Spring's Great Adventure: Catching Up On Last Year So We Can Proceed With This Year……. Huh????......What Did You Say?????

May 1, 2012

After a long silence from the “Great Adventure” Blog, we decided it was time to put it in gear – literally and figuratively. In just a few weeks we will be “On the Road Again” to continue our summer MMAP projects. This time we will be traveling north to the beautiful Pacific Northwest. We have a June MMAP project scheduled at Warm Beach Christian Camp in Stanwood, Washington, and we hope to get a back-to-back July and August project at Camp Berachah in Auburn, Washington (near our daughter in Tacoma.) If plans work out as we hope (and from previous blog entries – you all know how that might change!) we will end the summer near the California coast at a project in Sebastopol (about 150 miles from our son and his family), then return to Arizona in October. As of the writing of this update however, only the June plans are certain. So stay tuned…….

Meanwhile, we left you all hanging last September with a promise to give you pictures and information on the last part of our adventures traveling around the east coast during the summer of 2011. Well folks, have I ever been late on my promises before?

“Of course she has,” you’re thinking…….so needless to say, none of you should be too surprised. However, I must admit a 7 month delay from our last update of September 30, 2011 is a bit much – even for me. Sorry……

We arrived back in Arizona a day or two after that last entry, having all good intentions to close out the 2011 blog with a narrative and pictures of the last part of our trip in and around Virginia. But once we arrived home, it seems our “other life” took over and we put blogging on the back burner…..way on the back burner. We jumped into house projects (painting, landscaping and patio building); we got involved in activities with our friends and our church; Helen joined a Spanish class at the Sun City Recreation Center and also started hosting a weekly Bible study for some of the neighborhood ladies. Our daughter and granddaughters came down for a few days before Christmas, and we all drove to our son’s house in Northern California for Christmas (surprising him by walking into his Christmas Eve service without him having a clue that we were coming.) We were joined by our son-in-law who flew in from Washington. It was a great holiday. Our family is such a blessing to us!

2012 found us doing more of the same with friends and church activities and classes and Bible studies along with three short jaunts sans RV: a day trip to Yarnell and Prescott, AZ, a four-day stay at a wonderful time share in Sedona, AZ with friends, Darrel & Darlene (compliments of our other friends, Roger & Esther who were unable to use their time share for that week), and a three day trip to Kingman, AZ to stay with our friends, Sam & Mary. Jim’s son, Erik also came to our house for a few days to have a pace-maker implanted in his chest to regulate his heartbeat (more on that later.) And our daughter, Meleea and family joined us again for Spring Break during the first week of April.

Wheee……We need to get back on the road so we can slow down the pace!

However, before I get too distracted……a promise is a promise…..and I did promise pictures and a short narrative of the last part of our 2011 adventures. You’re probably thinking this is “old news” – but my intention was to make the final 2011 blog entry a pictorial to honor our great nation and the brave men and women who have given their all to keep us free. Perhaps my delay makes the message even timelier as we ponder over the daily news and wonder where our future as a great and free nation is headed. I hope you enjoy the following pictures and our comments about these places we had the privilege to visit:

Let’s start with the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC –

The famous words of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address causes us to reflect on many things -

Our nation was indeed “conceived in liberty” – but that liberty came at a cost and continues to cost us to this day. I believe our liberty is currently in jeopardy. Don’t forget, it was a mere 87 years from the birth of our nation to a time when men’s ideology of what this nation stood for clashed so seriously, it split our nation in two and brother ended up killing brother. Let’s pray that will never happen again. Read again how Lincoln ended his speech – “this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from this earth.” (Or to quote another American President: “If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we shall be a nation gone under.” Ronald Regan)

We move on to a time in our history that is much closer to each one of us, especially those in my generation

The Viet Nam Conflict

The Viet Nam War Memorial in DC also caused much reflection on our part. Many claim it was an unnecessary war….who can say if that was so? Many of our friends and relatives came back changed beyond recognition (either inside or outside) – many didn’t come back at all. But what part of any war is necessary? Be careful how you answer that – I think it’s a question that may not have an answer. And history has a way of repeating itself, thus our children and grandchildren echo that same question today and watch with worry and dread as their friends and relatives are sent off to some strange far away land, and mourn with broken hearts as they return battered or broken or not at all. But let it be said that in any war or “conflict” our nation has ever been involved with, the rhetoric “for” or “against” should never overshadow the bravery of the men and women who are willing to give their lives to protect our freedom. Freedom has never been “free”. Praise God for our troops and their sacrifice for us so we have that freedom to stand on street corners or gather in protests to speak our beliefs “for” or “against” freely. God willing, may we never loose that freedom!

A visit to the National Museum of the Marine Corp continued to put into perspective the sacrifices brave souls have made for all of us over the 200+ years of the existence of this country.

Never doubt that we are a great nation – not infallible, but nonetheless GREAT! Anyone who has no pride in our military or respect for our country should be (in my humble opinion) “run out of town on a rail”.

For anyone making a trip to the DC area – this is a “must see”. The National Museum of the Marine Corps is a lasting tribute to U.S. Marines--past, present, and future. Situated on a 135-acre site adjacent to Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, and under the command of Marine Corps University, the Museum's soaring design evokes the image of the flag-raisers of Iwo Jima and beckons visitors to this 120,000-square-foot structure. World-class interactive exhibits using the most innovative technology surround visitors with irreplaceable artifacts and immerse them in the sights and sounds of Marines in action. It’s a monument to Honor, courage and commitment.


This display brought tears to the eyes of my Navy Corpsman husband

Many of the displays are ultra realistic – even with the temperatures of the room matching the heat of the jungles of Viet Nam or the cold of the terrain of Korea. In this display you walk through the belly of a helicopter (vibrating with noise and motion) to exit the rear of it onto the battlefield where sounds of gunfire and shouts of troops surround you. It gives just a glimpse of the gravity of the battlefield.

These are people we should be proud of....very, very proud!

Our final stop in this tribute to our great nation and to the brave men and women who have given their all to protect it takes us to Arlington National Cemetery just outside of Washington DC where we were privileged to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Our pictures do not do justice to such a hallowed place as this. Just looking out across the rows and rows of gravesites causes a catch in your breath and a feeling of both sadness and pride….it’s hard to explain.