Anniversary Road Trip!

What do you do for your 32nd wedding anniversary when there is a COVID-19 pandemic?

Well, when your wife says "we need to go somewhere!" you get creative and figure out that you can drive across the state on Route 32 for your 32nd wedding anniversary.

State Route 32 Sign

So, on the day of our wedding anniversary, August 20th, we drove from Newtown OH to Marietta OH and saw some interesting sites along the way.

Our first stop Thursday morning was East Fork State Park just east of Batavia.

After a short break at the lake (see what I did there), we continued our drive east and stopped by the historic Buckeye Furnace State Memorial, just southeast of Jackson.

Once we left the Buckeye Furnace, it was a short drive to Athens OH. Between Athens and Belpre we stopped at a rest area and found The Healing Chapel, "Ohio's Smallest Church"

Once we arrived in Marietta, we found our lodging (The Lafayette Hotel) and then took a walk through historic downtown and enjoyed dinner by the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio rivers. 

Here's a picture of Victoria sitting on the USMC bench in Veterans Walk of Honor in Marietta the evening of our trip across the state of Ohio.

The next morning, we had a nice traditional breakfast in the gun room of the hotel. Here's a picture of one of the gun displays.

After breakfast, we took another walk to find The Castle, which was built in 1855.

On our drive back home, mostly on Route 50, we stopped at Lake Hope State Park. The lodge and cabins sit atop a hill which is almost surrounded by the lake itself.

After enjoying our brief time at Lake Hope, we made our way to Chillicothe, the first and third capital of Ohio. Adena Mansion & Gardens Historic Site was our objective there. According to historical lore, the Seal of Ohio was based on the eastern view from Adena. Here are a couple of pictures of that view.

Our last stop of the day before arriving back home was for Victoria. She was very excited to learn of the Country Crust Bakery near Bainbridge OH. It is located in a small Amish Mennonite community.

 

We enjoyed apple (Barak) and peach (Victoria) "frye pyes" and brought some cinnamon bread and apricot jam home with us. 

Overall, a very enjoyable trip commemorating our 32 years of marriage. As Victoria reminded me, we're now halfway to our 64 years :-)

10 State Road Trip in May

Ten states in 12 days, that is our goal. Victoria and I will be driving from Ohio to Montana and back to Ohio in May. The primary purpose of the trip is for Victoria to attend a two-day class in residence at the University of Montana in Missoula as a part of her doctoral program. We will be bookending this academic visit with a scenic road trip that will allow me to hit 4 of the 8 remaining states on my list of 50. Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and North Dakota should be off the list within a few weeks. See the map below for our planned route.


View Larger Map

Catching Up

Where in the world have I been?
Well, another week of travel happened this past week. Tuesday through Thursday was spent in the Salt Lake City UT area. Friday was spent at home while our radon evacuation system was installed. Please check your radon level if you have not done so.
In my quiet times I transitioned from Ruth to 1 Samuel to 2 Samuel in the Old Testament. Here are some thoughts:

• John 6:43 states that no one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws him. This is a very sobering passage to me and really make me think about what I believe related to election.
  

• A gentle answer turns away wrath, a harsh word stirs up anger ~ Proverbs 15:1
  

• In John 7 men did not understand Jesus or who he was; Jesus pointed people to God the Father

• In John 8 there is a woman who was caught in adultery, Jesus taught that all have sinned; Jesus forgave her and challenged her to sin no more

• 1 Samuel 18:5 Saul tasked David, David accomplished his task well, Saul promoted David. This illustrates the point of doing your work well before expecting a promotion.
  

• 1 Samuel 19:1 illustrates that close personal relationships are stronger than other formal structures like boss-employee or father-son

• John 8:31 states that a person must hold to Jesus' teaching to be a true disciple

• John 9:15 contains a simple testimony: He put mud on my eyes, I washed them like He told me to, and now I can see

• Proverbs 15:20 is true of my son Darren; a wise son brings joy to his father

A Week of Travel

This past week (Monday through Friday) was spent in southern California on business. As a result my time in Scripture was less than normal. Here are a few thoughts:

• In Judges 15 the Spirit of God came upon Sampson with such power he killed 1000 men with a donkey jawbone. Then in Judges 16 the details of Sampson’s demise are detailed as he becomes a victim of “love”

• In John 2 Jesus performs his first miracle by turning water into wine. I thought it an interesting statement when it says that Jesus did not entrust himself to men because he knew them.

• Jesus personally teaches Nicodemus to believe in Him and to have eternal life (John 3)

• Judges 19:17 “Where are you going? Where did you come from?” How would you answer?

• Judges 20 illustrates how one act of violence can cause such great damage

• Jesus spent time with his disciples and baptized people (John 3:22)

• Proverbs 14:23 states that hard work brings profit and mere talk leads to poverty

Also this week I transitioned from the book of Judges to the book of Ruth in my Old Testament reading.

Blessings to you.

A Focus on God and Jesus

This past week I spent a couple of days in Indianapolis at Rolls Royce where they manufacture the engine for the Global Hawk air vehicle.

The following observations are from my time in Scripture this week:

• In Judges 6 God used the weakest and least to accomplish his work; Gideon tested the Lord with a fleece

• In Judges 7 God reduced the fighting men with Gideon from 32,000 to 10,000 to 300 and then Gideon’s first thought was to worship God
• Simon was made to literally carry the cross of Jesus (Luke 23:26)

• In Luke 24 even Peter, one of the disciples, went away from the empty tomb wondering what had happened

• When does you heart burn within you? (Luke 24:32)

• Jesus opened their minds so they could understand Scripture (Luke 24:45)

• John came as a witness to the Life, Word, Jesus (John 1)

• In John 1 Jesus starts calling his disciples

• A prudent man thinks about his steps; a wise man fears God and shuns evil (Proverbs 14:15-16)

A Transition of Leadership

This week started with a quick trip to Yorktown Virginia. I drove from Xenia to Yorktown on Monday, participated in a meeting at Langley Air Force Base on Tuesday and then drove home on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday were spent at the office catching up on email and other work.

During my scripture reading this week I transitioned from Deuteronomy (Moses dies) to Joshua (Joshua starts leading).

• In Luke 10 it states that Martha was worried about many things, but Mary chose to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen

• Ask and receive, seek and find, knock and it will open (Luke 11)

• Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and obey it (Luke 11:28)

• Reckless words injure, wise words heal (Proverbs 12:18)

• In Luke 11 Jesus was very confrontational when dealing with those who focused on looking good on the outside while harboring sin on the inside. (We call this hypocrisy)

• Just like Moses, we need to know when to step down or away (Deuteronomy 31)

• Am I acknowledging God before men or do I disown Him? (Luke 12)

• Also in Luke 12 it says to be on guard against greed because life does not consist of possessions

• In Deuteronomy 32 the Lord demonstrated his justice by allowing Moses to see the Promised Land but not allowing him to enter it

• Am I bearing any fruit? What fruit am I bearing? Am I like a fig tree that will be cut down? (Luke 13)

• Jesus was focused on the work of today and tomorrow and reaching his goal, which was death! (Luke 13:32-33)

Focus on Gratitude

The majority of this past week I was in Marietta Georgia at the contractor supported weapons system conference. This conference is the forum for discussing the various aspects involved in prime contractor (Boeing, Lockheed, Northrop, etc) support of Air Force systems (C-17, F-22, RQ-4, etc).

My time in Scripture this week brought the following thoughts:

• The Lord tests his people to see if they will follow his instructions (Exodus 16)
• Many are invited but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14)
• Delegation was taught to Moses by his father in law, Jethro (Exodus 18)
• The greatest command given is to love the Lord with all (Matthew 22)
• Man ruins what God puts in place (Exodus 18 and Matthew 23)
• Be prepared because you don’t know when Jesus is coming back (Matthew 25)

Additional thoughts from lesson 3 of Og Mandino’s University of Success book:

• Count your blessings, not your troubles
• Consider the less fortunate in order to regain perspective
• Take time to think about all you have, be grateful, and thank God for it
• Make a personal list of all you have to be grateful for

That’s it for this week, short and sweet!

My challenge to you is to focus on being grateful for all you have. What are you especially grateful for?