Matt and I are in the single digit countdown finally! We have 8 more days until Barbados. We are not looking forward to the long travel day that will have us flying Detroit to Miami to San Juan to Barbados- but it will be worth it when we have 7 days to do absolutely nothing but soak up the sun. Hopefully Matt will be able to dive this time! ...its a pain to haul Scuba gear down and not be able to use it =)
Packing?
Bathing Suit - Check
Suntan Lotion - Check
This trip was why you own motorcycles... The Blueridge Parkway, Cherohala Skyway, and Tail of the Dragon were absolutely unbelievable riding experiences. If you don't own a motorcycle, go buy one... rent one... borrow one... heck even steal one (ok don't really steal one) and get down there to enjoy gorgeous scenery and breathtaking terrain.
...no really. Sorry for the lack of posts towards the end of the trip. My laptop hard drive took a big dump. I don't know if it got tired of being cooped up in the saddlebag all day or what but when I went to turn it on it started making noises that I didn't realize were possible from a laptop. It was pronounced dead on arrival when I got to work this morning. (moment of silence please).
You've gotta love the folks down in Boone, North Carolina. They're really enjoying this little victory over Michigan. Since our trip had us passing so close to Boone - home of the Appalachian State Mountaineers - I begged Paul and Mike to make a detour here to take some photos. I put on my OSU jersey and proceeded to take photos around their football field. On our way back to the bikes, some guy saw me with the OSU gear on and started talking to us. He turned out the be the head equipment manager for the team and was so impressed that we came by to see them that he gave us a grand tour of the facilities, meeting rooms, locker room, etc. We got to meet the head coach - who loves Jim Tressel by the way - and were even given some SWEEEEET tshirts that say "Where's Ann Arbor" on the front and "Betcha know where Boone is now!" with the score of the game on the back. Go Mountaineers!
OK, funny story #1 didn't take long to take shape... after leaving home Wednesday evening we ran down to the south side of Columbus and stopped for the night. Not wanting to get back on the bikes and go looking for food as it was already past 10:00 Paul suggested that we just walk over to the Waffle House that shared a parking lot with our hotel. Now picture this... the cook ends up waiting on us because he claims the waitress isn't feeling well... as we're waiting for our food to arrive we hear the most gut wrenching puking coming from the rest room. Yeah, not feeling well. A few minutes later she staggers out and attempts to go back and bring us our food - anybody still hungry? Thankfully the cook makes her go back in the office and lay down. We're not letting Paul pick restaurants any more.
How weird do you think it was for the Pilgrims to step off the Mayflower and see a rock marked with the date? =)
This church in Plymouth is the oldest church in the United States.
Shops along the warf in Newport, Rhode Island.
One of the beaches in Newport as seen from the start of the south end of the Cliff Walk.
This mansion was near the south end of Newport's Cliff Walk.
Wow! That's pretty much all I can say about this one.
This mansion looked like it belonged over in Europe.
The Mayflower II docked in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
This restaurant in Plymouth rocked! Julie and I each got the equivalent of 2 lobsters already out of the shell and soaking in butter. Mmmm!
This is the lighthouse across from the beach in Chatham, Massachusetts at the very south east tip of Cape Cod.
Check out this fog that rolled in. You couldn't see any of the boats just off shore... 20 minutes later it was gone.
We're back from Asheville, North Carolina after spending a great week with ReCreation Experiences. Above is a photo of the new center in the old Red Oak school building.
When we arrived at the center we went right to work on honing our building skills by constructing a human pyramid.
One of our tasks was to put a new roof on the house for Janet, Cathy and Brandy.
Our other task was to paint their house.
On Tuesday night a band was practicing in the sanctuary of the church we were staying at. They offered to play 2 songs for us... an hour and a half later we wrapped up an impromptu worship session.
The kids really enjoyed a loud, rocking worship session to end the week on Friday. We even got them to unfold their arms and dance. =)
