Greetings from Florida's "Space Coast"

A full day of traveling for Waldo today - driving from Indiana to Columbus, Ohio - flying to Tampa - and ending up the day by driving to Titusville, Florida on Florida's "Space Coast."

It is called the Space Coast because just down the road is the Kennedy Space Center (otherwise known as Cape Canavral). Tomorrow I'll be taking the tour! I'm really excited about this since will be my first time in this part of Florida!!

Since there were no photos from today's drive, I'm including a few more from Sunday's drive to Indiana...enjoy!

Where is Waldo?

Where is Waldo? Why, in Greenfield, Indiana, of course! Where is that, you ask? Why, just east of Indianapolis! I've left Missouri behind for the time being and have crossed through Illinois and into Indiana on my way to Ohio tomorrow afternoon.

Today got off to an early start with my attending the 8am service at the United Methodist Church in Chillicothe, MO (www.chilliumc.org). A great church, they have the best signage I've seen on my travels! After doing some much-needed laundry, I had time before meeting Jackie for lunch to attend another worship service in Chillicothe, this time at Calvary Baptist Church. A good sermon, even if it was 40 minutes long!

After meeting Jackie for lunch, we parted ways, she to St. Joseph, MO to visit Linda in the hospital and me to head east.

I did manage to make a quick visit to the town of Laclede, MO, boyhood home of Gen. John "Black Jack" Pershing who led the American forces in WWI. The very nice museum includes his house and the one-room school he taught in for one year (www.mostateparks.com/pershingsite.htm).

Back on the road, I noticed a sign pointing to Marceline, MO and the fact that this was the boyhood home of Roy and Walt Disney! Well, I made an unschedule stop and really enjoyed the wonderful museum in the old train depot (www.waltdisneymuseum.org).

Making "tracks" once more, I made it to Hannibal, MO on the Mississippi River just after the museums closed but I did get some nice pictures of Mark Twain's hometown and many of the sites associated with this iconic American writer. (www.marktwainmuseum.org).

Crossing the mighty Mississippi, I made it through Illinois in good order and through Indianapolis where the hours on the road and the early start to the day convinced me that it was time to stop for the night.

Tomorrow it is on to Columbus, Ohio and then by plane to Florida!

Sunny Saturday in Missouri

A beautiful, sunny day here in the Show Me, State with temps hitting the mid-80s (F). I met Jackie for breakfast after she got off from working the "graveyard" shift. We spent awhile catching up on the news of our lives and then decided to drive around a bit.

We first went to visit her friend, Anita, in Mooresville, where Jackie and Linda lived first after moving to Missouri last year. It was nice to see this tiny village and the welcome committee was up to the task, that is, Anita's dogs!

Then we drove to Far West, MO (that is the name of the community), a site of great importance to the Mormon history. It had the same feeling that I had when walking around Glastonbury in England. Since Jackie had been up all night, we headed back to Chillicothe so Jackie could get some rest. We did make a quick stop at the popular "flea market" first to get a glimpse of the treasures that awaited the careful shopper. While at the market, Jackie got called to come into work later tonight so that ended our free time!

While Jackie slept, I went in search of some sights, on Jackie's advice, I visited the village of Jamesport, about 25 miles west of Chillicothe. This is a village surrounded by a large community of Old Order Amish, it was special to see the horses and buggies everywhere. Jamesport also has a large assortment of antique stores and other fun shops to browse about.

I tried to visit the JC Penny museum (the founder of the store was born in nearby Hamilton, MO) but it had already closed for the day. I came back to Chillicothe (the home of sliced bread) and discovered that today was the Mrs. Missouri pageant and this afternoon featured a small-town parade. What fun to see the main street lined with cheering people of all ages! After getting the Toyota serviced at Wall-Mart, I decided to get some rest myself before meeting Jackie for supper.

Jackie and I had a nice time at the Golden Corral, chatting about everything under the sun. Since Jackie had to go to work at 2100, I decided to come back to the hotel to get some rest, tomorrow will be a busy day!

Tonight in Chillicothe (Missouri)

My conference in Schuyler, NE is over and it was a wonderful experience! After

all of the rough weather to start the week, we ended up with near-perfect weather today as you can see from the photos! After our final class sessions this morning and a communion service, we met for a final lunch and then began to scatter across the landscape that is Nebraska.

I took new friend, David, back to Lincoln and ran some errands in the "big city" including a stop at the Nebraska Conference offices where I got to see Kylie, the office admin guru who leaves for a trip around Europe in two weeks!

Then it was back on the road, south-bound to visit my sister, Jackie. On the way, I stopped at the hospital in St. Joseph, MO to see Jackie's friend, Linda who had some surgery a week ago. Tonight, I'm in Chillicothe, MO, about 70 miles northeast of Kansas City, Jackie and I will get together tomorrow and catch up, we've not seen each other since before Belinda and I left for Cornwall.

Enjoy the picutres from this week!

A Blustery Day

Unlike Winnie-the-Pooh, I didn't get blown away when I stepped out of doors this morning though the whitecaps on the pond did give one pause for thought.

It has been rather blustery all day, the rain ended mid-morning but the clouds give the retreat center an extra layer of somber! The retreat is going well, the exchanges around the meal times have been very nice and the thoughts being offered in the class sessions have been most informative.

Tonight there is a healing service, apparently there will be a different spin on how it is done so I'm looking forward to seeing it and being there!

Hello from Texas!

It is great to be home, visiting with my mama! Yea, God! This visit is a good "time-out" from the routine in life. It is always special to be able to visit with loved ones!

We had some thunder and rain through the night last night. It is SUCH a great feeling when you can enjoy a storm, while you are safe and warm inside, all tucked in!

Folks south of us in Eagle Pass did not fare well. A tornado hit them: at least 7 folks are dead, at least 80, are injured. Of course, our prayers are with all of them! We should never take our personal safety for granted!

Rainy Day in Nebraska

Today was rainy from start to finish!

We woke this morning to thunder and lightning and it made for a most interesting morning prayer service to be sure! The rain has continued non-stop and now the area is in a flood watch! Several members of the group had to change rooms this morning when some leaks were discovered in several of the second floor rooms.

There is a good mix of folks here this week and it is nice to make new connections and renew old ones from my time in this Conference. If you get a chance, be sure to visit a spiritual retreat place yourself, you'll be glad you did!!!

Fiesta in San Antonio, Texas!

Mother and I and a couple of great friends went downtown last night, and we had a ball... or rather, we had a F-I-E-S-T-A! Yee-haw!

We had dinner at a restaurant along the river, and when we were done, we went out on their balcony and watched the river parade, as it floated by! The colors were amazing! The barges with all their lights and energized people on them... all waving and singing to us... WOW! What a great time was had by all! And.... even though the weather folks had called for rain, it did NOT rain. There was a lovely breeze, and it was a just-right-perfect-coolish evening. Praise be to God!

I hope that everyone has the chance (even if just once in a lifetime)... to experience some of the San Antonio Fiesta Experience! It is something to remember your whole life long!

God is SO good!

Charles in Nebraska, Day 2

The first full day here at the St. Benedict Center (www.stbenedictcenter.com) is almost done!

The typical day for a Five-day Academy looks like this:

7:30-8:00 Morning Prayer
8:00- Breakfast
9:00-10:00 Curriculum I
10:00-11:00 Silence and solitude for prayer and reflection
11:00-11:30 Plenary discussion with faculty
12:00- 2:30 Lunch & Free Time
2:30-3:30 Curriculum II
3:30-4:30 Silence and solitude for prayer and reflection
4:30-5:00 Plenary discussion with faculty
5:15-6:00 Eucharist
6:00-7:30 Dinner & Free Time
7:45-9:15 Covenant Groups
9:30-9:45 Night Prayer
9:45 - Great Silence ('till morning prayers)

Friday morning, we'll wrap up with final discussions and a concluding Eucharist around 1200. There are some 40 of us here, clergy, lay, men, women and come from all over Nebraska and even one from Arkansas and one from south Texas!

The sessions are interesting. The first is led by the Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Canham, an Episcopal preist from North Carolina (formerly from the UK). Her topic is finding the voice of God in our lives. The second session is led by the Rev. Dr. Bill Mallard, a retired UM clergy from Georgia. His topic is taken from a study on the Gospel according to John.

The weather today is simply splendid and a real treat. The last time I came to one of these was in February 1999 and it was cold! I don't have the ability to post pictures from the community computer but will add some on Friday.

Belinda in Texas... Yee-Haw!

Greetings from the great state of Texas... Yee-haw!

As my nephew Kyle suggested... Charles and I are blogging from different parts of the county for the next couple of weeks. Great idea, Kyle!

I am in San Antonio, Texas, Kyle's absolutely favorite place on the planet. It is a great time to be here, since the annual 10-day-long FIESTA celebration began this past Friday. Amazing activities are planned! My mother ("Mo") and I and some friends... are all going downtown tomorrow night to participate in the River Parade festivities. It is one thing to see a parade march past you, but a completely different thing to see one float by you; it is a way-cool experience!

We'll let you know how it all turns out!

Every blessing to one and all!

Belinda enjoying life in the land of Fiesta!

P.S. Today was really great. We visited St. Andrews United Methodist Church here in Alamo Heights (www.saumc.com/). The people are SO friendly there; we plan to go again next Sunday! Afterwards we enjoyed Tex-Mex food for lunch and then shopped in the afternoon. Dropped in the evening!

Charles in Nebraska

Today was a nice day, intermitent rain which made the sunshine all that much more joyful! I went to church at Calvary UMC in Lincoln which was a wonderful experience! Afterwards I went with the pastor and his wife and another couple to a neat authentic Mexican restaurant (and I mean AUTHENTIC!).

I did have some time before picking up David (a fellow attendee at this retreat), so I drove around Lincoln looking at churches! There are some really neat looking places in the capital city!

We drove up to Schuyler, got checked in and have already had our first covenant group meeting. After the Communion service at 2115, we go into the "Great Silence" until tomorrow morning's prayer service! What a treat!

More to follow!!!

One goes to Texas - One goes to Nebraska

We came to a fork in the road today with Charles and Belinda setting off on divergent paths for the next two weeks.

This morning, Belinda was taken by Charles to the Kansas City airport and flew to San Antonio, Texas where she will be spending the next two weeks with her mother, Sheila Hammitt. A full schedule is planned with this being the time when Fiesta is held each year in San Antonio. Belinda and her mother, known as "Mo," also have lots of visiting with friends planned as well as some much-needed rest for Belinda after all of this driving around the country!

Charles, after taking Belinda to the airport, continued north to Nebraska, where first he visited with fellow-pastor, Jamie, in Lincoln. Tomorrow, Charles will be going to church at Calvary UMC and then giving a ride to a member from that church to the retreat that is being held at the St. Benedict Center in Schuyler, NE. After his retreat, Charles will go on to visit family in Missouri and Florida before meeting up with Belinda in Ohio.

Stay tuned for blog entries as computer access is obtained!

On the Road Again - Missouri, Ho!

After saying goodbye to our place in Norway, IL this morning, we set off on a westward path along I-80, headed for Iowa.

A highlight of the day's drive was a visit to the Amana Colonies, just west of Iowa City (www.amanacolonies.org). This is a fun place to visit, lots of quaint shops, gallaries, wineries and more. We think we just might have to make a return visit when we have more time to visit the seven villages that comprise this historic community.

Another treat today was that we were able to stop at several Cracker Barrels along the way today - in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri! Belinda is one happy girl to be sure!!

We are just outside of Kansas City tonight, Belinda flies to visit her mother tomorrow afternoon while Charles heads to Nebraska to attend a retreat at a Benedictine monastary in Schuyler, Nebraska.

In the Land of Lincoln!

We're able to visit the public library in Ottawa, Illinois today (site of the first Lincoln-Douglas debate) and fill you in on the latest from our journey!

We drove into Illinois on Monday, passing through Wisconsin on our way south. Sadly, we didn't take the time to sample any cheese, though we've got that on the "to do" list! We checked into our place near the small village of Norway (just south of Sheridan, 80 miles west of Chicago) on Monday afternoon and rested up for the adventure that was to come on Tuesday!

We did manage to see a bit of Ottawa, including a visit to the beautiful United Methodist Church there.

Tuesday - Bright and early (0600!) we got up, got ourselves together, and then headed to the city of Aurora to catch the train into Chicago. Eventually, we were able to find a place to park (no easy task!!!) and 45 minutes later were walking the streets of the Windy City!

Our purpose, after taking a bus and a subway ride, was to attend visit the famed home of the Chicago Cubs baseball team, Wrigley Field. This is one of the most revired baseball field in the land and is a source of pilgrimage for all baseball fans (www.chicago.cubs.mlb.com/chc/ballpark/index.jsp). The day's opponent was the San Diego Padres, the same team we had seen play back in March during a spring training game in in Pheonix.

Before the game we took advantage of the wonderful assortment of eating establishments to try some of the famous Chicago-style pizza! We found what has to be the best Pizza Pie of all time at a wonderful place just down the block from the ball park, "The Red Ivy" (www.redivychicago.com) The sauce they used is simply toe-curling and the sausage is to die for!

The game was very exciting, though as the weather did turn colder than was forcast we ended up leaving before the end. Figures that the game went into extra innings before the Padres squeaked out a 4-3 victory in 14 innings!

Today was spent trying to make a Veteran's Adminstration appointment for Charles to continue his dental work that was begun in Virginia back in February. Need to get this going before he resumes preaching in July!!!

The Weekend that was

Greetings from Sheridan, Illinois! How'd we get here, you might be asking? Good question! We've not had access to the internet since we left Breezy Point Friday morning so this blog entry will cover the entire weekend just concluded...
Friday - We departed Breezy Point in the morning, making our way south towards the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul) area. We found the only Cracker Barrel in Minnesota just in time for lunch, much to Belinda's relief!!

Then it was on towards Winona, Minnesota where our friend Austin Quick is a seminarian at The Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary (located on the campus of St. Mary's University). Austin and Charles worked together at the Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune, NC a few years ago and Austin and his friend Andrew came to see us in Cornwall last summer.

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner Friday night at the Hungry Peddler in La Crosse, Wisconsin (our first time in that state!) after being shown around the area by Austin and a fellow seminarian, Nate.

Saturday morning after prayers and Mass at the seminary, we left Austin to his school chores and took off to see more of southeast Minnesota. We first visited the charming town of Wabasha (www.wabashamn.org), site of the movies "Grumpy Old Men" and "Grumpier Old Men." We really enjoyed the sites there including a visit to the National Eagle Center (www.nationaleaglecenter.org) which has an awesome introduction to the Bald Eagle including three resident eagles! Lunch was a real treat, we ate at the historic Anderson Hotel (www.historicandersonhouse.com), home to numerous cats and the best chicken noodle soup you'll ever have! True choco-holics should bring several friends and share the 10" chocolate cake, it is HUGE!

Following lunch, we followed some shop keeper's advice and paid a visit to the L.A.R.K. toy store in nearby Kellogg, MN (www.larktoys.com/retail.cfm). This store is a MUST for kids of all ages! The assortment of wooden toys is amazing but the highlight of the whole place is the hand-carved carousel!!! Yes, we did ride the carousel and laughed the whole time!

We ended the afternoon in Winona, a town with some really beautiful churches and the Acoustic Cafe` (http://www.acousticafe.com, smoke-free and free wi-fi!
Sunday was very nice, with special time of prayer and Mass at the seminary, followed by a lovely brunch with the students and staff. After leaving Winona, we made our way through Wisconsin towards our next desitination, Sheridan, Illinois (about an hour west of Chicago).

We'll be here through Friday morning when we make our way west again, stay tuned! We'll try to add pictures tomorrow.

The Moose is loose in Minnesota

At long last the weather seems to have caught up with the calendar and spring appears to be making a belated appearance here in the north country.

Charles took advantage of the weather and went to International Falls, MN. Why, you ask? To say he'd been there, of course! That is the location of the lowest temperature in the continental US every year and it seemed like a good time to say he'd been there. He passed on the chance to cross over into Canada and instead visited a portion of Voyageurs National Park. This is very unique setting and Charles would love to visit it again, next time with a canoe! While Charles didn't see any moose on this day, he did get a picture with the Visitor Center's resident Bullwinkle stand-in. One thing that did stand out in the visit was the sight of a truck driving across the frozen lake! We had heard that the ice was no longer safe for driving but apparently that far north there are exceptions!

He also wanted to visit a black bear sanctuary but it was closed (the bears are still asleep) and then he tried to see the US Hockey Hall of Fame but it too was closed (for rennovation). Belinda took advantage of his absence to get some rest before the driving resumes again!

Tomorrow promises to be a good driving day so come back and see where we end up!

Another Restful Day on the Road

The snowfall that was called for last night/this morning amounted to little more than a dusting, much to everyone's relief. We decided to spend the morning reading and getting caught-up on our trip photo power point presentation. It looks good to see the last 2 1/2 months summed up in word and picture!

This afternoon was spent in a relaxing manner too. We enjoyed being treated to a massage a nearby establishment followed by some window shopping. We also went to a nearby bookstore where we had noticed a sale on church-related items. We're trying to stock-up on our supplies for the coming parish work don't you know!

Hope your day was a good one too, see you on tomorrow's blog!

Resting up in Minnesota

Ah, the post-Easter glow here in Minnesota along the shores of Pelican Lake!

We enjoyed a restful day, leaving the lake long enough to drive down to Brainerd for lunch at the Sawmill Inn (terrific food!!!) and a little color-bath at the local mall. We also did some window shopping, didn't buy any windows, but we did enjoy looking at all the wonders available in the world of home fashion :)

We did get a surprise phone call today from our friend, Austin Quick, who is studying at St. Mary's University in Winona, MN to be a Roman Catholic Priest. We're going to visit Austin and his fellow students on Friday as we head south.

Tonight we are waiting to see if the predicted snow takes place or if the snow-line falls north of here. Stay tuned to the blog for pictures!

Easter Monday at Pelican Lake, MN

Happy Easter Monday!

With more snow in the forecast for this part of Minnesota in the next few days, we decided to get out and see a little bit of the area and enjoy the warm (for Minnesota) weather!

We did some window shopping in the nearby town of Crosby where we met some wonderful folks and Belinda got Charles some nifty buttons for his collection. We also ate lunch in nearby Ironton at a place called "Gary's" which has the most incredible mushroom and wild rice soup!!!!

After that, it was on to Aitkin where we hooked up with friend Judy and her fiance', Leon. We were able to look at the the UMC there, thanks to Judy's sister who is married to the pastor. They have a stunning window that was so inspiring to gaze upon! (www.mlecmn.net/~umc).

Before we left Aitkin, we picked up desert at a nice cafe' that had a "Red Hat" lady sitting at a table. It was nice to see this tradition continued in the north country! Then it was on to Judy's lake-side cabin for supper and more conversation. It was so nice to see her "sanctuary" in the woods!

Now we're back in Breezy Point, trying to decide what to do next! Guess that will depend upon how much snow we get tonight!!!

Easter in Minnesota & July 2007 NEWS!!!

Happy Easter!

Today was the day we've been waiting for, the day we can announce where we are going next! But first...

Having accepted our friend Rev. Judy Clark's invitation to preach at her two churches, we attended Easter services as both Emily UMC and Pine River UMC, where Charles preached and assisted Judy with serving communion. It was a lovely experience for us, it felt just like our time in Osmond & Winside, Nebraska. We really enjoyed the service and the chance to experience life in the parish, Minnesota-style!

The big news is of course our appointment in the Nebraska Annual Conference. Effective July 1st, Charles will be the pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Sidney, Nebraska (www.cheyennecountychamber.com). Sidney is in the western part of Nebraska, south of Scottsbluff and about 4 hours from Denver. It is right on I-80, 400 miles from Omaha!

The church and the parsonage are both much bigger than we were expecting. The parsonage has five bedrooms, three baths and is really a nice house with lots of room for company! The church has 580 members, two services each Sunday (one in a chapel, the other in the main sanctuary), and is right next door to the parsonage. We are excited with the choice of Sidney, there are over 6,000 people living there, it is the headquarters of Cabela, the outdoors supply company (www.cabela.com) and has everything we could ask for in a town.

We are exited to be going there are now the really hard part of our post-Navy life begins: Waiting for July 1st to get here!!!

Minnesota, Ho!

Whew, we've almost made it to Easter! We had a nice visit to Fargo on Thursday and then drove to our next stop, Breezy Point, Minnesota. Where is that you ask? Why, just down the road from Pequot Lakes (Brainerd is the next "big" city to the south and then St. Cloud and Minneapolis). We'll be here for a few days....

Crossing over into Minnesota at Morehead, we encountered 14 degree temps and SNOW! Hard to believe that we were baking in Phoneix just a few weeks ago!! We reached the Brainerd area early in the afternoon and found the best restaurant, The Sawmill Inn has some of the best food you'll ever eat!

Checking out a couple of churches in the area was wonderful and then we headed to our hotel at Breezy Point where we rested a bit before going to a Good Friday service. We chose to go to church with our friend, the Rev. Judy Clark, who it turned out was co-leading a service with a Lutheran pastor in her town of Pine River. It was a lovely service! Afterwards, we got caught up with Judy at her parsonage and Charles accepted her invitation to preach at her two churches Easter morning! Yea!!!

Today, we slept in, got ourselves together and set out to explore Minnesota! We made it as far a Bemidji (www.bemidji.org/), home of the famous statue of Paul Bunyon and his friend, Babe, the Blue Ox. It was fun to see one of the state's favorite son's being honored like that. Along the way, we found another great place to eat, this time in the town of Walker. "Jimmy's" has the most incredible quiche you'll ever dream of eating!!!

Afterwards we decided to visit the headwaters of the Mississippi River at the nearby Itasca State Park (www.visitbemidji.com/itasca_state_park.html). It was awesome! Standing (or in Charles' case, lying) where the mighty Mississippi begins its epic journey to the sea was a very special moment for us both.

Tomorrow is Easter, more to follow after the services!!!

It's COLD in North Dakota!!!

Yes, you heard it here: North Dakota is still cold in April!

After yesterday's long drive, we were happy to have a shorter road to travel today. We set out from Oacoma, heading east and stopped a short while later in Mitchell, site of the famous "Corn Palace" (www.cornpalace.org). It is hard to describe this place, take a peak at the web site, the work that goes into the outside decorations each year is amazing (not to mention expensive!).

Driving east towards Sioux Falls and then north towards Fargo, North Dakota, we found the temperature dropping and the snow on the ground increasing! It was fascinating having just a few weeks ago dealt with temps in the upper 90s!

Having reached Fargo in good order, we had a yummy supper at "Mom's Diner" which had really, really great chicken-fried steak (s0 said Belinda) and the salmon was just what Charles was looking for. And of course, at a place called "Mom's," we had to havve some of the pie for desert!!!

We then went to the Maundy Thursday service at Fargo's First UMC (www.firstumcfargo.org). It was a lovely service which really helped to get us focused on the purpose of the days to come. It turns out that the pastor, Rev. Richard Zeck, had once served in the Nebraska Conference too and knew many of the same people we do there.

Tomorrow we'll continue east into Minnesota. Come back and see where we end up!!!

South Dakota, Ho!

A full day of driving awaited us today following our departure from Scottsbluff.

We headed north through the western edge of Nebraska's Sandhill region crossing over into South Dakota just above Chadron, NE. At lunch time, we enjoyed a stop in Hot Springs, South Dakota, in large part due to the awesome food available at the local diner in that town. Be sure to stop for a meal at Sturdley's Family Eating, 102 S. Chicago St. They have the BEST onion rings in the universe there. Also the chicken fried steak is fabulous! A few doors down from the diner is Black Hills Books & Treasures (www.blackhills-books.com) which is where we met Joey the Cat. Charles and Joey became fast friends!

Afterwards we continued north into the Black Hills area, stopping at Wind Cave National Park (www.nps.gov/wica) where we saw bison, mule deer, prairie dogs, and pronghorns.

A short distance later and we were headed east on I-90, bound for Minnesota! We couldn't pass up the chance to stop at the famous Wall Drug Store (naturally in the town of Wall), home of the best coconut cream pie you'll ever eat!!!! (www.walldrug.com). We really had a good time walking around and looking at the neat souvenirs for sale. We had visited here about eight years ago and nothing seems to have changed in this unique place!

A couple of hours later we decided to call it a day and stop for the night in the small town of Oacoma, just west of Mitchell. Tomorrow we'll continue east and then head north. Come along tomorrow and see where we end up!

Sunny & Breezy in Scottsbluff

After yesterday's whirlwind of activity, we started off a bit on the slow side this morning and then launched into a round of errands this afternoon.

We took care of business at the bank, the Veteran's Affairs office, and more. A nice bonus today was the finding of a really nice Mexican restaurant, Mi Ranchito, in the town of Sidney, Nebraska. It has great ice tea, fresh chips, and the best sopapillas you'll ever find!

Tomorrow we head back out the road again, come back to see where we end up!

Chimney Rock and more!

We woke to a rainy Monday here in western Nebraska, badly needed rain, but a real change from the last few days!

We explored more of Scottsbluff this morning and then went in search of more sites in the area of note. First up was Chimney Rock (www.nps.gov/chro), a place made famous as a significant marker on the Oregon Trail. It was special to see it framed as it was by the rain clouds coming from the west.

We met with our District Superintendant for supper and then toured our new home and church followed by a meeting the church's Pastor-Parish Relations Committee (PPRC). To learn where we'll be come July, be sure to visit the blog on Sunday (sorry about the suspense, we can't say where we'll be until the congregation knows - it is just part of the process!). We can say this about our visit: We were so impressed the church which is beyond anything we could have imagined and the beautiful parsonage has room for lots of visitors! But the best part about this parish is the people - we are truly blessed to be sent to this place and this warm and generous congregation!!!

Sunday on Scotts Bluff!

What a beautiful day! The weather here in western Nebraska was absolutely splendid in every respect, and we really got to see this area in the best possible light.

We went to church at Scottsbluff UMC (www.firstumcsb.com), where Palm Sunday was celebrated in fine fashion. The UMW had a great breakfast after the service, and we enjoyed the home-cooked goodies and fellowship with new friends and some familiar faces, including the pastor, Nancy Tomlinson.

After church, we met the Northwest District superintendant, Rev. Lauren Ekdahl and his wife, Shirley, at their home and then went to lunch with them at the attractive restaurant at the Scottsbluff airport.

Following lunch, we were treated by the Ekdahl's to a view of the area that we'll not soon forget from the top of the Scotts Bluff National Monument (www.nps.gov/scbl). This is the first time we have ever been to this part of the state, and we can see why people who live here love it so much!

We finished the day enjoying watching the opening day of the baseball season at the hotel and reflecting upon all that we had seen and done today. Who knows what will be in the offering tomorrow!?!