Passport

Getting a passport was on my list of things to do in 2017. I've always wanted a passport. The ability to travel anywhere appealed to me. The idea of stamping it with locations, seeing new things... But it was never urgent, so I just didn't get to it until November. Plans foiled as I set up an interview appointment and it got canceled. And then I didn't have a car, so I had to wait until I was back in Washington... And then busyness...

When I left Tennessee before the holidays, Lisa gave me a beautiful leather passport case. She has always encouraged me to travel. So before 2018 hit, I had the application completed, interview done and the packet was in the mail.

Two days before I flew, my very first passport arrived in the mail.

For now, domestic flights. But dreams and planning will eventually happen. Top of the list? Iceland. I want to see the black sand beaches, hike to waterfalls. See the Northern Lights and stars. Elephant Rock. After that? Who knows, cruises, Europe.... 

48 Hours

I've been home for around 48 hours. Busy hours.

Thanksgiving morning:
4am wake up. Dressed and on the road by 4:30. Lisa woke the girls up and we all went down to the airport. Dropped off by bag. Hugged Elsa and told her I loved her. Kissed Elena's soft chubby cheeks. Hugged Samuel and Lisa. Lisa keeps telling me how much she's going to miss me. It's only six weeks.

Breezed through security. Stood in line for coffee for more time than I spent at security. Watched the sunrise from the airport windows. Boarded the plane and slept or watched movies. Finally landed. Between the ten minutes to deice the place in Nashville and waiting for other planes to get to our gate, I was going antsy. I wanted to be home. To see the family I hadn't seen for three months.

Back of the plane, so within the last 20 people to get off the plane. Slowest set of three opening doors one after another while leaving the secure part of the airport. I could see Dad and the doors took like 4 seconds each to open. Long traffic ridden drive home, but it was good to catch up with Dad.

The chaos of entering a house with seven adults of teenagers compared to my other home, quiet with just two adults and two babies. There were literally times where I couldn't keep up with the conversations because it was bouncing around so much. The process of finishing dinner, taking a family picture and catching up with people was fun. Dishes by hand until the kitchen was clean. Succeeded in counting calories during Thanksgiving dinner. Skype call with my Little Fuji Family. This was followed by three really dumb movies before I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.

Welcome allergies. Cats, dogs, mold... Puffy, itchy eyes, runny nose, trouble breathing. It's going to be a hard transition in that sense. But I'll get used to it.

Friday was minor shopping for necessities that I didn't bring back from Tennessee, watching ridiculously dumb movies, catching up with the Rothenbergers and some gift shopping online....

The past 48 ish hours have been way busier than a couple weeks in Tennessee, but it's a good busy.

Drive Time

Over the past 48 hours, I have driven 18+ hours. From Tennessee to Michigan and back down. That's a new record for me. Before this weekend the most I had driven in one go was 5 hours. Now I've done 9!

The Indiana skies were beautiful. Michigan stars were twinkling, sometimes even in the faintest colors of red and green. Kentucky's deciduous trees met the water at the river's edge. All four states were kissed with the touch of autumn.

For the past four years, I've traveled up to Michigan with my little Fuji family. It has always been within the first couple weeks of me living in Tennessee. By the time we're on our way back to Tennessee, I am super excited to be home. And that's when this place feels like home again.

Michigan Travels

Today is a travel day. A whirl wind trip from Tennessee to Michigan for a wedding. Over the course 3 days we will spend around 20 hours in the car. Just Lisa, me and two little ones. We may or may not be a little crazy.

Today is also the first day of fall. The weather in Tennessee, however? Yesterday was 90 degrees with 70% humidity. We're not entering fall in the way I'm used to with boots, sweaters and scarves on crisp cold days. But autumn has a way of showing itself, even in the heat. The some of the leaves are changing color, they are starting to fall with little gusts of wind. I am stoked to be driving up through four states and seeing the beginnings of fall all around different states.

My New Room

Saturday. I've been here a week. I'm falling into a nice routine, finding homesickness lessening with each day and being more comfortable in my new surroundings. I'm finally unpacked. My suitcases are in the closest, my clothes are folded or hanging, my books stacked neatly. The only things I have to do is hang a collage on the wall. 

Guys, I have a bathroom to myself. And a room. With a closet... It'll be interesting to see how I naturally keep my room, whether it will stay super clean or a complete disaster. I have a feeling it will be comfortably cluttery each week and on the weekends will get cleaned back up. 

Samuel and Lisa's new house is really big, so the internet in my room is kinda bad, but if I lay on the floor by my nightstand, I can get enough to text with people or play music. The "bonus" room across the hall from my room has better internet and a couch, so if I want to watch something, I head in there. 

I took a look at all the books I brought with me and I think it kinda says something about what I need. I didn't bring a single fiction book. Besides these, the only other books I brought were two art books to work through. It's a good thing Lisa has fiction books all over the place for when I finish these. 

So there is my room. I'm moved in and it's comfortable with a good view of the neighborhood. I'm home.  

 

The Sleep Deprived Traveler

I'm not a particular fan of flying. Something about being stuck in a tube around 40,000 ft from the ground with a bunch of strangers that makes for a less than enjoyable time. Also, as a busy person, sitting still without movement or doing something productive is kinda hard.

With just 3.5 hours of sleep, I got dropped off at the airport. My flight time had changed, so I felt a little rushed through security. The first flight to San Francisco was fairly uneventful. I slept a good deal and listened to Lily and Madeleine.   

The second flight, which was twice as long, was really nice. The middle seat was open and I had the window seat, my favorite. I slept again for a good part of the flight. See why I stay up so late before? Read, watched a few episodes of a show and watched the scenery go by far below.

 I was happy to land and meet my new little nieces and see Elsa and Samuel and Lisa. I couldn't help feeling a little homesick last night, but that will wear off soon enough. 

Home

Welp, the time has come, I'll be traveling back to Washington tomorrow. The busiest travel day of the year. Don't get me wrong, I am so excited to go home. I've missed my family for ages and so much as happened since I left. I can't wait to catch up with everyone. But like every time I leave this place, I realize how much of my heart is here.

I pulled my suitcase out of the closet last week and started collecting the random things that I wouldn't need and while doing so, Elsa asked
"What are you doing?"
I looked up at her, she had been playing happily
"I'm packing to go home."
She got really sad as she climbed down from the bed and came over.
"But... You are home..."
It nearly made me cry, but I gave her a hug instead. For someone so young, she understands a lot.

Today, I spent a good deal of the morning catching up on some miles I was behind from the weekend. Then we Skyped home for probably the last time this visit and talked with Anna at West Point as well as the family back home.

I made her macaroni and cheese for lunch and tucked her in for her nap. Our morning had been filled with songs, laughter and fun. This afternoon while she naps, I did laundry to get ready to pack and made salted caramel pretzel bark (seriously addicting) while listening to Pandora.

Oh, and I got a sweet package in the mail today from a friend. She's a favorite. :-) and not just because she sent fall cookies.

So my next post shall be from Washington where I will be diving into Thanksgiving, family, friends and holiday baking.

Back to Balkemania

Thursday morning, Samuel, Lisa, Elsa and I boarded a rented pickup and made the eight hour drive up to Michigan for Balkema wedding. I was a little concerned about the long drive with Elsa, but she was fantastic and didn't get car sick, which was AWESOME!

Lisa read Cruel as the Grave by Mrs. Southworth on the way up and back and that helped the time past quickly. We made really good time going up and made it to the rehearsal dinner. After the rehearsal, we went to the reception venue and went to work on some of the decorations.

The wedding was sweet. Everything went well and the reception venue made a stunning transformation from a gym to a reception venue. It was gorgeous and Lisa's Aunt Julie did an amazing job!

It was quite awkward for me because I didn't know hardly anyone there (besides bridesmaids), although tons of people seemed to know me and it was weird, cause I hardly know who they are. I'm pretty sure it's cause they see all the pictures I post of Elsa and it makes them think they know me....

Due to a culinary conversation during the wedding reception, Bob and Julie (Mrs. Balkema's sister) brought sushi the next day including raw scallops and raw tuna. It was delicious and super sweet of them. I had a fantastic time getting to know them this weekend!

Besides the horrible allergies I had the entire time I was there, it was a fantastic weekend. I love the Balkema family!

I made several realizations over the weekend:

-I have now been to three outta four Balkema kids' weddings. :-)

-I've never been to a wedding where I haven't worked in some way. This time, I was asked to run through the kitchen to look for necessary equipment, walk the cooks through the kitchen instead of the bride, moved chairs from the church, to the rec. center, helped slice and serve cake and all sorts of cleanup stuff...

-Even though I was busy almost the entire weekend, I missed my family even more than ever.

-My home away from home felt like home when I was away from it and came back. If that makes sense. ;-)

The sunset on the way back was gorgeous! We got back in decent time and unloaded the back of the pick up. It felt good to be home.

2,385 Miles

That is how far I traveled today. It didn't feel like I traveled that far. The direct flight felt short and between watching the clouds and amazing views of the states. After staying up until 1:30am last night, I was running on very little sleep, which was awesome - I slept for around two hours of the flight, another reason the trip felt short.

Samuel, Lisa and Elsa met me at baggage claim and as soon as Elsa saw me, she ran up and hugged me tight. She hasn't stopped talking since. We did Trader Joe's shopping and didn't get home until dinner time.

And that was my day. Samuel and Lisa are super warm and it feels comfortable around them. But even so, I feel incredibly homesick this go around, so prayers would be greatly appreciated as I make this transition.

Crater Lake

It was a rather spontaneous plan, made in the parking lot of a movie theater at 2am. A plan that none of us actually thought would happen. A little less than two weeks later after much planning, some challenges and lots of excitement, we got in the van and began to drive. We kept looking at each other. Eyes lit. Smiles wide. Hearts happy. We were on a road trip. It was immediately comfortable, like being with family, we had talks and silences, serious and jesting conversations, we sang, danced and snacked away the 476 mile drive down to Crater Lake, Oregon. Best weekend of my life.

We stopped off at Cannon Beach to have lunch and to see the beach. It holds fond memories for the majority of us, but now it has even more fond memories of getting drenched by misty rain. Of frolicking in the waves. Of soggy hair and cold feet. Of homeless chic and delicious warmth from Insomnia Coffee.

And then more driving. Warming up under blankets, snacking on peach rings and figuring out that veggie straws are way more fun to eat when you blow out as you bite. Crumbs were everywhere. From Oregon gas stations and an overly flirtatious attendant to pulling over for yet another bathroom break (yes, I lost the game the most) we drove. The excitement of realizing that in just a few short hours were were out of state. 

We set up camp, including not bringing a proper second tent, which meant the boys suffered a bit as far as the sleep department... Ate dinner and literally hung around the campfire for hours until it became dark enough to see the stars. The adventure to find a "good" stargazing location in and of itself was fun and entertaining, if not a little scary as we drove down construction roads in the black of night around Crater Lake. We found a glorious field (a dessert, actually) that was dark and perfect. As far as looking up. It was so breathtakingly beautiful I can hardly describe it, but I will try.

The view was vast, we lay, heads together in the center, blankets, sleeping bags and towels keeping us warm and laying on a tarp to keep up dry. None of us knew that apparently Crater Lake is among the top ten dark sky locations in the National Park System. We could see so many stars. We laughed at the location of the big dipper and how some of us couldn't see it. We held our breath, then burst out laughing, but that was the only sounds. There was no constant roar of the highway, so sirens or dogs barking. Pure, blissful silence with the only sound being the peaceful breathing of these friends. We lay out in that field until we were gibberish with exhaustion, or in some cases, fell asleep. We could see so many stars, layers upon layers of stars and breathtaking shooting stars. We were also extremely lucky to have had a new moon that night, so it was even darker! It gave me perspective and made me appreciate God so much more. 

The next morning I was up first. I walked down to Diamond Lake and sat on the dock. I made hash for breakfast and we packed up the tent and campsite. We took our time. We drove to Crater Lake and the first sight of it in the day light was mind blowing and made me unreasonably excited. I had wanted to go here for many many years.

We drove around, stopping at many of the outlooks and taking pictures or hiking past fence lines. We hiked up to a lookout tower and sat on the edge just looking at the magnificent view. It felt so unreal.

The drive home was more or less dreaded, not because of the distance, but because none of us wanted this short little adventure to end. None of us wanted to recognize that we were going different directions within a few weeks. Our conversations skipped between serious and giggly. Friendships strengthened. Sure we've known each other for ages, some, up to eleven years, but in that particular, short weekend we became true friends.

Since then, we've gone on other adventures, expeditions to forts, watching sunsets and starry nights, late night talks and near constant Facebook chats. Then it happened, life got in the way. I left first, making the 2385 mile journey to Tennessee. Another left a week or so later to begin his 1500 (ish) mile drive to Arizona and closely following that, my best friend made the 5239 mile journey to Peru for a missions trip.

And that is my little story of one of my most favorite weekends of my life.

Back Home

Well, we're back in Washington again. Ian and I spent the majority of yesterday in airports and airplanes. The second flight and the drive home were rather grueling because of how exhausted we were. But we got to sit together on every flig
ht, which is pretty awesome!

Yesterday wake up time: 9:00am
Bedtime: 4:00am (But we were 3 hours ahead... so) 7am

Exhaustion.

I can't measure my experience against Ian's. He traveled 2,369 miles to compete against 44 other kids in a program he spent 2 years studying. I can't imagine all the feelings and thoughts going through his head for the entire week.

On the way back from the award's ceremony, Brent and Chef Becky are talking up front and Ian leans over and whispers "Dude, I got sixth place!" and we high five. 

We had fun together. A lot of fun. We both learned lots and made memories that will last a lifetime!

Competition Day Observer

Kentucky Expo Center is a 1,200,000 square foot building. It is gigantic. Ian was one of 78 competitors for the diesel competition, but half of those were post-secondary students. He competed at 14 different stations for 30 minutes each, so it was a long day.

A culinary friend was competing in the culinary arts competition, so I bounced between competitions observing, taking pictures and supporting as best I could. The competitions were fascinating to watch. I find it interesting to see who is nervous, who gets in the zone and how people deal with mistakes or the unknown. 

I hung out with another kid for most of the time and also spent a good deal of time with Chef Becky and Brent. It was fun to catch up or get to know them better. 

After the competition was done and everyone was tearing down the competitions, an announcement was made. Due to weather, they wanted everyone in the main part of the expo with the doors closed and to stay away from windows. Basically, it was a weather lockdown. The weather was truly crazy. It took us at least forty minutes for a bus to come and pick us up... 

Ian and Brent talked about the day for a long time before we headed out to Kentucky Kingdom. The amusement park free for all SkillsUSA people and we were excited to do a few roller coasters, but the moment we got in line for our first ride, the weather got bad again and fork lightening and loud thunder, but no rain. the rides were temporarily shut down. As the storm didn't pass, the entire place was shut down and we went back to the hotel with new tickets for today. 

On the way home, we stopped to pick up ice cream and while running into the store, were running in an inch or two of water on the ground. It was REALLY wet, but still warm. Ian and I ate ice cream and watched the storm before editing pictures and heading to bed. 

He's super thankful the competition is over. :-) He says he did okay, but had fun, which is the main point. 

Exploring Louisville

Today, Ian and I went to the Big Four Bridge, which crosses the Ohio river between Kentucky and Indiana. It was a pretty sweet little walk. The drive to the Kentucky side was pretty impossible because of the construction, so after getting to the Indiana side, we finally got to walk across...

After that, we drove to Historic Louisville. It wasn't super impressive architecture, so we did a drive by on the way to Churchill Downs. We got there 8 minutes after a tour started and another wasn't set until an hour later so we got lunch before heading back.

The museum had a massive room with a 360 set of screens, which they played a fifteen minute video on. It was amazing. The tour was cool, we got to see part of the grounds and track as well as the grave sights of some of the horses. It was pretty sweet tour.

After the tour, we checked out the rest of the museum and the gift shop. They had a great selection of expensive screwy hats...

After that, we spent a few minutes in our hotel room before heading out to meet up with Ian's instructor, Brent. We had dinner and Ian had his first test and welcome speech, but tomorrow is looking busier. I also saw Chef Becky, my former culinary instructor, so that was fun. We'll probably get a chance to hang out later this week. 

Mega Cavern Zip Lining

I've always wanted to do some serious zip lines. Quite different from the ones we used to make and use in the back yard as kids. So I made it happen...

Ian and I left Samuel and Lisa's at 2:40. We had to be in Louisville by 6:30 and technically it's only a 2 hour and 56 minute drive. Somewhere along the way we switched time zones and blah, blah, blah, we ended up with an ETA of 6:40. Don't tell anyone, but I made up like 15-ish minutes, five of which we lost on a bathroom break. I just couldn't wait to go and we needed gas. We ended up getting to Louisville's Mega Caverns at 6:31 to check in for the zip lining tour.

The cavern was huge. The guides were nice, informative and funny. Sarah, the girl, was super sarcastic and perky and Michael had some fun stories in response to our questions on people afraid of heights and such. There were six zip lines, two long suspension bridges and a few other walks high up in the cavern. It was awesome.

The suspension bridge challenge was to keep your hands on your helmet instead of holding on to the edge. I thought it was going to be easy, but then the ground vanished way below me and it felt a little weird. I still did it without touching the sides, but it was very Indiana Jones-ish. They even played the theme song.

The last zip line was a racing one, so Ian and I raced. I guess winning that one made up for the fact that at the water park yesterday, I lost every water slide to Ian.

Anyway, if you're ever in Louisville, I totally recommend this place, although I'd not bring Moms who would be concerned for the well-being of her kids around heights, kinda like my Mom would be.... ;-) It was spendy, but well worth the cost in my opinion.

Adventures in Tennessee

Ian and I made it to Tennessee last night with no real problems. I thought, for a moment, that we missed our connecting flight in Detroit, but in reality, I had just misread the ticket. We got there just in time to board the next flight. I picked up my first rental car, a little hatchback Hyundai Accent. It was pretty easy and the entire drive to Samuel and Lisa's house I didn't use a GPS. I guess Tennessee really is my home away from home.

Today, we went to Nashville Shores. An awesome water park. I forgot how much I hate crowds of people. They tend to be selfish and rude. At least it's rather entertaining. I've never see so many disturbing bathing suits, hilarious tanlines and over (fake) tanned people. Ian and I went down several water slides (a first for him) and while waiting in line for one, we saw the most hilarious I-didn't-wear-a-shirt-under-my-overalls tan ever. It was hilarious.

They had a wave pool and Elsa and I hung out while Ian battled both the waves and the masses of peoples and their floating devices. Samuel and Lisa got a chance to try out the water slides and Elsa and I had fun catching up.

She loves Ian. She got really tired while we were at the edge of the wave pool and had her head resting on my shoulder. It popped up suddenly and she exclaimed in an excited voice "Uncle Ian (en)"

Anyway, we had a blast at the water park and all of us left a little on the burned side. I'm barely burned, just a bit around the edge of my current tan on my shoulders and a bit on my shins. Not bad, just feels a little hot... We got Dairy Queen on the way back and within a minute and a half of driving, Elsa was asleep.