Once in a blue moon at Northern Tier

It beautiful up here in Minnesota!  We are here during the blue moon, which is not actually blue, but is a 13th full moon of the year, and is full twice in the month of July this year.  It actually happens every 2.7 years!

The air is so crisp and clear. It air smells so fresh and clean.  The wind is blowing pretty hard (30mph) which can will be great if it's with us in a canoe not against us.  There is a definable difference in the clarity of the sky.  No pollution.  No smog.  No haze.  It's absolutely beautiful.  Add a morning temp of 59 degrees this morning, and everyone started searching for their jackets!  

We had a great time touring Soudan Mine and went a half mike down into the earth!  We are in our way to the land of no service!  It will be back to pen and paper for this journal for a while!

On the way to Northern Tier

Today our Crew embarked on a new adventure.  We left Tampa, FL bound for Northern Minnesota and the Boy Scout Base along the Boundary Waters.  We flew United Airlines to Chicago O'Hare on a 737 and then on to Duluth, MN in a Regional Jet. After a pizza dinner on Mountain Iron, MN, we crashed for the night at a Holiday Inn Express.  

We have 8 people attending; Ryan and Kelly Spence with their mom (me); Jonathan and Lauren Ebert and their dad Mike; and Jack Edwards and his dad, Bryan.  These youth range in age from 15 to 20 and have been friends for years. 

We are a Venturing Crew, which is a coed program by the Boy Scout of America designed for High Adventure.  Northern Tier is one of the three National High Adventure Bases.  The other are Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, and Florida Sea Base in the Florida Keys.  Scouts who complete adventures in all three receive what's called the "Triple Crown" of Scouting.  BSA has since added a fourth high adventure base in West Viginia, known as the Bechtel Summit, which hosted the National Jamboree in 2013.  That was an amazing event and we hope to go back for the next National Jamboree in 2017.  

Our crew is having fun, relaxing, and enjoying new adventures.  This group of people makes me laugh!  They are always cutting up and they are all so kind.  These relationships are the best part of scouting.  I could not imagine going on this trip without them. 

St Augustine - Family Quotes

PToday's blog about our second full day in St Augustine has three famous family quotes that all came up in conversation today. 

1.  "One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure"

This was a favorite saying of my dad's.  He used to drive us kids around in his pick up truck on trash day and see what we could find in people's piles at the end of their driveways.  It was the best scavenger hunt ever.  In St Augustine, Mr. Lightner bought the old Alcazar Hotel (built by Henry Flagler) just to house his stuff.  He was a collector of other people's collections!  We had a great morning touring this historic building, his collections, and looking at what is sometimes called the "Smithsonian of the South".  Jim's favorite was the Toaster Collection!

We went on the Trolley tour first thing in the morning and this helped us decide what to do during the day. The stop in front of the Lightner Museum put me face to face with a monument to my Cost Guard Academy classmate, Paul Perlt, who along with several others, died in a plane crash nearby. I had no idea this monument was even here and it looks out over beautiful Flagler College, the former Ponce De Leon Hotel.  Miss you, Paul.  

2.  You Can't Take it with You when you go (and you can't send it on ahead of you either)!

We toured the Lighthouse and the Keepers House.  There is a lot of U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Lighthouse Service memorabilia here and plenty to see and do.  The hike to the top is 219 steps, or the equivalent of 14 stories.  The view is spectacular and a young man at the top provided plenty of narration on the sights, history, and mechanics surrounding us.  

I loved the boat yard at the base of the lighthouse where they are making period replicas of several types of boats including the Florida Skipjack.  No, honey, I won't be making one of those in the living room; just the garage!  

We loved the Salt Life Food Shack out in the beach so much that we ate there a second time.  The lubricant  music, sounds and smells of the beach and friendly atmosphere make dining here a treat!

I did have to laugh at this sign...like they really have to say this?  Hahaha!

3.  "It was a dark and stormy night.."

We went on the "Ghosts and Graveyards" Tour that evening.  We were a little concerned about the weather but our tour guide added that all good ghost stories start with "It was a dark and stormy night..."   It was entertaining, and a great way to finish off our trip. As we passed the Castillo de San Marcos, the Lightning was popping all over the sky and I caught these two shots, milliseconds apart, in the pure darkness;

 

It was a great trip and we were sad to leave. I highly recommend St. Augustine as a vacation destination.  There was more to do than we had time for!   It brought back lots of memories, especially the old family sayings!  Take your family. You will love it!

St Augustine - Play the Ball where it Lies

St. Augustine is a great place to visit!  It has lots of history mixed with plenty of touristy-type stuff to keep you busy for several days. My husband laughed and said it was the greatest concentration of things to pay to see than anywhere else he has been!  He still loved it, but I think that's because he found a coupon for every attraction we visited!  He's a Scotsman for sure!

We spent the first morning at the World Golf Hall of Fame.  Now, I am not a golfer, but as you can guess, my husband is an avid one.  Even so, I still enjoyed the HOF because I knew many of the names of the players and there were plenty of interactive exhibits and even a scavenger hunt with a prize at the end.

  

One of my favorite things was an old Briggs & Stratton engine that was modified to irrigate the greens.  I had that exact same engine (without the pump addition) in my garage as a kid and I used to take it apart and put it back together over and over.  It was my favorite childhood toy.  Some girls had dolls or horses.  I had an engine.  It brought back memories, eapecially the smell of WD40.  

There was an interesting display on the making of clubs and balls and how it has changed over time. Another cool item in the HOF was a replica of the golf club used by Alan Shepard to hit his shot on the moon.  It had to fold up like a tent pole and was assembled for the shot.  This lunar seven iron was on the first floor which seemed to be entirely dedicated to comedian Bob Hope.  I was also surprised to learn that two U.S. Presidents are in the HOF.  I never knew that.  Now I have some good trivia for my scouts!

My other favorite part was the Scouting memorabilia.  There was a copy of "Boys Life" under glass from 1930, but the best scout gear was Nancy Lopez's Girl Scout sash!  I stopped to learn a lot more about Nancy Lopez just because that one piece connected me with her.  

The entry fee gives you a chance to hit a ball at the "Challenge" outside which recreates Hole 17 at Sawgrass where you have to hit the ball onto an island.  I readily gave Jim my pass and he hit two into the water, but had fun doing it.  There is also an 18 hole putting course. This is like putt putt for the serious golfer.  Jim beat me of course but we had great fun!

In the afternoon we went over to the crown jewel of the city, the fort known as Castillo de San Marcos. The National Park Rangers put on excellent talks and we loved walking around the old fort and learning about life there and, for me, it's construction.  The ranger was a history student from Flager College in town and she did a great job answering all of our questions.  It's amazing that during the siege of 1702, 1,500 people from the city had to live inside that fort for 51 days! Hard to imagine.  

We walked around the old city afterwards along the pedestrian-only street called St. George. There are lots of shops and plenty of hawkers; one called Jim "my bodyguard".  We laughed.  He went to Hyppo Popsicles and I had the "Elvis"; a banana, peanut butter and honey Popsicle!  Yum!  We also went to a magic store, compete with show, and ended the day in a pub called the Rendezvous since it was raining so hard.  

We needed this getaway more than we realized, what with two teenagers to raise, cancer to deal with, and the stuff of everyday life. Golf legend Bobbie Jones said it all at the beginning of the tour of the HOF; "Golf is the closest game to the game we call life. You get bad breaks from good shots, you get good breaks from bad shots - but you have to play the ball where it lies."  

 

Life in Perspective

People are funny.  You just have to get to know them.  I love meeting new people.  I always learn something new from every encounter.   I have met so many new people today. Life is fresh and new.  

After a week of recharge with my Girl Scout Troop, I am back home in Tampa readjusting to life.  As a teacher, I won't go back to work until next month, but it's not like I have a lot of time on my hands.  

My husband and I have been getting our teenagers off to their activities this week. Both are at camps that they had to be selected for.  Our son is at the Coast Guard Academy for the AIM (Academy Introductiry Mission) program and our daughter is staffing the Boy Scout NYLT (National Youth Leadership Training) course at our local council summer camp.   They are growing up and will soon be off on their own paths to adventure in life. 

My husband has been battling cancer for more than two years now. It's been a long road with many twists and turns and one sheer cliff and it continues onward.   Today I am not mad or sad about this journey.  I know now that we are all here for a reason.  The hard part for us humans is not knowing the reason. So today, I know that my job is to be here for him.  (My iPhone just auto-corrected that last word to Him, not him. God has a funny sense of humor even through technology!)

I have been thinking about my "purpose" after reading the blog my friend, Annabell, AKA The Shoe String Vegan, just posted.  As she said, I have to be willing to change my outlook so that I can see the real me and my purpose.  The layoff from a corporate job that set me on the course to becoming a teacher 6 years ago was a blessing.  I love teaching 6th graders outside every day.  I love scouting and spending my weekends outdoors with them. I love my family and being outdoors with them.  

(Photo above; sunlight through the windows of the hospital give a different perspective to this artwork!)

So what happens when your family can't or won't go outside.  That is the part I struggle with.   Is it selfish on my part or is it something they need also, and I was meant to connect them more with the outdoors?  That's the not knowing part.  So much research supports the second conclusion (being outside is good for you) that I am going with that. 

I ran into a neighbor this morning at the doctor's office.  I knew her, but couldn't remember from where. We both laughed when she made the connection for me.  She was kind and told me I had just never seen her all dressed up.  After having some skin cancer removed scraped off my skin today, my doctor said "will you be outside today?"  It was all I could do to keep from laughing!  "Does a bear poo in the woods?" I thought as I giggled a "Yes" response prompting them to bandage me up further.  

(Photo above; game of "Life" set up in the hospital waiting room)

As my neighbor and I talked about health issues in the waiting room, I was struck with the thought of thankfulness for my health and yet at the same time felt guilty for thinking that.  Why is it that we have to see others suffering to appreciate what we have?  Why is it that I appreciate triathlons after being at a cancer center all day?  Why is it that I love health and hate cancer? Just normal feelings for us imperfect humans, I have come to learn. 

I think it all has to do with perspective.  Why is everyone so nice when you pass them in the halls at the Cancer Center?(My husband is having a scan today.)  It's because they have the perspective that life is precious and must be experienced at its fullest.  One of our kayak instructors mentioned a program they help with called "First Descents", an organization that gets cancer patients ages 18-39 out experiencing adventures and living life. They are helping with that perspective. (Unfortunately, my husband does not qualify.)

A friend sent me a card on "perspective" that I received when I got back from my last trip.  It had Noah sailing away on the ark with two dinasours on an island saying "Oh Cr*p!  Was that today?"  It made me laugh and think about perspective.  She and her husband have to think about it all the time.  

So, what element in your life needs some perspective?  For me it's anything that makes me uncomfortable.  It's needles, doctor visits, cancer, traffic, routine, boredom, triathlons, and going to my college class reunion!  

Yep!  I am scared to death of seeing people I know from 30 years ago! Why? Because I am not the same person I was then. Then again, I bet they aren't either. I just heard a Tim McGraw song that helped me put it in perspective; "Better than I used to be"...."I'm learning who you've been ain't who you gotta be". 

Maybe it's more like, who I am now is different than who I was, and that's just fine, because life helps us grow and became who we are supposed to be; meant for a purpose.  Look for opportunities to show love.  Be present for others.  Live life to the fullest.  Be yourself.  

J's Eagle Scout Project

I had the pleasure of assisting a young man with his Eagle Scout project today. I have known J Bujarski since he was a first grader in my Tiger Cub Den. Today he took another (of many) steps closer to Eagle. 

Another one of these early Tiger Scouts, David Malyszek was there as well, with his mom, who was my co-leader from 1st grade through 5th grade.  It's so wonderful to spend time with these young men as they begin their senior year in high school. They are smart, talented, and funny.  J was also assisted by some boys from his current troop and from his neighborhood.  

We worked hard from 10am until 5pm stopping only for pizza!  Yum!  J's project is to build three handicraft benches for his local public library.  It's a project that he is very passionate about and it shows. He found some great plans online and a local lumber company, Tilden Lumber, donated all the wood. 

We cut all the wood, assembled all the horizontal surfaces, and then put poly-urethane on them. 

It was a great day spent outdoors, albeit in the driveway and open garage.  If dirty is a factor, then we had a superb time!

I can't wait for J's Eagle Court of Honour.  That's the ceremony that pins on his Eagle rank. J will go far in life, as will Eagle Scout David Malyszek and I feel privileged to have been a part of their lives through Scouting.  

The way home from NOC

Well, the girls kept begging me to turn the car around and head back to NOC.  Some girls were even putting on their Snapchats and Instagrams "I don't want to go home"!  I am glad they had a great time.  

Sue and I laughed at the thought that we would take a half dozen 15-16 year old girls away for a week and call it a vacation.  It was, though. The girls grow so much every year, and this year's trip can never be recreated. The girls have other things going on as they approach high school graduation; early college, jobs, internships, etc.  Sue and I hope that they will bring their own families and troops here one day to cross this bridge.  

  

We stayed at a nice Marriott SpringHill Suites in Alpharetta on the way home thanks to my co-leader Sue Hughes who donated her Marriott points so we could break up the drive into two chunks. I could not have done this trip without Sue, who put so much effort into all the details, before, during, and after the trip. I also have to thank Lisa Watkins of NOC who put together this adventure for us. Thank you, Sue and Lisa!  You both deserve cookies too!

The hotel breakfast on our way home did not hold a candle to the ones made by Jeremiah Smith and the rest of the kitchen staff at NOC. At least we did not have to get out of our super high top bunks without being killed or climb the 52 steps from our cabin to the bathrooms (I counted) this morning.  Wait...I would RATHER do that than be back in the city.  

We did stop for Georgia Peaches on the way home at a new place for us.  I recently read a reflection on detours and this one was worth it. We went to "Lanes Southern Orchards" at Exit 142 off of I-75 in Georgia; south of Macon and just north of Perry.  It's about 4 miles off the interstate and well worth it!  The fresh fruit and vegetables were delicious!  The girls all had instructions to bring Georgia Peaches home and we obliged.  

Kelly and I loved the Peach Milkshakes (this was lunch)!  They did not make it out of the parking lot.  

It's also strange to get back to the land of TV and news.  Kelly was surprised to hear Pandora Radio run an advertisement for NOC as she was listening to it on the way home; someone is doing a great job at mining social media for marketing!  

As for me, I am happy to be home, but sad to leave a place where everyone is friendly, people actually talk to you, and the outdoors is king.  What better place to spend a week playing outside.  Thank you, NOC!  National Geographic was right when called you "One of the Best Outfitters on Earth."   

Don't Worry, Be Happy at NOC

What a wonderful final day at NOC.  It started with my early morning hike up the Flint Ridge bike trail before the girls got up. It was foggy, so the overlook was not scenic, but it was quiet and peaceful.  A dove cooed nearby as I sat there quietly in prayer, looking out into the fog.  I am so thankful for this trip and so are the girls.  We did not ask them to do this, but do you see how they are holding hands in the photo below?  They really bonded this week. 

On the way up the trail, I met Ridge Runner Ben, who was there with the Appalachian Trail Conservance (ATC).  He is a former thru-hiker and we talked about my planned 2019 thru-hike and how many people are on the trail these days.  He mentioned a new trail that they are working on that is less strenuous and less populated than the AT called the Great Eastern Trail. I enjoyed looking into this!  

We had to say goodbye to our Customer Service Rep (I think that's her title), Fay Stephens.  We will miss her.  She was our go-to person for every event, meal, and issue or question we might have. I guess she is sort of the concierge, only better.  We gave her a shirt and some cookies!  She loved them!  We will miss her!

After breakfast we set off to the Mountain Zipline course at NOC.  Our guides, Ben and Franklin (seriously) were superb. They were so friendly, funny, professional, and safe.  They interact with the girls so well.  They really love what they do and it shows. The girls had so much fun and they were all very comfortable that high up off the ground. (Not me!)

This zip course requires you to take an active role in your experience, so they taught us how to steer (turn your body left or right for the least amount of drag), how to brake (using a leather reinforcement on your gloves hand, how to put on the emergency brake (one hand on either side of the trolley, and how to do the "007" to hand-over-hand yourself to the next platform if you don't have enough momentum to get there.  Lightweight Kyra had to do this often!

We also got to meet Caroline Lawson, a friend of our neighbors back home in Tampa who happened to be the photographer assigned to the Moutain Zip today. She went to school with one of our scouts (Jennifer) and they recognized each other before I remembered who she was!  What a small, small world!

Of the 7 zip lines that make up the 2 mile course, the longest one is 1/2 mile.  You are 350 ft above the forest floor and well above the trees as you reach speeds of about 55 miles an hour!  You can see Fontana Lake and I even saw a kayaker in a little red boat. It did not feel that fast. 

At the end, Ben and Franklin got their cookies!  I was really impressed with the safety training these staff members have to go through.  They have to be proficient at rescues and first aid from these heights. There must be someone at NOC who thinks of all the worst case scenarios, like the Simulator Supervisors of Appilo 13!  These staff members are ready for anything!

No one wanted to leave NOC and it was only through sheer will power that we departed the campus.  Through Jae Kackson and Rachel Dean of the paddling school, we had made arrangements to stop at Birdsong Beads in Murphy, NC to do a craft project on the way home. Kevin, the owner of the shop,  and his daughter Becca, were superb.  They allowed the girls to pick whatever style of bracelt they wanted to build!  Some picked the leather braid, others picked the leather woven through chain, and the rest picked the wrap around bracelet that Rachel had. 

The girls loved it and several bought more materials to take home and make additions   They could not believe they could create such artwork!

Some girls, like Kelly, had a project too big to finish, so they had to work on it on the way home!

Kevin was super and I highly recommend his shop!  We only wished we had more cookies to give out!  If you are ever in Weatern NC, please look him up.  

We drove south through some beautiful country as we wound our way though North Georgia between Blairsville and Dahlonaga.  This is a drive worth taking!  By the time we got to Atlanta we were exhausted. We had a wonderful dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, but, after a week in the woods, the sights and sounds of civilization felt very overwhelming to me.  I was also exhausted and fell asleep in the hotel for a solid 10 hours!  

My final parting thought today is a quote I saw on a church as I wound my way through the mountains. It said "What if we wake up tomorrow with only those things we thanked God for today."   That made me get busy being thankful.  Today was a great day to be thankful for!