Dixie

For those of you who are concerned about how Dixie made the trip (as I know you all are), she did very well. We drove for 38 hours - Dixie flew here on Air Canada. She was a little bit out of sorts for the first little bit, but was soon back to herself. We purchased her a window perch where she likes to watch the huge black squirrels run by on the wires and scowl at the three dogs that live in the yard across the back alley. She also likes to have a nap once and a while.

Windsor

After 38 hours of actual time in the car, passing through 4 provinces and 6 states, I was so pleased to finally be on the Ambassador Bridge (which connects Detroit and Windsor) because I knew we had finally made it to our new home. I had truly enjoyed the adventure, but I was ready to put an end to the anticipation.

This is Giles Blvd, the street we live on (the church is 1 block west of this intersection). When we first arrived we thought that the buildings that appear to be at the end of the street was downtown Windsor, but in fact it is downtown Detroit.

This is roughly 10 blocks north of our place. The water is the Detroit River and that is downtown Detroit.

We are now just nicely settled and look forward to experiencing what this area has to offer. We have already had the opportunity to meet with many of the members of First Lutheran Church, and they have shared with us the spots we should see.

We are looking forward to a great year!

Chicago

I must admit, by the time we left Minneapolis I was simply ready to get to Windsor. I was tired and had enough of the driving. I couldn't believe how many trucks we saw on the interstate! And every second one of them had a picture of this creepy guy (shown above). I was tired of seeing his stupid mug.

Once we hit Chicago, I remembered what big city traffic was all about. We estimated that the traffic jam pictured above stretched for 7 miles. We ended up in a bit of it, but decided to travel around the downtown area instead of through it. It cost us almost $6.00 in toll, but probably saved us 2 hours of frustration.

We really did not get to see much of Chicago because we only spent 1 night and we were tired, so we are hoping to get there sometime this year. It is only about 4 hours away.

Next Stop: Windsor!

Minneapolis

From Glenboro, we made our way to Minneapolis, MN. It was a very nice drive - the interstate in Minnesota was lined with trees. Other than that is was quite uneventful. We spent one night in a hotel about 1/2 a mile from the Mall of America, so we spent some time there.

It is large.

I liked Lego Land because they had Lego.

Next stop: Chicago, IL.

Glenboro

Our next stop was in Glenboro, MB, where we visited with my Grandparents and many other relatives. I used to spend a good portion of my summers and many a Christmas as a youngster here. My Grandparent's dwelling (pictured above) overlooks the Glenboro Golf & Country Club, so it provides a great view and easy access to play a round. We had a wonderful time playing some golf and visiting family while we were there.

Glenboro is located in the desert region of Manitoba about 80 km Southeast of Brandon. Here I am with the Glenboro landmark, Sara the camel. The town is referred to as the "Gateway to Sprucewoods Provincial Park," which is a terrific spot for camping, picnics, etc. If you are ever in the area, I would urge you to visit this lovely little town. For more information, you can check out the town's website: www.glenboromb.ca My Grandfather will be very pleased with me for this plug - he has been referred to as Glenboro's "Chamber of Commerce."

We really enjoyed our time in Glenboro - next stop: Minneapolis, MN

Fort Qu'Appelle

Our first stop on the way to Windsor was in Fort Qu'Appelle, SK, where we visited my brother, Mike, his wife Chris, and our niece and nephew, Naomi and Noah (pictured above). We were there for three nights and had a great time playing with the kids. Mike and I played NHL hockey on the playstation when everyone went to bed - it was clear that I was a superior player.

Fort Qu'Appelle is about 45 minutes outside of Regina. It is in a valley and is surrounded by four lakes. It is very nice. I have absolutley no idea who these people in the picture are, but I thought it showed the valley and lake well.

This is a picture taken just outside of Fort Qu'Appelle (before you go down into the valley). I forget how beautiful Saskatchewan can be - well with the gold wheat and blue skies (although in this picture a storm was a brewing).

We enjoyed our stop in the valley...next stop on the way - Glenboro, MB.

The Journey Begins!

After spending some quality time with the family in Calgary, it was time to tackle the big drive east to Windsor.

The plan: Calgary, AB to Fort Qu'Appelle, SK; Fort Qu'Appelle, SK to Glenboro, MB; Glenboro, MB to Minneapolis, MN; Minneapolis, MN to Chicago, IL; Chicago, IL to Windsor, ON.

Over 33 hours of actual driving time and well over 3000 kms!

Let's go!

God Did Some Nice Work with the Okanagan

We took a trip out to the Okanagan for a few days. I had heard a lot about how nice it was, but it met and exceeded my expectations when I actually saw it. the drive through the mountains was amazing.

Natalie was born in Vernon and her grandfather lived right on the Okanagan lake, so it was nice to be able to see where she spent most of her summers.

We went on a tour of a couple of the wineries in the area. Our favorite was the Gray Monk winery (pictured above). It was interesting to see the process of how wine is made and even more interesting to do tastings of the finished product. Below is a picture of a courtyard at the Cedar Creek winery we visited. We had lunch there on a patio overlooking Okanagan lake - it was spectacular.

On our way back to Calgary we stopped at the "Last Spike" historical site. It was cool to see the spot of this significant part of Canada's history. Unfortunatley, the way that Pierre Burton and the interpretive center portray this event do not provide the full picture. There was a lot of scandal and hardship that went on while completing this task. Darn you history courses I took in University! Why you gotta ruin my pristine image of the formation of my Country?!

Running Back to Saskatoon

Natalie and I spent a night in Saskatoon so we could visit with our friends there. It was a great deal of fun. I often forget how beautiful this city is. It was nice to be able to go check out some of my old haunts and visit with friends I have not seen for a while.

Natalie wanted to snap one of those "cute" pictures where you hold the camera yourself, but Courtney had to once again be the center of atttention and sneak into it. It would have been such a nice picture.

Anyway, we had a lot of fun in Saskatoon and I am already looking forward to the next time we can visit there again.

Love the Carnies!

I went stampeding for the first time last week. That was quite a cultural experience! I have never been around so many uncle-grandpas in my life. It was fun...walking down the midway as the carnies scream "Hey there feller, you aint man-enough to knock down these them there milk containers with this them here ball, aint ya?" and "only a real man can done did knock them here things down!" Awesome.





We somehow ended up on a "gondola-type" ride that took us over the midway; while I was up there I ended up in a contemplative state and asked myself: "I wonder which is safer, a gondola maintained by stoned snowboarders at Banff, or one maintained by carnies with a grade 5 education?" However, we made it and it was very nice to get this birds-eye view of the Stampede grounds and of downtown Calgary.




We finshed the day with the Corb Lund concert at the Coca-Cola stage. I am not a huge fan of his, but as far as country music goes, he is about as good as they get. Natalie is a huge fan, so I thought I would take one for the team and join her.

It was a great day and I am glad I got to experience "the greatest outdoor show on earth!"

Great Movie!

Well, so far July has not been as exciting as I thought. It has been so hot that I have not had the motivation or energy to do very much. It seems all I have been doing the last few days is laying around and sweating like Rita MacNeil on a treadmill. However, I did watch a great movie today called "The Matador" starring Pierce Brosnan. In fact, I would say it is one of the best movies I have seen in ages; I highly recommend that you watch it! Okay, I know this isn't super exciting, but I don't have much else for you. Have you seen any good movies lately that you would recommend? I have a lot of time on my hands!

Love the Banff

Last week we spent 3 nights in Banff with my family (my parents and my brother's family). Although a few of us suffered some illness, we had a great time! There was a lot of relaxing and some site seeing. I went up the Gondola for the first time. I am not scared of heights, but I must admit I was nervous that the wire that was sustaining my life several hundred feet above the face of the rocky mountain below me was going to snap. I didn't urinate in my pants though, which was nice.

Above is a picture of my nephew and niece enjoying God's creation.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog!

I will begin by saying that by creating my own blog I am in no way suggesting that I have a super interesting life that should be posted on the web for all to view. Rather, I thought it would be cool to create a record of my experiences that I can later reflect on, and provide a forum for keeping in touch with friends and family.

Here is a quick synopsis of what I have been up to and what I will be doing in the near future.

I just completed my second year of a Master of Divinty degree at Concordia Lutheran Seminary in Edmonton, Alberta. This upcoming year I will be doing a vicarage (as a vicar I will essentially be an apprentice pastor) at First Lutheran Church in Windsor, Ontario. I do not start my vicarage in Windsor until mid-August, so I have a lot of time to do many crazy things, which I will later document on this blog (for example, today I am going to go out to my backyard and lay on my hammock and read, and perhaps even have a nap).

The fun has begun! Stay tuned!