We were greeted here in Urbana, with an afternoon rainstorm. Afterwards, the sun came out, so I knew there would be a rainbow. I only saw part of it because of remaining dark clouds, but it was one of the most intense I have seen in a while.
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
Water and Rainbows
As I began hooking up here at Lazy Acres RV Park in Urbana, IA, I once again had a problem with the water: flow moderator attached, and no water. This time, however, I picked up on something I hadn't noticed before. Our coach has auto fill for the fresh water tank. If the water tank is down, as soon as we hook up to water, it starts filling. This draws water away from faucets, with which I test the flow. So I waited briefly, and sure enough, when auto - fill was shut off, we had good flow from the faucets. And here I was blaming the flow moderator.
We were greeted here in Urbana, with an afternoon rainstorm. Afterwards, the sun came out, so I knew there would be a rainbow. I only saw part of it because of remaining dark clouds, but it was one of the most intense I have seen in a while.
Rainbows are beautiful symbols of God's faithfulness and promise for all. We may destroy this world in any number of ways, but it will not be destroyed by flooding rain and waters.
We were greeted here in Urbana, with an afternoon rainstorm. Afterwards, the sun came out, so I knew there would be a rainbow. I only saw part of it because of remaining dark clouds, but it was one of the most intense I have seen in a while.
Monday, July 30, 2018
Namesakes and Strange Names
It was frustrating to open a blog, then be in a wifi-dead area for 3 days. But we are back now, and there are several things I want to share.
We spent several days at Pettibone RV Resort in LaCrosse, WI. To look at surrounding businesses, one might think that the town was named Pettibone: Pettibone RV Sales, Pettibone Pointe, and, if I am not mistaken, there was a Pettibone Marina. It was a beautiful site on the Mississippi River, and was our first waterfront site. Ed felt it was one of the nicest parks we have stayed in.
One of the interesting features of the park was the collection of wood carvings spread throughout. It was as if someone wanted to leave a tree stump, but in a more decorative fashion.
On our last night at the Pettibone Resort, we saw a TV add for a Bluegrass Festival in Strawberry Point, Iowa. We have attended several Bluegrass Festivals and wanted to add that to our list. We knew that it was called Backbone Bluegrass Festival, which we thought was strange. Then we learned that it was at Backbone State Park, a beautiful rural setting. We were told that in recent years, volunteers spent a week before the Festival chasing the cows out and collecting all the cow patties. They managed to get our big rig in, but we discovered too late that the ground was very soft. Our jacks sank very deeply, and we were in danger of not getting out.
We sat on a hillside Saturday afternoon, evening and well into Sunday afternoon, listening to one group after another. We were not familiar with any of them, but I preferred the music of the Bluegrass Blondies, a family group of Dad, Mom and three daughters.
After a night at Walmart in Independence, IA, we arrived at our "home" for a month, the Lazy Acres RV Park in Urbana, IA. It is a beautiful park, with large lots and well-kept grounds. Right now we are finding one drawback: we planned to rent a car, but the nearest Enterprise is in Cedar Rapids, and they don't pick up this far out (about 17-18 miles). So we have to either find a closer agency that rents cars or transportation to Cedar Rapids. I have made one contact, but so far nothing.
We spent several days at Pettibone RV Resort in LaCrosse, WI. To look at surrounding businesses, one might think that the town was named Pettibone: Pettibone RV Sales, Pettibone Pointe, and, if I am not mistaken, there was a Pettibone Marina. It was a beautiful site on the Mississippi River, and was our first waterfront site. Ed felt it was one of the nicest parks we have stayed in.
One of the interesting features of the park was the collection of wood carvings spread throughout. It was as if someone wanted to leave a tree stump, but in a more decorative fashion.
On our last night at the Pettibone Resort, we saw a TV add for a Bluegrass Festival in Strawberry Point, Iowa. We have attended several Bluegrass Festivals and wanted to add that to our list. We knew that it was called Backbone Bluegrass Festival, which we thought was strange. Then we learned that it was at Backbone State Park, a beautiful rural setting. We were told that in recent years, volunteers spent a week before the Festival chasing the cows out and collecting all the cow patties. They managed to get our big rig in, but we discovered too late that the ground was very soft. Our jacks sank very deeply, and we were in danger of not getting out.
We sat on a hillside Saturday afternoon, evening and well into Sunday afternoon, listening to one group after another. We were not familiar with any of them, but I preferred the music of the Bluegrass Blondies, a family group of Dad, Mom and three daughters.
After a night at Walmart in Independence, IA, we arrived at our "home" for a month, the Lazy Acres RV Park in Urbana, IA. It is a beautiful park, with large lots and well-kept grounds. Right now we are finding one drawback: we planned to rent a car, but the nearest Enterprise is in Cedar Rapids, and they don't pick up this far out (about 17-18 miles). So we have to either find a closer agency that rents cars or transportation to Cedar Rapids. I have made one contact, but so far nothing.
Friday, July 27, 2018
Introduction
Thank you for checking out my new blog. As the title indicates, I will be posting on our summer travels and other trips, the treasures, or special things I find along the way, and the difficulties we might encounter, to the extent that I think our experience can be helpful to others. A note on Treasures: those who know me well, know that my main treasure in life is food. This comes from growing up with a father who was a WWII Japanese POW, and who developed a deep appreciation of food. No crumb or drop was wasted in our home. I learned to eat almost everything, and to be grateful for it. So very often, Treasures will be about food.
Some background info on myself. I am a retired pastor, which was an unintentional second career. I spent 11 years as a real estate paralegal, preparing for and doing real estate closings. Then, in 1992, my dream of getting an education began to be fulfilled. I enrolled in the University of South Florida, Tampa, graduating in 1995, summa cum laude, majoring in religious studies. I was in that department because that is where Ancient Studies was, but I was immediately redirected when they dropped Ancient Studies. I began studying biblical languages, fell in love with Hebrew, and thought my career was set: I was going to be a professor of Hebrew and Bible Background. I went to the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where I earned a M.Div. in 1998. I was there to reinforce my faith background (I am not Southern Baptist), because I felt that the next step had to be a Ph.D. from a Jewish School to solidify my Hebrew background. I was amazingly accepted at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, OH, which takes about 10 graduate students a year at that Jewish seminary. Immediately, I knew that was not where I was supposed to be. After 2 years, I withdrew from the program and received a second Masters in Bible and Cognate languages. Immediately upon my withdrawal, the door to ministry opened to me, and the rest is history.
I am married to Ed and we have a combined family of 6 children, 9 grandchildren and a few great grandchildren, scattered all over the country. We are full time RVers, with a home base in Clermont, Florida. We stay there in the fall, winter and early spring months, and travel during the summer. That is all I am saying about myself. This blog will be about all the things we encounter on our travels.
Some background info on myself. I am a retired pastor, which was an unintentional second career. I spent 11 years as a real estate paralegal, preparing for and doing real estate closings. Then, in 1992, my dream of getting an education began to be fulfilled. I enrolled in the University of South Florida, Tampa, graduating in 1995, summa cum laude, majoring in religious studies. I was in that department because that is where Ancient Studies was, but I was immediately redirected when they dropped Ancient Studies. I began studying biblical languages, fell in love with Hebrew, and thought my career was set: I was going to be a professor of Hebrew and Bible Background. I went to the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where I earned a M.Div. in 1998. I was there to reinforce my faith background (I am not Southern Baptist), because I felt that the next step had to be a Ph.D. from a Jewish School to solidify my Hebrew background. I was amazingly accepted at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, OH, which takes about 10 graduate students a year at that Jewish seminary. Immediately, I knew that was not where I was supposed to be. After 2 years, I withdrew from the program and received a second Masters in Bible and Cognate languages. Immediately upon my withdrawal, the door to ministry opened to me, and the rest is history.
I am married to Ed and we have a combined family of 6 children, 9 grandchildren and a few great grandchildren, scattered all over the country. We are full time RVers, with a home base in Clermont, Florida. We stay there in the fall, winter and early spring months, and travel during the summer. That is all I am saying about myself. This blog will be about all the things we encounter on our travels.
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