It's this guy's day today

Kirk pointed out on Facebook that today is Leif Eriksson Day. Which gives me an excuse to share this picture of Leif, taken by Karina, during our stay in Iceland last spring.

Stuff worth sharing (sort of)

Bruce and Katy's trip to southern Mexico.

How about a church that reads through the entire Bible together, not once but four times?

One of the songs we have on tap for the Saturday night show. Except we're doing it without the organ.
 
In the "nothing is ever at it seems" department, a recent episode of the Fox show Fringe took place in Noyo County, Washington. But Noyo is a river and region in Northern California, not Washington. Then again, the whole thing is filmed in Canada, so who cares, eh? It's a little like the outside scenes they shoot for The Office, where you can occasionally see palm trees in the background (since it's filmed in L.A., and not Scranton, PA).

Anyway, one day in Iceland we found ourselves conversing with a group of Icelandic teens in one of the lovely geothermal pools in Reykjavik. Another American was taking part of the conversation; it came around to entertainment options in Iceland. They mentioned that they were fans of "Dr. House." Our American friend, who lives near Princeton, mentioned that almost every day he drives by the hospital used as the front for House. The Icelandic teens were more than a little excited by that factoid. Until our American friend said "but it's not really a hospital" and I said "and it's all filmed on a sound stage in Los Angeles, 3000 miles away." They seemed a little disappointed.
 
Speaking of which, it's amazing how much San Francisco looks like Vancouver, Canada, in that other new Fox show "Human Target."

St. Dan visits the Heathens in London

Our Volcano Video

Just ignore the fact that I was operating an electronic device while taking off and landing. . .

My intersection with the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

One fun memory of our recently-completed European Vacation. . .

Following a trip to Buckingham Palace to watch the Changing of the Guard, and a mosey over past 165 Eaton Place (anybody know why that's important?), we made it to Harrods. Wow. Lots of . . . everything. Lots of Turkish Delight. Lots of cheese. Lots of $8000 clocks. Lots of toys for the kids. An opera singer in the escalator. An opera singer making pizza. It was a little bit of overload to my tired mind. But we headed upstairs to grab a quiet moment of tea and scones and sandwiches. Which was very nice.

About the time we were finished, I noticed a man standing off to our right. He had That Look. The rigid backbone, the dark suit, the piercing gaze, the wire heading up toward the hidden earpiece. Like secret service or something.

That piqued our attention. Especially when, upon further examination, we realized there were 3 or 4 of these guys around the room. "Wonder what's going on?" I asked myself. Perhaps the queen was stopping by for tea? Or is Harrod's so swank that they hire security guards just to watch over their tea room.

But then a nice-looking older gentleman entered the room, and the security swarmed to him. Our waiter told us "That's Mohammed Al Fayed, the owner of Harrods." Yes, That Mohammed Al Fayed. One of the richest men in the world, and father of Dodi Al Fayed, the man dating, and killed alongside of, Princess Di.

He strolled across the room and was heading out when he glanced our way. Clara and Olivia waved to him. He said something to his security detail, and waved us over. He said hello to our girls, asked them a few questions, and gave them each a kiss and a sucker. He gave the wife a kiss on her hand. He told us we had beautiful children and should keep making them. Then he handed me something and said "this will help later tonight." It looked like a breath mint.

With a twinkle in his eye, he said "It's a viagra."

So there you go. One of the richest men in the world gave me a viagra pill.

It's still in the medicine cabinet, by the way.

So, quickly

We're home. I'm going to bed. But first, here's a picture of me looking grizzly in front of Buckingham Palace. Except Buckingham Palace would be behind you, if you were taking this picture.

Hello

from a French restaurant on the Thames. It occurs to me we've done a lot of walking since leaving home 2 weeks ago. A lot of Subway riding, too, but more walking in these 2 weeks than all year so far, I would guess.

Yesterday we took the tube to town, climbed up to see Big Ben towering over us. Walked a mile to find some fine fish & chips. Walked down to the river to cross the Millennium Bridge and then up to St. Paul's for tea and biscuits in the crypt and the choral evensong. Back down to the London Eye (we rode it) and then back to the tube to be home by 9:00.

Today we took the tube to town and walked a long way to the Imperial War Museum, then the tube back to London Bridge, now some nice lunch, then up to the Tower. And maybe that famous toy store over by Piccadilly Circus.

Tomorrow the plan is to get to Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of the Guard, and then off to find 165 Eaton Place (anybody know why that's important?).

Oh, and this. We met a personal friend of Willy Wonka. The kids even got some genuine Wonka bars. They're plastic, but genuine.

Here's my lunch. . .

London Calling

Drive to airport. 2 hour plane flight. 30 minute train trip to Liverpool Station. Circle Line subway for 20 minutes. Green line for 10 minutes. Off the subway and up to the street. Back to the subway to the next stop. Did I mention with two kids and three suitcases in tow? A 10 minute walk to the hotel through dark London streets. We made it!

Now we're off to explore this wonderful city. But not without first saying thanks to Derek and Carin and the kids for being such wonderful hosts, letting us invade their space and taking us all over town for a week. We leave Stockholm with wonderful memories.

Heading south

It's been nice here in Stockholm. Good friends, good food, lots of sights to see. I even got a little sunburned yesterday while we wandered around the zoo. Where we saw a moose. And some reindeer. And some bears. And an 800-year-old barn.

We've enjoyed our visit, enjoyed the people and the city. Swedes, like Icelanders, have proven to be friendly and welcoming to Americans traveling their land. They've been helpful and accepting, interested in our journey and our life in America. No angry, anti-American sentiment here. Truthfully, I'm impressed how far some have gone to help us find our way around. So thanks to Sweden for welcoming these wandering Americans.

It's now 8:30 Swedish time, and in about 6 hours we're heading to the airport to catch a quick flight to London, which will be home until Saturday. We've had lots of good advice about places to visit and things to see, so I'm sure it will be a full week. And since we watch lots of British TV, I'm hoping we'll see some familiar sights. Maybe Dr. Who wandering around?

Last day in Stockholm

Enjoyed a sweet worship and potluck time with the people of Tomaskyrkan last night. Karina blessed them with some fine homemade Mexican food, which was quite a feat, considering how difficult it is to get all the proper ingredients up here.

Tomorrow we fly south to London. Derek mentioned this morning that our volcanic friend up in Iceland is still messing things up; the airport in Reykjavik is now closed. If we had to fly home today, we'd go through Glasgow instead of Iceland. It's a good reminder that this trip is still in flux. At the moment, everything appears on schedule, but by next Saturday, the day we're set to fly home, it could all change again. I admit, vacations are nice, and apparently Lakebay has survived two Sundays without me. . .

I'm just not sure we can handle too much longer with two kids in a hotel room.

Londonderry Aire

Thankfully the airlines took a little pity on us, and without too much hassle, allowed us to exchange our Hamburg-London tickets for Stockholm-London tickets. We have a few more days here in Sweden, and then on Tuesday evening we fly south to London and all that great British cheese.

It's Sunday morning here and in a couple hours we get to go worship with the Swedes at Derek's church. They're also having a potluck today, so we get to sample a variety of homemade Swedish food. Did you know that people here eat reindeer cheese? And last night we had moose burgers. Add that to the whale we had in Iceland, and it's been a gastronomical adventure all the way around.

Making the best of things

Turns out North Park Seminary president Jay Phelan was stuck in Stockholm because of the volcano, too. So we met up for lunch yesterday. Which is a little ironic, because he was supposed to be in Seattle at the North Pacific Conference Annual Meeting. Instead, Derek and I got him all to ourselves.

We took the girls swimming yesterday afternoon. Something I noticed in Iceland was true here, as well. No lifeguards. Is that because these countries aren't lawsuit happy like in America? Or do they just not care if people drown? I should also mention the waterslide was concrete. And I broke my kneecaps and my skull going down. Not literally, but you get the idea. That being said, the girls had a lot of fun and we all got some exercise. In addition we've been out seeing the sights; if you check out my twitter, you've read that we got to P.P. Waldenström's grave a couple days ago. Today we're off to the free museum downtown.

Unfortunately, time passes, and now I have to start the process of figuring out whether or not we can get to London next week, or if we have to head home. More phone calls to airlines. . .

Sweden, lovely Sweden

It was a headache, but we got the last 4 seats on the first flight from Iceland into Stockholm yesterday. I was almost sad to leave Reykjavik behind, seeing as we'd made some friends and were enjoying the adventure of it all. But finally we were in the air heading East. We saw the volcano from the air but flew far enough north that it didn't affect us at all. And then. . .we landed in Stockholm. All aboard burst into applause.

Derek met us at the airport, gave us a nice tour as we drove to his place, and now, having experience the first good night's sleep since Wednesday night, we're all happy to be in Sweden.

It looks like Germany is out of the picture for us, but we're hoping to still get to England sometime next week. For now, we're simply enjoying the moment here in Stockholm.

I suppose I should say something about Canada

A year ago, for pastor appreciation month, our church gave me a gift certificate to the Harrison Hot Springs Resort, up in the great white north of British Columbia, Canada. We finally found a couple free days to use that gift certificate last week, so with the kids safely at home watched over by their grandparents, we I hopped into the trusty Kia and took off for foreign lands.

Except for a lunch stop at a vegan coffee shop in Seattle's U-District. And another stop at REI in Bellingham to pick up some hiking boots. But, with those out of the way, we headed off to foreign lands.

Apparently, U2 had the same idea, and were playing in Vancouver the same night, so there was a little backup at the border. But let's just say we were thankful to cross at Sumas, rather than Blaine, and probably got across 30 minutes quicker.

Then, off through the fields and foothills of B.C., across the Fraser River, along foggy mountains dappled with the colors of autumn, and finally we arrived at the town of Harrison Hot Springs.

Lovely words to hear: "You've been upgraded to a room overlooking the garden."

A quick dinner in town and some TV watching, and a blissful night's sleep, then breakfast in the Lakeside Terrace - a delicious and nutritious breakfast buffet with everything from Eggs Benedict to Back Bacon to oatmeal to an assortment of fruits and sausages.

Then we hopped in the Kia and drove east to the town of Hope (fill in all the assorted jokes here, like "We were lost but then we found Hope," and "There's always Hope in Canada"). Turns out Hope is where the first Rambo movie was filmed. And they're still very proud of that fact. However, our attention was attuned to the Othello Tunnels, an abandoned railroad line turned hiking trail, complete with four tunnels and a series of bridges over a river crashing through the deep cut of a granite canyon. It was a lovely walk, the perfect crisp fall day, beautiful scenic vistas (there was snow falling in the mountains a few hundred feet above us), grottoes with overhanging mossy branches, the ground a blanket of fallen leaves. And the added interest of tunnels and trestles made for a wonderful jaunt, reminding us of days pre-children when we loved to roam the hills and vales near home.

Back to Hope to do a bit of shopping, then lunch at the homey Skinny's Cafe, and it was time to head back to Harrison. There were some hot springs awaiting.

The resort has a series of pools and hot tubs - a couple indoor, and a couple outdoor. We began in the hottest pool inside, but eventually made our way outside, where we sat in a Japanese-motifed hot pool, mist rising from the surface to blend with the gentle fall of rain, cold droplets dripping down from cedar branches overhead, the warmth of the water over our bodies offset by the cool air blowing into our faces. It was magical. . .until one of the other guests decided it would be a nice time for a smoke. Which basically ruined the idea of being out in fresh air. . .but we were thinking about dinner, anyway, so time to head in.

Dinner was at the Copper Room, a dining room reminiscent of swank dinner-and-dance clubs of the 1920s. They even have a dress code. The room was darkly lit, complete with a dance floor headed by a stage upon which the Jones Boys play 5 nights a week. Our food was fabulous (prime rib, oysters, a tomato salad, among other things), and the band was entertaining, playing a mix of hits from Glenn Miller all the way up to Michael Buble, with some Johnny Cash, Stevie Wonder, Barry Manilow, and Elvis thrown in for good measure. They were just cheesy enough to keep it fun, but talented enough to pull multiple couples onto the dance floor. In the room sat many couples celebrating anniversaries, a couple engaged that night, a couple married 5 days previously. Next to us sat 4 ladies from the Vancouver Theater crowd, friends for the last 40 some years. Dinner was kept to a leisurely pace, so we all had a chance to enjoy the music, the atmosphere, the dancing. The Dessert.

Back to the room to watch some TV, then another relaxing night's sleep, breakfast buffet at the Lakeside Terrace, and then it was time to check out and head home.

But first, a stop at Tim Horton's in Abbotsford, so I could get a cup of coffee and Karina could experience the joy that is Tim's.

They let us back into the U.S. without much hassle.

A stop in Fairhaven at a snooty little cheese shop gave us the sustenance we needed to tackle Chuckanut Drive, one of the more scenic highways in the state of Washington. At the south end we happened upon a buffalo farm, and stopped to buy some buffalo meat, as well as take some pictures of said buffalo. They didn't seem to mind.

To extend things a bit we took the ferry across from Edmonds to Kingston, then finally were back home to awaiting kids, who greeted us with warmth and affection and "where's my present!!!!!"

All in all, a good trip. And one more reason to be thankful for this wonderful church that gives us gifts like this. And a wonderful reminder that there is life apart from kids, after all.

Oh, and we discovered the Olympics are coming to B.C. in another couple months. Who knew?

Road Trip Redux

One of the things that struck me on our trip is the amazing diversity of this state of Washington. From the lush Puget Sound lowlands wherein we live, up to the reaching Alpine heights rich in forest and granite wall, to the fertile prairies and the deep, barren coulees of eastern Washington; we really have three states in one.

We also experienced a rich diversity of social structure. On the one hand, we left world-class Seattle and Tacoma, and spent time in Spokane, a grand city in its own right. On the other, we were able to spend three days about as far off the grid as you can get, up in the Yaak.

So perhaps variety was the theme of this vacation.

And, yes, it was a good trip, and we feel relaxed and refreshed, and, no, I'm not ready to get back to work yet.

A couple Thoughts on a recent vacation

- I'd forgotten just how big the California sky is. We were south of Redding when the sunlight first began to show over the northern Sierra, we were in Williams (70 miles south of Red Bluff) when the sun peaked over the horizon. I was stunned again at the vastness of that open space. Up here in the Pacific Northwest, often the view of the sky is limited, bordered by towering trees and mountains. But down there. . .you have open sky, a bowl of blue from horizon to horizon. It did my soul good to sit and stare into all that open space, especially once we reached the coast and had the sky open clear off over the ocean.


- The day we arrived a woman drowned just south of us, after trying to rescue her dog, who had been pulled under by the surf. We had front-row seats to the rescue efforts, which unfortunately went for naught. People underestimate the power of the ocean in that area. Our cabin sat about 60 feet above the ocean, and still we could feel the ground underneath us shaking every time a wave crashed onto the rocks below us. These are not the waves you wander out into, to get your toes wet. These are awesome, powerful, and dangerous.


- Once again I am convinced that there is no place more beautiful than the Mendocino coastline. Rocky shores, foggy folds in the hillside, mountainous terrain hiding farms and vineyards, miles and miles of crashing ocean waves, manzanita and redwood trees, brilliant sunsets off the Pacific coast, and a whole community of quirky, fun, ex-hippie, eco-conscious, earthy people to meet.

- Which makes me ask the question - how do people in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska do it? The Ocean is so necessary, so grounding, do soul-soothing. 5 minutes at the ocean can undo a year's worth of stress and anxiety. How can people live thousands of miles away from this place? I think I would go crazy.

We're Back

But boy, was it tough to leave. . .

Montana Trip: Three Stories

Okay, first this. The trip was wonderful. Amazing. Truly one of the best we've taken. The fall colors of the Rocky Mountains were breathtaking. Glacier National Park is a must-see. And taking the train is always a great way to travel. So, yes, Karina and I celebrated our 10th anniversary in style.

Now, three highlights of the trip:
1. After a restless night of fitful sleep as we crossed Eastern Washington and Idaho, we awoke in Montana and headed to breakfast in the dining car. Somewhere between the Flathead Tunnel and Whitefish we were seated, sharing our table with another couple, probably in their mid-50s. We exchanged pleasantries about our lack of sleep, where we hail from, where we're heading, and then. . .the "and what do you do?" question.

Me: "I pastor a small church in Washington."
They: "Oh? What kind of Church?"
Me: "It's a Christian Church. With the Evangelical Covenant Denomination."
They: "So, what do you think of Jehovah's Witnesses? Are they a cult? Because we just went to a conference in Portland on Creationism, and the speaker said Jehovah's Witnesses are a cult."
Us "Well, good morning to you, too!"

And so it went. I suspected, and had it confirmed by the nature of their questioning, that they were JWs, and were trying to draw me into a debate. But I hadn't even had breakfast yet. So I remained civil and open, refusing to answer their questions, but instead spent most of the next 20 minutes explaining the orthodox view of Christ, and how the JWs differed in their interpretation. It was an interesting morning, to say the least. Thankfully, before they could start to argue too much, we realized we were 10 minutes from West Glacier, and therefore had to return and gather our stuff. And that was the end of that, thankfully, without any shouting or insulting (which, incidentally, is what the last JW I had the privilege of sharing with ended up doing).

2. On Thursday we hiked up Apgar Mountain. It's about a 6 1/2 mile round trip, with a 1600+ foot elevation gain to the top. The hike was beautiful, the weather perfect, and no bears were in sight. At the top, we met an IT guy with the Park service who was in the process of putting up a web cam, so that all the world can see the view from Apgar Mountain. He was very friendly and answered a lot of questions for us. We even ended up hiking back down together. But as he was installing the camera, coordinating via cell phone with his boss back at the office, he had to get a picture as a reference point. So he had us stand in front of the camera, and we became the first people to have their picture taken by the Apgar Mountain Webcam. Here's the picture:



Unfortunately, at last check, the camera had gone down. But you can check here, and see if it comes back sometime soon. And while you are there, check the Lake McDonald webcam. That will show you the view from our cabin. Or thereabouts, anyway.

3. On the way out, I had this crazy little idea, one of those thoughts that keeps pestering you and won't go away. So when we were in Whitefish, I went into the Amtrak station and asked about getting a ticket from Edmonds to Seattle - the last 30 minutes of the return trip. Turns out a kid can get on that for only $4. And thus it was that Saturday morning my dad drove Olivia up to Edmonds, where she hopped on the train and rode the last little jaunt down Puget Sound into King Street Station. We showed her our sleeping compartment, the dining room, the view along the way, and she was suitably impressed. Probably a $4 well spent, when you consider the treat it was to her, and the memories she'll carry of waiting at the station with grandpa, and the ride in mommy and daddy's personal compartment. I bet we just made an Amtrak passenger out of her. Here we are on the trip:
So there you have it. We have another picture or two to upload, eventually, but let this suffice for now. Glad to be back. . .wish we were still there.

Too busy to blog

I'll be out of town most of next week, so that means 2 sermons to write this week. And an article for the church newsletter. And meetings all day yesterday. And contacts to make for our Nominating Committee. Lots to do, lots to do. Which means, no more here for the moment. And by "the moment" I don't mean months, or even weeks. Just nothing today except this note, telling you that there is nothing here today.

And to let you know that next week we are heading out for 5 days, finally celebrating our 10th anniversary.. As part of our trip we get an overnight train ride and a couple nights up in the mountains. And grandma and grandpa get the kids. It all seems to be working toward a wonderful week of relaxation and bliss. . .

Wow, so much has happened

The last few weeks have certainly been busy. First our anniversary, then Olivia's birthday, and now we're back from our vacation last week - 4 days and 3 nights camping at Mt. Rainier (it rained most of the time), and 4 days and 3 nights in Wenatchee (it was sunny and in the 90s most of the time).

A couple highlights, for those who care about the life of Dan:

- While camping at Mt. Rainier, I took the girls over for an evening ranger talk. The ranger was talking about using all five senses to experience nature. Just as she told the kids to be silent and listen, a fox slunk through the amphitheater, climbed up on Cougar Rock, pooped (in full view of the enthralled kids) and wandered away. It was a nature moment par excellence.

- And Wenatchee was simply fun. We strolled through the enchanting Ohme Gardens, visited the Rocky Reach Dam and watched salmon swim the fish ladder, took the tour of Liberty Orchards in Cashmere (home of Aplets and Cotlets candy. . .free samples. . .mmmm). On Sunday we spent the day in Leavenworth, Washington's Bavarian Village high in the Cascade Mountains. We ate at a waffle house, hiked along the river, watched the kids romp around on a play structure, then wandered back through town.

- Which requires a bullet point of its own. About 8 years ago, we visited Leavenworth for the Christmas Lighting Extravaganza, along with an old high school friend and his (then) girlfriend (now wife). We entered a snack shop and saw one of those Hot Pepper displays. I made the mistake of sampling the Hot Sauce from Hell. One bite and the world spun out of control. I couldn't breath. I couldn't think. I ran out into the snow looking for relief, but even that didn't help. It's still a terrible memory.

So, we visited the same shop last Sunday. I thought "I've grown my palate since then. I've eaten a lot more spicy Mexican food. I've learned to enjoy Wasabi. I can handle it this time." I stuck a dollop of the Hot Sauce from Hell on my pretzel and took a bite. And my world came to an end. I couldn't breath. I couldn't think. The room started to spin. My eyes were watering. My throat was swelling. And all I could think was "pain." It came in waves - just when you thought "it's almost over now" it only got worse. I grabbed the girls and we ran out looking for a water fountain (they were oblivious to the fact that I was dying). Three minutes later we found the fountain, only to discover it was broken. It was like some sort of psychological torture. For 20 minutes it felt like I had a donut of flame shoved into the back of my throat. I couldn't talk, except to say "I'm in pain."


We made an agreement. If one of us ever even thinks about going back into that store, the other is supposed to step on their toe. Hard. Just to remind us of the pain. I still get agitated, just thinking about it.