A couple of days worth of running to September...

This is a panoramic view out of my hotel window as I sit and type this blog.  Yes, that is a great view of downtown Pittsburgh, PA.  Ken and I have always had Pittsburgh on our bucket list of cities to visit because his family lived here from 1962-1964,  It was interesting to try to find his house since Ken did not know the street address.  He had various memories as a 10 year old riding a bicycle around but other than that, not much!  Finding his school didn't help much since he took a bus to school.  The roads and all of the shopping have changed in the last 55 years, but surprisingly once we got in the general area, he was able to drive right up to the house.

I know that I have never seen a picture of this house.  Ken's family moved into this house in December of 1962 and moved to Kentucky in the summer of 1964,  So that brief year and half didn't get many photos!   At least now we made note of the street address so that we can find the house again if we want.  So today was a great day to check an item off of that bucket list and Ken got to share many memories that I had never heard before.  

Yesterday I got to check another item off of that bucket list.  Ken and I visited the Creation Museum. This destination has been something I wanted to visit for many years.  I had a few bits of hesitation when I saw how expensive the admission was.  But Ken insisted that we should go.  Well you know how sometimes expectations don't equal reality?  This was certainly the case for us.  We were looking forward to the gardens that are a part of the Museum grounds.  Unfortunately, most of the foot paths and foot bridges were closed.  I know that it is past the summer "season", but we were not expecting this.  And it seemed very commercial.  My prayer is that people of the many tour groups that we saw during this visit would have a  better understanding of the message of the Bible. There were a couple of little streams and waterfalls on the walkway to the museum and we stopped to snap this photo.  Flowing water - my favorite!

We had a nice day in spite of the let down of the museum.  We spent time just driving around and seeing the beautiful Ohio River.  It was a very restful day - a good thing on a vacation. And we were happy to have a down day before our driving day today!

 In addition to the previously posted pictures of Ken enjoying some of his much anticipated foods (Skyline Chili and Tim Hortons), we also visited...

Yep - that is a Big Boy restaurant.  Both Ken and I  remember eating at Big Boys during our growing up years.  The Big Boy was the original "Big Mac" and we discovered that, sadly, the Big Boy was not that good.  Again, a bit of a disappointment.   But it was still one of those experiences that we had talked about for years and finally got there.  

So this part of our vacation has been not quite what we had hoped for in some ways.  Yet in spite of that, we are having a wonderful time.  I love this kind of trip when we don't have very tight timelines.  We are able to sleep later.  Eat more leisurely and stop and see something if it catches our eye.  We know that the weather is always an unknown so we never depend on the forecast.  But we have some outdoor fun planned in the next couple of days so we are praying for good weather!  

I am just loving the view out my window tonight.  Being right on the river, with the backdrop of this beautiful city, just calms my spirit.  There have been so many small boats darting across the water.  Directly in front of our hotel is a water cruise and I have watched the boats go off on tours and then return to the dock.  I think the best part of vacations is having experiences like this.  It is funny how valuable a good view can be. We have a week left of our time away and I am practicing breathing and being in the moment.  I know that before I know it, this time will be done and it will be September and we will back in our usual routine.  

At the creation museum Ken and I went to a 4D movie.  The creation story was shown, day by day.  The photography was amazing.   Driving through the hills today, and now watching the river, I am taken back to those scenes.  How beautiful creation is!  I have a much better appreciation for that beauty after seeing the earth come into being in that movie.  So I am grateful for that visual now and also thankful that we did visit the museum for this reason alone.  When things don't seem to meet our expectations, when the weather doesn't cooperate, and even when the food isn't as good as you remembered, you can always - yes ALWAYS find a sliver of good.  I love how Jesus gives us these little nuggets and helps us to appreciate each day no matter what.  And it doesn't matter if you have to be reminded to find the good, or if the good just shows up. It seems like the very best thing when it comes in spite of the bad.  The joy and peace are wonderful.  

So very thankful tonight.  And also so looking forward to the rest of our time away.  No matter what comes up along the way.  I'm just going to rest and be refreshed by the river flowing by my window tonight.  Praying you all are breathing in and out in joy and peace yourself!

Jesus, thank you so much for the ability to travel and see this wonderful world that you created.  Holy Spirit, keep our eyes focused on the things that bring us joy and give us grace to move through the things that are difficult or disappointing.   Thank you Jesus that you bring us exactly what we need.  Give us all courage to keep walking on.  Amen