back to their home, where we crashed in their guest room for a few nights.

I have known Christine since we were both Summer Scholars between our Jr. and Sr. years of high school, and then we both started at W&L as freshmen a year later.  We've known each other for 11 years... how is that possible?

Christine married another W&L student a few years after we graduated and they are expecting their first baby this winter (yay!)

The day of the game in Baltimore was SOOO HOT!  We were melting as the thermometer hovered around 98* and humid.  Thankfully, the Baltimore Stadium at Camden Yards provided free cups of ice for the fans.  THANK YOU, Baltimore Stadium.  We greatly appreciated it!

The ballpark was pretty cool.

They had a pretend street outside the ballpark where people could wander, shop, and eat

They had baseball plaques on the ground marking where noteworthy home-runs were hit
We found a Cardinals player, Lance Berkman's, home-run marker.

We even ran into the Orioles' Mascot before the game!

Around the park was Orioles' memorabilia including Cal Ripken's 2131's consecutive game!

 I had to take a picture of their American Flag, because I'm pretty sure there are not 50 stars on it.  Those stars look very big and very few in number... does anyone know about this?

After the game, we went back to Christine and Justin's house and then went to dinner at a great Maryland Seafood place.  It was PACKED because so many people in their area were without power due to the big storms that swept through their area two days before.  Christine and Justin were, thankfully, only without power for 24 hours.

We had a great time!

Summer 2012 Trip: Toronto and Niagara Falls

I'm going to attempt to blog about some details of our Summer 2012 Trip.  I promise I will try to keep the posts to general information that you might be interested in, and not ALL the details that only Chris and I will be interested in.  :-D

We left Michigan dark and early -- before the sun, so dark and early on Saturday, June 30 and drove across the state and into Canada.  No problems crossing the border.

We're prepared headed into Canada

We had plenty of time to explore the Toronto ballpark before the game because we had allowed for time delays at the border.

Quick picture with the players before they take the field -- HA!

Watching batting practice before the game

The field had an open roof and this was the view through the open dome
It's called the CN Tower and apparently people can walk outside around the top,
sort of hanging over the city... we didn't have time for that kind of adventure.

The Toronto Ballpark was pretty cool and right in downtown Toronto.  The park itself had quite a personality -- a personality that heckles the visiting team.  We were seated in front row, right field and the home-town crowd around us just HECKLED the the right fielder from the opposing team EVERY INNING.  We could also hear the fans seated in left field heckling the left fielder from the opposing team as well.  At first Chris and I were a little surprised and turned-off by it, but as time went on, it just got to be funny.

We were excited to see former-Cardinal player Albert Pujols... he was heckled too.

Friends were able to join us for the Toronto baseball game.  Abbie is one of my closest childhood friends...

This picture was in Abbie's guest room for us to see... us as kiddos in a school play :-D

... and she did a beautiful job of playing the piano at our wedding.

It was so much fun to see Abbie and her boyfriend, David a year later to really catch up without the wedding events.

Chris, me, Abbie and David
It was David's first major league baseball game.  Glad we could indoctrinate him!

We've been friends 25 years -- crazy!

Abbie and David

Great seats in front row, right field

After the game, we stopped at the Canada side of Niagara Falls and had a great time taking pictures and staring at the double-rainbow (one rainbow was a lot more noticeable than the other).

AMAZING!

We're over the rainbow -- at least from the view of the United States!

We're getting wet from the mist as we took pictures

We had a blast!

Having fun!

My God created that!  That is mind-blowing!

Finally, after the great day in Canada, we returned to the US and enjoyed a terrific BBQ dinner in Abbie and David's little town outside Buffalo, New York.  What a great day with awesome friends!

This BBQ place was really good.

A huge thank you to Abbie and David for an awesome day in Canada and New York.

Psalm 121

Great thought for this Sunday... 


Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth. 

 He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;

indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep. 

 The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night. 

 The Lord will keep you from all harm —
    he will watch over your life

  the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.

Reconnecting with Really Special Friends

On our trip, we saw 36 old friends and 12 children in 13 days.

We have some amazing friends who heard we were coming through their neck of the woods and made time in their schedules and lives to reconnect with us as we were passing through.

Friends opened homes to us for overnight stays,
joined us for baseball games,
met us for dinner, lunch, breakfast, coffee,
cooked us home-made meals,
 squeezed in walks,
met us for concerts,
took us to church,
and let us drop by unannounced to say "Hi"

We have amazing friends!

Pictures of some of the 36 friends we saw - I didn't remember to get pictures of everybody
My apologies to the few who are missing

When our friends heard we were in the area passing through from 2000 miles away, they did WHATEVER was necessary to connect with us.  We were so humbled by their flexibility, love, and hospitality!

When we had a travel delay, they said, "Don't worry about it.  We are happy to see you whenever you get here!"  When they had a sudden power-outage right before we were supposed to arrive, they said, "Pray for the power to come back, and prepare for our house to be like a camp-sight, but you are still welcome to stay here!"  When we said we would be in their area, they said, "We have a room for you.  Don't even think about a hotel.  We would love for you to stay with us!"

Time and time again, we were overwhelmed with love and hospitality by our friends across the miles.  We LOVED getting to see you all again and reconnect in person.

There is something so special about visiting in person after a few years of keeping in touch through facebook updates and Christmas cards.  You still consider the person a friend, but when you're in town from 2000 miles away and they make the time in their busy lives to see you, that is really special.  When you can pick up your friendship after 3-6 years apart and feel like no time has passed, that is really special.  When someone was my friend, but is overjoyed to meet my husband for the first time and welcomes him into their life like a long-lost friend, that is really special.

Thank you to our really special friends.  You made our trip so memorable this summer and we cannot wait until we meet again.  You are ALL welcomed at our place in Rifle (although not at the same time!). :-D

The Lord Bless you and keep you, and we send love and prayers, until we meet again.

Whew! What a trip!

Chris and have done the loop...

St. Louis up to West Michigan
West Michigan over to Toronto, Canada
Toronto down to Buffalo, New York
Buffalo down to Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore down to DC and Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia down to Lexington, Virginia
Lexington over to Hampton, Virginia and Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach down and over to Hickory, North Carolina
Hickory over to Lookout Mountain, Georgia
Lookout Mountain up to Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville up to St. Louis

WHEW!

13 days
3000+ miles
14 states
36 friends and 12 children
3 baseball games
12 National Monuments or Museums
Countless Memories

We had a blast and our summer isn't over.  We will still spend time with each of our families, and catch a few more baseball games before we head back to Colorado to prepare to start another school year.

I have so much I want to share about the trip, which I hope I can in days to come.  For now, I'll leave you with two more 1000 word pictures of an adorable little girl we saw on our travels:

I LOVE this picture!

What a doll!

1000 Words

1000 Words -- and the changes a year can bring

Top left: July 2011 Honeymoon, Bottom left and right: July 2012

1000 Words

1000 Words