Thursday, April 15, 2010
Editor's Note:
For all Oregon Statesman subsribers I have a confession. The Oregon Statesman is not really a newspaper, although previous issues were designed to look just like one. The title was inspired by the newspapers The Oregonian and the Statesman Journal - so there ... This marks the evolution of the O. S. as it will now be in a blog format. If I am able, I will try to post the previous issues here as well. Either way, using a newspaper venue is kind of a cool way to mark significant family events. I hope you enjoy.
Tim and Connies East Coast Adventure
Tim and Connie's East Coast Adventure
Tim's Conference in Orlando - Mar 28 - Apr 1
Our adventure began in Orlando, Florida. Tim was attending a conference on safe patient handling because in his job, many of his accounts are hospitals and health care facilities where the number one injury is strains due to transferring or otherwise handling patients. We arrived on the red eye, to a torrential downpour and felt disappointed that we had left rain and now arrived in it. After a 3 hour nap, we got up and - lo and behold - the rain had vanished and we were now embraced by a balmy clear outdoors, much to our delight.
The conference was held at the Buena Vista Palace Hotel at the edge of Disney World. It was plenty large for the conference and had beautiful grounds full of things to do. Across the street was Downtown Disney, which is essentially a Disney-themed shopping mall. This made for free and fun exploring. One of the conference vendors hosted a dinner and dance at Bongos Cuban Cafe. They had a couple doing traditional Cuban dances for our group - which of course meant that we would have to get up to do some dancing as well. Not sure how we did, but really didn't care as it was all just for fun.
Connie's tastes were a bit more exotic. She ordered up a dish, which was a Peruvian version of cioppino - oodles of seafood items in a delicious soup base. Lobster claw, clams, mussels, and even octopus suction cup things. She really liked it - Tim stuck to his steak.
The B & B was a classic Georgian style and our room (The Tropical Room) was furnished with a four-poster canopy bed , mirrored decorations, tropical themed wallpaper, and a Jacuzzi bathtub. So nice after the long drive.
We awoke to a GLORIOUS Easter morning with birds chirping, magnolia and cherry trees blooming and sun shining. We came downstairs to a delightful breakfast of fresh strawberries and yogurt parfaits and served quiche and bacon with homemade coffee cake. What was most enjoyable though were the people...warm hearted interesting "believers" whom had converted from a strict Amish horse and buggy to a more vibrant non denominational Christian style. We shared the table with visiting family members who were foster parenting two toddlers. We toured their lovely in-process backyard "secret garden" and then followed our hosts to their country church..
We accompanied the Stolzfus' to their Easter service. It was a non-denominational Christian church with a blend of Amish, Mennonite and Heinz 57 Christians in attendance. The service opened with a drama teams rendition of scripture verses describing Mary Magdeline's journey to the empty tomb of Jesus and his subsequent resurrection. Moving and very exciting. The message was excellent. And as an added bonus, we as first time visitors, were invited to a free beverage from their lobby espresso stand. Really cool cups too.
Delaware with Pat and Doug
Amish Country
Although we had briefly experienced the Pennsylvania Dutch region whilst driving to Pat's, we decided to take part of a day on our trip back to Pittsburgh to explore this wonderful country. The weather broke perfectly as our trip north began. We followed a route with gorgeous green rolling hills, speckled with colorful farms and trees. Rounding one corner, we spied an Amish farmer tilling his fields with a century old plow, pulled by a team of six huge horses. The combination of green hills and deep brown soil made for a spectacular scene. Using my telephoto, I captured a few distant shots, always careful to respectfully avoid the man's face for the sake of privacy. As we pulled back onto the highway, he turned his team and was moving directly at us. I caught a glimpse of a spectacular sight - the soil parted and musically piled up on either side of the plow, the horses snorting out mist, the farmer guiding his team. So color, so energizing, so magnificent ... so private, as to agonizingly refrain from a photo. Then further north.
Pittsburgh Historical Journey
West Virginia with Mike and Kay
Pittsburgh Historical Journey Part Deux
Returning to Oregon
Tim's Conference in Orlando - Mar 28 - Apr 1
Our adventure began in Orlando, Florida. Tim was attending a conference on safe patient handling because in his job, many of his accounts are hospitals and health care facilities where the number one injury is strains due to transferring or otherwise handling patients. We arrived on the red eye, to a torrential downpour and felt disappointed that we had left rain and now arrived in it. After a 3 hour nap, we got up and - lo and behold - the rain had vanished and we were now embraced by a balmy clear outdoors, much to our delight.
The conference was held at the Buena Vista Palace Hotel at the edge of Disney World. It was plenty large for the conference and had beautiful grounds full of things to do. Across the street was Downtown Disney, which is essentially a Disney-themed shopping mall. This made for free and fun exploring. One of the conference vendors hosted a dinner and dance at Bongos Cuban Cafe. They had a couple doing traditional Cuban dances for our group - which of course meant that we would have to get up to do some dancing as well. Not sure how we did, but really didn't care as it was all just for fun.
Visiting Uncle Tommy
After leaving the conference, we headed toward Daytona Beach, as we had reserved two nights at a Worldmark Timeshare. When Uncle Tommy, who lives about 100 miles north of Daytona Beach learned of our imminent visit, he emailed me to let me know I would be on his S*** list if I didn't visit. As it turned out, Connie had come down with some sort of stomach flu and was not up to any more traveling. So after dropping her at the resort to rest, I headed up north for a short visit with Uncle Tom and Aunt Cathy.
Finding the place is no task for amateurs, at least when taking the circuitous route I took. I feared I would wind up in an everglade and get eaten by an aligator. After a 3 hour drive, I arrived. Both were in their lush backyard cooking up dinner on their barbecue.
Daytona Beach - Apr 1-2, 2010
We stayed at the Ocean Walk resort. Our room was a two bedroom suite with a beautiful view of the ocean. Connie continued to recover from her stomach ailment and we very slowly walked along the beach to the extend we could. It was really nice to see and feel the white sand of the endless beach.
Driving from Pittsburgh - Sat Apr 3, 2010
6th Anniversary in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Because our travel day occurred on our anniversary, April 3, we had planned to stop along the way as a way of celebrating our sixth year together. In what is becoming an annual tradition, we chose a bed and breakfast to stay the night. The Secret Garden in Lancaster, PA is the name of the establishment we chose. Our hosts were Amos and Mary Ann Stolzfus. (We later found this family name on MANY establishments and farms in the Amish community.) Because our hosts were committed to a wedding that date, our check in time was after 7pm, so we searched for a suitable restaurant to celebrate our special night. We found a friendly Peruvian restaurant in the downtown area. Tim had a steak dinner - to his delight they really cooked it medium well.
6th Anniversary in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Because our travel day occurred on our anniversary, April 3, we had planned to stop along the way as a way of celebrating our sixth year together. In what is becoming an annual tradition, we chose a bed and breakfast to stay the night. The Secret Garden in Lancaster, PA is the name of the establishment we chose. Our hosts were Amos and Mary Ann Stolzfus. (We later found this family name on MANY establishments and farms in the Amish community.) Because our hosts were committed to a wedding that date, our check in time was after 7pm, so we searched for a suitable restaurant to celebrate our special night. We found a friendly Peruvian restaurant in the downtown area. Tim had a steak dinner - to his delight they really cooked it medium well.
Connie's tastes were a bit more exotic. She ordered up a dish, which was a Peruvian version of cioppino - oodles of seafood items in a delicious soup base. Lobster claw, clams, mussels, and even octopus suction cup things. She really liked it - Tim stuck to his steak.The B & B was a classic Georgian style and our room (The Tropical Room) was furnished with a four-poster canopy bed , mirrored decorations, tropical themed wallpaper, and a Jacuzzi bathtub. So nice after the long drive.
We awoke to a GLORIOUS Easter morning with birds chirping, magnolia and cherry trees blooming and sun shining. We came downstairs to a delightful breakfast of fresh strawberries and yogurt parfaits and served quiche and bacon with homemade coffee cake. What was most enjoyable though were the people...warm hearted interesting "believers" whom had converted from a strict Amish horse and buggy to a more vibrant non denominational Christian style. We shared the table with visiting family members who were foster parenting two toddlers. We toured their lovely in-process backyard "secret garden" and then followed our hosts to their country church..
We accompanied the Stolzfus' to their Easter service. It was a non-denominational Christian church with a blend of Amish, Mennonite and Heinz 57 Christians in attendance. The service opened with a drama teams rendition of scripture verses describing Mary Magdeline's journey to the empty tomb of Jesus and his subsequent resurrection. Moving and very exciting. The message was excellent. And as an added bonus, we as first time visitors, were invited to a free beverage from their lobby espresso stand. Really cool cups too.
Delaware with Pat and Doug
Amish Country
Although we had briefly experienced the Pennsylvania Dutch region whilst driving to Pat's, we decided to take part of a day on our trip back to Pittsburgh to explore this wonderful country. The weather broke perfectly as our trip north began. We followed a route with gorgeous green rolling hills, speckled with colorful farms and trees. Rounding one corner, we spied an Amish farmer tilling his fields with a century old plow, pulled by a team of six huge horses. The combination of green hills and deep brown soil made for a spectacular scene. Using my telephoto, I captured a few distant shots, always careful to respectfully avoid the man's face for the sake of privacy. As we pulled back onto the highway, he turned his team and was moving directly at us. I caught a glimpse of a spectacular sight - the soil parted and musically piled up on either side of the plow, the horses snorting out mist, the farmer guiding his team. So color, so energizing, so magnificent ... so private, as to agonizingly refrain from a photo. Then further north.
Pittsburgh Historical Journey
West Virginia with Mike and Kay
Pittsburgh Historical Journey Part Deux
Returning to Oregon
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