Mitchuation Update - The Journey Begins

Just a short entry today.  I write sitting in a Popeye’s in Forrest City, Arkansas, trying the spicy chicken sandwich for the first time for a very late lunch.  (Note for posterity - if you go around the loop in Little Rock, there are very few options to eat until West Memphis).

I’ve started the first, of what I’m sure will be many, drive to Indianapolis.  Start work on Monday.  Do not yet know where we will be living, though we do have a series of temporary options lined out through the end of the month.  

I’m alone this trip.  Jamie is watching Hudson and Harry one more week, and I will fly back down Friday evening to come meet up with her and help drive the whole family.  I get to make the pilot trip, if you will. 

It’s an exciting time right now.  After being in the waiting for what seemed so long, everything is finally kicking off.  A bit of trepidation, sure, but otherwise really excited. 

I’ll keep you posted on this week and beyond as work starts and I get to go view a property we’d like to rent.  The next few weeks should hold a lot of interesting developments.

For those so inclined, pray for safe travel.  Pray for an easing of the absence this week and the distance between me and Jamie, Avalyn, and Jude.  Pray for a good start Monday. 

Please know you are in my thoughts this week. Thank you all for keeping up with us and for the support you’ve shown over these last several months. 

Time to get back on the road now. 

3.5 hours to go today. 

And She's Off...

It has been a long day already.  We've been up since before 3:00 am this morning to see Jamie off on her annual EF Tour with her students.  This is her tenth tour with EF; three teachers only, seven with students.

For this trip, she's headed to Costa Rica.  With the 10 day trip, they will truly get to explore this beautiful country.  Touring the volcano, the rainforest, and the Pacific coast.  Zip-lining, kayaking, whitewater rafting.  An exposure to the natural beauty and culture of the country.  Jamie for one is very excited, because she's been dying to go back there since participating in mission trips down that way.

For our part, the kids and I will be enjoying the time together.  Trips to the park, seeing the kids weekly morning movie at the local theater, heading down to visit family.  And trying to keep up with applications and statuses.

I don't normally ask, but if you would, keep Jamie and her students in your thoughts and prayers.  Prayers for safe travel and a wonderful experience.  It should be a great adventure, I just hope they get to enjoy it to the fullest.

I know three of us that will be anxiously looking forward to late next Wednesday night to pick her up and hear all about it.  I'm sure there will be a series of posts following showing all the great things they got to do.

In the interim,
Bon Voyage, Gorgeous!  Have a great trip.

My Favorite Things - Top 10 Places to Spend Christmas

A list of combined favorites this time, with a list of my favorite places to spend Christmas.  Over the past several years, we've becoming increasing fond of giving experiences instead of gifts.  We have all that we need and most of what we want.  And while the joy of giving and receiving gifts is still there, we really appreciate most being together over the holidays and seeking out new experiences.  Accordingly, this list includes several holiday locations that we have visited and a few that are on the top of our lists.

• Home with Family - They say there's no place like home for the holidays and they are quite true.  There is still something magical about being in Buna or in Winnsboro over the holidays.  I am very thankful we are able to travel and to spend as much time in these places as we do.
• New York City - New York is a magical city at Christmas.  The tree in Rockefeller Center.  Ice skating beneath it.  The potential for snow in Central Park. Macy's and the official Santa Claus.  Window decorations on Fifth Avenue.  And the Rockettes.  Plus all that makes New York such a vibrant city.  This was a favorite Christmas in the past and we are looking forward to doing it again.
• Rocky Mountains - There is something magical about snow at Christmas.  The mountains and skiing, sledding, and sleighing.  A warm fireplace in the cabin.  While our first experience here was not as enjoyable as it could have been thanks to extreme jet lag and altitude sickness, we hope to try this again in the future.
• Smoky Mountains - This has a lot of the same benefits of the Rocky Mountains, but has a more down home, country feel.  With everything we saw at Thanksgiving in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, this would make a wonderful place to spend Christmas.
• Disneyland - Few places do holiday celebrations like Disney.  The Christmas Parade and Fireworks.  The ride overlays.  Decorations everywhere.  The Candlelight Processional.  The abundance of holiday foods.  We've done both coasts during the holiday season and have enjoyed them both.  It's crowded, but it can be an amazing experience even if just to focus on the specific holiday offerings.
• New Orleans - The food and the music really make this special.  Reveillon dinners and caroling in Jackson Square. Christmas Fest in the convention center. Bonfires on the levees for Papa Noel.  The Celebration in the Oaks.  Again a place we are ready to try again.
• San Antonio - San Antonio is probably the most beautiful place in Texas at Christmas.  The lights on the Riverwalk and the Holiday River Parade.  The Holiday Night Market.  The Alamo Lights.  The Fiesta de Navidad with La Pastorela Folklorica and La Gran Posada.  Well worth experiencing.
• Bed and Breakfast in Connecticut/Vermont - This is an experience we want simply to recreate a holiday movie.  To capture that spirit of Christmas in Connecticut, Holiday Inn, or White Christmas.  Head to the northeast and hope for snow.
• Hawaii - We're hoping for a Mele Kalikimaka one year.  A tropical holiday for a change of scenery.  Beautiful poinsettias in bloom.  Christmas Luau.  Something different and something very fun.
• Hershey, PA - What could be better than Christmas in a town that smells like chocolate?  Christmas activities in the theme park, decorations around the town.  A light trail.  Lots and lots of chocolate.  Sounds sweet.

What are your favorite places to spend Christmas?  What would you add to this list?

Top Ten Things I'm Thankful For #7 - A vast wide world to be explored

I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list.

Susan Sontag

One of the great things about travel is that you find out how many good, kind people there are.

Edith Wharton

The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.

St. Augustine

For this entry today, I'm grateful for a great wide world open for exploration and discovery.  I'm grateful for travel.  I'm grateful for the places that I've been and I'm grateful for those that I am anxiously waiting to see.

I'm thankful for the ability to travel.  To have a job that enables me to travel and that allows me to take the vacation time to do so.

I'm grateful to have a partner who has as much wanderlust as I do, if not more.  Who has spearheaded a travel program to bring those opportunities to her students.  Who is ready to see the world.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to start showing my children some of my favorite places in the world.  For that excitement of seeing them through new eyes.

I'm thankful for that spirit of adventure, to keep on exploring.

Bon Voyage!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

I love to travel.  That's an understatement; I love everything about it.  I love to research locations.   I love to plan to the travel, I love the voyage, I love the sightseeing, I love the attractions. And most of all, I love the food.

I love to research and plan where to eat when we get there.  I love to look for unique and exciting new options to try in each particular location.

We're looking at a quick weekend in New York City in the fall and I cannot wait.  We know the primary show that we want to see and want to hope to catch a TKTS show for the other day.

Most of all, right now, I am planning the food.

Korean.
Bolivian.
Cuban.
Pizza (though we know exactly where we are eating for that one).
Classic Breakfast options.

And definitely Juniors for after show cheesecake.

I want to find something exciting and new and New York is a great place to find it.  A true representation of the melting pot that is America.  Shoot, we may even go for some Harlem soul food from an Ethiopian-born, Swiss trained chef.

The menus all look wonderful and I relish looking them over.  I'm ready to go, but I'm going to enjoy these months getting ready.

Bon Voyage!