Feelin' the groove!

We went to the Mo'town Museum in Detroit this past Tuesday. What a cool place! This is where some of the biggest recording artists and top songs of all times came out of! Artists like Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, and of course Michael Jackson!

Berry Gordy Jr. started Mo'town with a $800 loan from his family and recently sold it for $61 million!

This is a picture of the famous glove Michael Jackson wore when he did the moonwalk for the first time when he was singing "Billy Jean" back in the 80's. It was in a glass case with the hat he was wearing too. The tour guide told us that someone stole the hat and glove. M.C. Hammer offered $50 k to anyone who returned it to the museum safely. The stupid person who stole the hat and glove not only tried to return them for the cash, but had also signed the guest book the day he stole them. So, they were easily able to identify him. Apparently they did not press charges against him though.

This is the actual recording studio where these great hits were recorded. It was amazing to stand in this place. What struck me was how basic it was - the walls were made from ceiling tiles to help the acoustics.

Below are pictures of Stevie Wonder and Diana Ross recording in this very studio.

It was interesting to learn how much this Mo'town music impacted our history - especially the history of the relationships between black and white people in America. This music did a lot to bring unity.

The museum and tour were far better than I was anticipating. If you ever make it to Detroit, I would highly recommend that you visit the Mo'town Museum!

Not So Much Roaring....

I had the opportunity to take in my first NFL game this past Sunday. The Lions against the 49ers...Very cool!


Ford Field was an incredible place...it was huge and done up very nice. The Lions fans were not as "into" the game as I was anticipating. My hypothesis is that it is a result of playing a terrible football game and having a 2-7 record. I would not cheer much either.

One of the most impressive things was the huge screen they had. It must have been High Definition because the picture was amazing.

Even though the Lions played horrible, it was a great experience to take in the game...spending an afternoon watching a live NFL game and drinking a couple brews (even though it was watered down American beer) is tough to beat.

Edmonton Oilers, I love you so much, and yet you treat me so badly!

The big night came. I have been looking forward to seeing my Oilers at the Joe since the night I found out I was moving to Windsor. I was so happy.


My happiness dissipated shortly after this moment, when the ref dropped the puck to start the game. I could go on and on here about how the Oilers let me down, but I will allow the stats to speak for themselves: score - 3-0/shots - 45-16. I will finish by saying that it really didn't seem like the Oilers were putting much effort into the game. I find my relationship with the Oilers to be one-sided at times...I put so much effort into making it work and it sometimes is not reciprocated. It hurts.

However, we still had a great time and enjoyed the game. The Red Wings fans were quite knowledgable about hockey. I was surprised at how many other Oiler fans were in attendance along with us. I am hoping that the Oilers will redeem themselves this evening in Columbus.

Does anyone else have to take a schwiz?

So after our relaxing time at Niagara-On-Lake we ended up at the Falls. It is really awe inspiring to see this part of the earth, but I find the Tim Horton's coffee catches up to me quickly.



We couldn't resist going up on this wheel to get a birds-eye view of the area. The Falls looked absolutely beautiful, but unfortunatley the only picture that turned out even half decent was this one of the tacky part of Niagara Falls.


We stayed at the Mt. Carmel Spiritual Center for the conference. It was a great facility; the rooms were nice and the food was tasty. It also had beautiful grounds for walking and refelecting in.

The main chapel is where we held our daily worship services. The stained glass was incredible (unfortunatley my close-up pictures did not turn out well). The acoustics were amazing...the chanting and hymns seemed to reverberate forever. It was simply heavenly.

I learned a lot and met many pastors and deacons from the East District. The discussion and simply observing the process of a district conference was very helpful for me. Dr. Charles Arand (from St. Louis) was the guest speaker; he spoke on the "two kinds of righteousness," which helped to clarify the matter of justification and sanctification for me.

The LCC also has a church in Niagara Falls. I also would be very pleased to serve here, but my bribe would be a little less than the one I would offer for Niagara-On-The-Lake.

Serenity Now...

Natalie and I had the opportunity to visit Niagara-On-The-Lake on our way to the East District Pastors & Deacons Conference at Niagara Falls. I simply love this place. The stores and restaurants are incredible.

The views of Lake Ontario are amazing. This is a picture of Historic Fort George. There is a lot of history in this town.

This gazebo was part of a scene from the Steven King movie "The Dead Zone" starring Christopher Walken. That was a disturbing movie.

Before Natalie and I left for the Falls, we stopped for dinner at the "Olde Angel Inn". It is the oldest Pub/Inn in Upper Canada. The food and beverage are superb. The ceiling is really low and the beams are all hand-hewn.

We noticed on the way into town that there is a LCC congregation in Niagara-On-The-Lake. I would be very pleased to serve here and would be willing to bribe those who could make it happen.

Funny Signs

Hello,

It has been a while since I last posted. Natalie and I have been very busy with confirmation, Bible studies, preaching, etc., so we have not had a lot of time for much else. We are enjoying our time and the people here in Windsor. We are learning and growing a lot.

I came across this website that allows you to create your own church signs. I had some fun with it and thought I would share with you. Please do not be offended. I am a bad man.

This Must Be Love

So, if you look at my previous posts you will notice a blog entry from July 20th, 2006. This entry describes my experience at the Calgary Stampede; part of my Calgary Stampede experience included the Corb Lund concert on the Coca Cola stage. This was 2 months ago.

I do not care too much for Corb Lund and his band named "The Hurtin' Albertans." It is nothing personal - I just do not care for the country music genre. I mentioned in my Stampede entry that Corb Lund is about "as good as they get" as far as country music performers go. Just so I am clear, I will provide an analogy to help express what I meant by this comment. For me, listening to most country music is analogous to being repeatedly kicked in the groin. Corb Lund is analogous to being repeatedly kicked in the shin. Both are not good, but one is less hurtful than the other.

Having said this, Corb Lund is on tour right now, and one of his shows was in London, ON, which is about 1 1/2 hour drive from Windsor. Natalie desperately wanted to go, so I was a good husband and agreed to accompany her.

So, I have seen Corb twice in the last two months. I should also mention that I accompanied Natalie to a Corb Lund concert in Edmonton last year.

Why am I posting this? For the following reasons: 1) to show that I am a very good husband; 2) to show that I love my wife; 3) to create sympathy from those who feel my pain; and 4) to document the fact that Natalie owes me a great deal, which may include some concerts that she does not care for (does anyone know if Def Leppard is coming to this area?).


Not only did I attend the concert with her, I fought through the crowd after the show to ask Corb if he would take a picture with his biggest fan - my wife. He agreed, and I snapped this quick photo. I am a great husband and a great person for doing this.

It actually was nice to get away, and we had a great time. London seems like a great city!

Go Tigers Go!

We had the opportunity to go watch the Tigers vs. the Mariners on holiday Monday. Although my team is the Bluejays, I have decided to join the rest of the people in the Windsor area and cheer for the Tigers since they actually have a chance for the post-season!

Comerica park was quite impressive!

We were a few rows up, but there didn't seem to be a bad seat in the house. It was a very quick game (not much over 2 hours). The Tigers won 6-2!

Detroit River

We decided to go for a walk down the Detroit River for some sight-seeing and exercise. We were amazed at how many huge ships passed by us!


There are miles of pathway right on the water. All along the path are these really cool looking trees (we guessed some type of bonsai). I liked them a lot - they looked like a drum set.

The city has put a lot of work and money into making the pathway beautiful - and it is!

This is Dieppe Park, it is along the pathway. It has some memorial statues and really nice flower gardens.

We had a great walk!

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?!