Category: Other Page 75 of 181

Heather was a teacher at HOPAC a few years ago, and we knew Quincy from college.  We got to be a tiny part of their love story in Tanzania.  They hosted us in their house that they had just moved into the day before.  Now that’s hospitality.  

“Aunt” Heather was pretty special to the kids in Tanzania.  

We also visited Brian and Ruth, friends from my childhood in Liberia and Ethiopia.  I had not seen them in 20 years.  

Karen and Victoria and their family were wonderful friends for many years in Tanzania.

We’re learning things about the south….their love of BBQ, peaches, good manners and cotillions.  (Yes, cotillions–as in, all the junior highers learn social dancing….how cool is that???)

And then there was Christa…who was a part of our lives since she was in 6th grade…and now she is a college sophomore.  She baby-sat our kids for years….stayed with us a few times while her parents were traveling….so it’s pretty amazing to see her all grown-up and responsible and loving Jesus.

I knew that I would find Washington DC fascinating.  

I had no idea that so many parts of it would so deeply move me.  

that’s about as close as you can get to the White House!

We stayed with our friends Chris and Heather in Virginia during the days that we were in DC.  

Their daughter Lisy and our Lily were fast friends during the three days we were there.  Lily cried when we left…Lisy was special.  

at the Museum of American History–this is the car that made the very first road trip across America.  It took him about 3 months….we did it in 2 1/2 weeks.  

at the Museum of Natural History.  This was seriously probably the coolest museum ever.  Dinosaur bones, the Hope Diamond, an incredible mineral/gem display…we only got 2 hours there, but could have spent all day.

and this starts the emotional part for me.  

These were the chairs from the Greensboro Sit-In during the Civil Rights Era.  

We saw the actual 13th Amendment.

We saw an original copy of the Emancipation Proclamation.  

And I knelt there with my African daughter and tried to read it to her, and I choked up.  

And we gazed on the Memorials of these two great men, who changed America, and are a major reason why I could stand there with my African children and call them my own.  

and we thought on all the men who gave their lives so that we could have freedom.

and at this tomb, in Arlington National Cemetery, we taught our children about respect and reverence and honor for those who sacrificed for what we have in this truly great country.

the Washington and Jefferson Memorials at night

There is much we can complain about in this country.  But I have lived in several other countries in my lifetime, and visited many others, and there is no place like America.  

No other country encourages immigration like she does, who welcomes the poor and the refugee.  No other guarantees the freedoms and the opportunities that we have.  

There is much that is wrong, but there is still much that is right.  

(so after I wrote that last post about all the polls?  The next day I found $20 in the bottom my purse.  Argh.  We’re choosing to laugh about it.  🙂

The primary purpose of this trip is to see people, not places.  We’ve passed up a lot of great landmarks, and that’s okay, because that’s not why we’re doing this.  But we decided that we couldn’t come all the way to the east coast without visiting NYC and DC, so we gave ourselves two days for each place.  

New York City truly is as fantastic as the movies make it out to be.  It’s an amazing blend of history and modernity, and is unlike any place I have ever been.  The people, the streets, the noise…it really is remarkable.  

Empire State Building 

NYC is also incredibly expensive.  Which is why we drove past a lot of places without going in.  

eating world famous gyros from a world famous street cart (it’s true!)

Where else can you go to find Elvis as an M&M?

Touring in a double-decker bus

I cannot resist Broadway shows.  How could I possibly come all the way to New York and not take my kids to see Broadway?  

 There’s something really special about watching Annie with former orphans.  

We made it to the Atlantic Ocean!

The Statue of Liberty is back there.  But I figured you’d more likely want the see the kids in front. 

the world famous toy store

Name that movie.  Anyone?  Anyone?  

East coast lessons learned the hard way by ignorant Californians:

1.  When you make a hotel reservation in New York City, do not assume they have a parking lot.  Silly us.  We assumed all hotels have things like parking lots. Suddenly that “discounted rate” we got on Expedia doesn’t seem so discounted anymore when you have to add another $40 for overnight parking…and then trudge down two blocks on dark NYC streets with your three sleepy children and their sleeping bags and your duffel bags and computers (since you don’t want to leave them all night in the $40 parking lot….)

2.  When driving on the east coast, BRING LOTS AND LOTS OF CASH.  You will be sucked dry by all the toll pikes (what is a pike, anyway?) and toll roads and toll bridges and toll tunnels.  Apparently the east coast doesn’t have taxes like California does?  (or maybe that’s why California is bankrupt?)  Anyway, when you look hopelessly at the toll attendants because all of your cash was used up at the previous toll booth, like a mile ago, she just grumpily tells you that your “violation will come in the mail.”  Please….please have mercy on us poor unfortunate people from California who are not accustomed to driving with cash….  We can drive for free where we come from.

(regardless, we had a wonderful two days in New York City.  pictures coming soon….after Gil sorts through the 600 or so pictures he took during those two days….)

Doug and Elaine and family were co-workers at HOPAC with us for many years, and we taught their kids. As a fellow adoptive mama, Elaine has been a mentor for me for many years.  I remember when we first brought home Grace, she brought me a meal….because she knew that new adoptive mamas need those too.    

and they took us to Chocolate World in Hershey, PA….

chocolate-induced, somewhat maniacal smiles….

Then we drove east to see Dan and Janet and family.  This family was one of the very first families we met in Tanzania, way back in 2001.  They mentored us and taught us and loved us for years….they were the ones we always called when we had no idea what to do….which was often.  How sweet it was to be with them again.

Thankful for big boys who were happy to play with my little boy.

We’re almost to the Atlantic Ocean….stay tuned!