These Shoes Were Made…

…for Walking!

And that’s a good thing because I have been doing a lot of walking here in Chicago.

Today I took a city bus North past Wrigley field to visit Graceland Cemetery. This cemetery met all my expectations with lots of great old monuments above ground to see. When I was done at the cemetery I walked South to Wrigley Field to hop on the trolley to get a ride back to Millennium Park to get on a different trolley to visit Chinatown, Little Italy, and Greektown. When I finally got back to the hotel I was a wee bit tired but my feet don’t hurt!’

We haven’t decided where we will have dinner tonight when Dear is all done with his booth time at the convention center. Tomorrow we both have the morning free and then we head to the airport to fly back home.

Snapshots of Chicago…

…from Saturday and Sunday.

Warning! The full deal is yet to come. There is so much to see and do in this windy city. I’m resigned to be content with what I actually am able to do.

On Saturday I bought a ticket for the hop on/hop off trolley-double-decker bus tours offered here in Chicago. I saw a lot. I got a feel for the routes. After a full day in the sun I headed up to the 96th floor of the Hancock tower to cool off and see the sights from way up high.

On Sunday I walked several blocks to the Chicago River to see about getting a ticket for the Architectural Tour.

There was lots of room on the 9:00 tour and I took lots of photos on this great boat ride on the Chicago River. More to come. After the river cruise I hopped back on a double-decker bus and took the advice of the tour guide and stopped for a quick lunch snack here.

I had my first ever Chicago dog and it did not disappoint. After my snack I hopped back on the bus and headed to the Art Museum.

 

Such amazing things to see at the Chicago Art Museum. That’s definitely a post in itself. After I was done at the museum I walked several blocks to the river again and jumped on the double-decker to head back to the hotel. On the way I made reservations for Dear and me at this restaurant for dinner tonight.

Dear is working hard at the convention center and I’m working hard touring about the city. It’s nice to end our days together over dinner…

What a Savior! ~ Hymn

What a Savior!

What a Savior Jesus is!
He is mine, and I am His;
He the price of sin has paid,
And for me atonement made.

Refrain

What a Savior, what a Savior,
What a Savior Jesus is!
I will praise Him, ever praise Him,
He is mine, and I am His!

What a Savior! praise His name,
That to earth for me He came;
Not the least, but all He gave,
My immortal soul to save.

Refrain

What a Savior! all the way
Walking with me, day by day,
Guiding by His holy will,
Guarding me from ev’ry ill.

Refrain

What a Savior! and I know
When to that bright world I go,
Saved by His redeeming grace,
I shall see Him face to face.

Refrain

What a Savior! how He loves,
Ev’ry hour His mercy proves;
Listen, for He speaks to thee:
Take thy cross, and follow Me!

Refrain

Words and Music: Charles H. Gabriel

Chicago Walk #1

Friday morning was still overcast, windy, and misty. We decided to trek over to a restaurant I saw online called Yolk for breakfast. We got some faulty directions but when we figured that out we turned around and found Yolk. It’s good to walk a few extra miles if you are going to eat like this…

There was a lot to see on our walk to and from the restaurant. We stopped at a couple beautiful churches and were able to take photos. Lots to share in the days to come. Tonight we’re going out to dinner with Dear’s boss. Tomorrow I’m on my own for most of the day and the weather is improving. I’m thinking about the Trolley tour…

One last shot of something we saw when we got back to the hotel.

Oops! This van plowed into the store window.

The Heron…

Because of the rain and wind here in Chicago I don’t have photos to share today from Chicago but here are some shots of the Heron we enjoyed at the Riverside National Cemetery last Saturday.

When we arrived in Chicago yesterday we had one of those weird taxi experiences in getting to the hotel.  There were 5 car fresheners in the back seat with us but that really didn’t help. The good news is that we made it to our downtown hotel and after we got settled into our nice room that doesn’t need air fresheners we had a lovely meal with some great friends from Seattle who are living in a suburb north of Chicago.

Friday morning we are going to choose an indoor venue to explore while we wait for the rain to move on.

Happy June to you all!

What’s New…

…in the Seattle Area.

Here are a few new things happening in the Seattle area and the state of Washington. I already showed you the latest color on the Space Needle in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the World’s Fair in Seattle. We are also getting a ferris wheel with gondolas similar to the London Eye but a lot smaller. This is located on the Seattle Waterfront. The other new big news item here in Washington is the fact that the State has been forced out of being in the retail liquor business. Starting on June 1st we’ll be able to buy hard liquor at grocery stores and Costco instead of State owned liquor stores. The grocery flyers this week have this as their front page story. I find it very amusing…

Goodbye to May and my Rhoddies! The blooms are fading and falling off the bushes.

If I post again this week I’ll be posting from Chicago. I’m sure my camera will be busy. I bought some new walking shoes that I’ve been breaking in this week. So far I’m really pleased with the Clarks Wave shoes I bought. Whoa! Today is the last day of May…

A Little Drive…

…to 3 Little Towns.

On Saturday morning of Memorial Weekend Dear was inspired to take a drive just across the Cascades to visit Cle Elum, Roslyn, and Ronald.

We left early in the morning and our first stop was for breakfast in Cle Elum.

Friendly people and good food if you need someplace to eat on your way across the Cascades we recommend this cafe. They have “acres” of parking…that cracked me up but I suppose if you are traveling in R.V.’s and pulling trailers filled with bikes and camping gear this is the place for you!

We got some great inside information from the family sitting next to us on visiting Roslyn and Ronald. After breakfast in Cle Elum and a stop at the small town hardware store we headed West to Roslyn.

Incorporated in 1886 the coal-mining town of Roslyn played an important role in Washington State History. The extensive coal fields in the area fueled the Northern Pacific Railroad’s trains during construction and early operation of a direct rail line through the Cascade Mountains.

Roslyn also claimed fame because of the T.V. series Northern Exposure. It was called Cicely on the show and suppose to be in Alaska but the filming was done on the streets of Roslyn, Washington.

The Brick is Washington’s oldest continuously operating bar established in 1889. They are also known for Northern Exposure being filmed there and a movie called The Runner Stumbles with Dick Van Dyke. The Runner Stumbles was also filmed at the Immaculate Conception Church in Roslyn shown below.

We were too early for most shops to be open but we weren’t too early to hit some garage sales. We found some real good bargains in Roslyn. Items priced at 10 cents and 50 cents. Woohoo that’s what I’m talking about…

We always are able to find some great yard art in these little towns we visit.

Our last little town was Ronald and this is a photo of the General Store. There wasn’t much else in this town but we found this stellar example of yard art!

What do you think?

We headed home from this little town and made it back in time to mow and weed whack the yard.

Air Show Surprise…

I mentioned before and shared that when we were in Southern California for Levi and Kristin’s wedding we made a morning trip on the day of the wedding to the Riverside National Cemetery to find Dear’s dad’s grave. While we were there visiting all the amazing memorials and monuments we were treated to the Patriot’s Jet Team who were performing at the nearby March Air Force Base. What a special treat this was…

We were standing here and looking up at the Patriots and Laura said “Now all they need to do is form a heart for Levi and Kristin since it’s their wedding day” and sure enough just after she said that this is what we saw!

We were quite impressed that they could hear Laura’s request from so high up in the sky.

This was a wonderful family time and we appreciated everything we experienced together this day. We missed Dan and Andrew this time but we will have other special times with them. We trust the Lord for that…

This is going to be a short week at home for us. Here we are in the last week of May already! Yikes! How are things going where you are?

A Time to Remember…

Memorial Day is a time to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice of their lives in service to insure our freedom. Dear’s father Rex served in the army during WWII. He was not among the countless number who lost their lives during service but we are very grateful to all who gave the ultimate sacrifice.  Our son in law Andrew is serving as a Marine and our appreciation grows daily for the all of the men and women who serve our country in the military. As we speak Andrew is involved in Fleet Week in New York. We hope our military are treated well on the streets of New York. I’m adding this link from Pat at Mille Fiori that she posted from Fleet Week and she captured two great shots of the ship our son-in-law Andrew is on, the U.S.S. Wasp. Semper Fi! And for the record from what we’ve heard from Andrew, New York has been very welcoming to our boys!

Dear’s father Rex’s service in 1985 was under a pavilion at the Riverside National Cemetery and we had never had a chance to visit his actual graveside. When we were at our nephew’s wedding last weekend we had a chance to visit the cemetery and find Rex’s graveside. We do not have a family tradition to spend time at gravesides as we hope in the fact that our loved ones are not here but with the Lord. It was still a good experience to finally see Rex’s gravestone.

The cemetery has a kiosk where you type in your loved ones name and they print out a site map on where you can find the graveside. We were impressed with how easy it was to find Rex’s buriel site. Here is a link to a post on the moving memorials featured at the Riverside National Cemetery.

Even though we know our loved one who is identified with Christ is not in this grave, it’s still gratifying to see what a peaceful setting his gravestone is situated in.

The whole time we were at the cemetery we kept looking up because there was an airshow at March Air Force Base which donated land for the Riverside National Cemetery and is adjacent to the cemetery.

After a hike and some good scouting by Dear and our daughter Katie we found Rex’s gravestone.

It really was good to finally see where Rex was buried. I was 7+ months pregnant with Katie for Rex’s funeral and a lot of this time was sketchy for me.

This was a very nice family time for us all in between all the fun celebration time with our extended family for our nephew’s/cousin’s wedding. While we were at the cemetery we had the wonderful experience to enjoy some amazing aerial views from an airshow at March Air Force Base.

From the cemetery we met up with extended family for lunch at BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse in Moreno Valley. What a great weekend it was to connect with family and get a special weekend time with Katie from North Carolina.

I’m joining in with Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday. Hope all of you in the U.S.A. have had a moment to stop and consider and appreciate the memory of those who have laid down their lives for us…

A very meaningful Memorial Day to all of you!