On my mind today

After a whirlwind tour of St Louis, we're home. On a note of praise, American Airlines got us home more than 20 minutes earlier than the gate time! On a note of "boo", the people who run the airport security in St. Louis Lambert Airport were not nearly as nice as the people at DFW Airport. Fortunately, we held our tongues - the people I've read who have really had trouble with the security people are the ones who want to hold the TSA to their own printed standards, a mistake we did not make. We smiled nicely, obeyed their instructions and got home. The picture you see is us on top of the Gateway Arch, the iconic symbol of St. Louis. If you go, don't miss it unless you struggle with a fear of heights or claustrophobia. The elevators are about 6 feet in diameter - more like a port-a-john than an elevator. It's quite a view from up there, 630 ft about the city. We could see for miles all around through the portal windows. It gave us a perspective to see ...

We're here. We rolled in about 5:45 PM this evening and it's a great place. We almost took a later flight, but were too slow getting to the counter for the voucher! Ah well - we're here! It's a lot more industrial than I remember. Given that was more than 10 yrs ago since I was here last, that should be surprising. We didn't rent a car on this trip. Instead, we're relying completely on public transportation - the SUBWAY! I love subways! They take you through parts of the city you don't see in the travel brochures and give you a decent idea of what the city is really like. St. Louis is no exception. Some of our friends in Frankston will think we're crazy since all you see about subways is the murders and such but we've always used it when possible - it's the only way to go when you're not sure about the city. Tomorrow, we'll visit the Gateway Arch, Busch Stadium and whatever else we can get into. Check our facebook accounts for p...

Generally speaking, I leave politics alone. I was always told growing up don't meddle in politics or religion and since my job is religion, I try to leave the other alone. BUT, this is too much! I read this morning an excerpt from Scott McLellan's book on the White House and President Bush. While I'll readily admit he's made more than his share of mistakes, the excerpts I read make him sound down-right treasonous (It looked all the world to me like someone trying to sell books!)! If there's information to make McLellan's charges true, then impeach Bush! If there isn't, then., at least by virtue of his office, respect him! While I'm singling out McLellan, I see it all over the place - comedians, political talking heads on TV, the news media. All of them ridiculing the President. You may not like him and may wish we had another president - I understand that. But according to Scripture, by virtue of his position, God has at least ALLOWED him to be...

We bid a sad farewell to our vacation and came home yesterday. We got home about 3 PM - 30 minutes ahead of our scheduled arrival time. That's never happened before! Honestly, Continental Airlines had lost me up till that point. I still don't think I'll fly with them again (their planes are just too small! Easily smaller than American or United with regard to leg room) but they did a great job in getting us home. I highly recommend Nashville as a "family-friendly" city to visit. We roamed the streets and saw some amazing sites, all in a quite clean city with loads of people who were helpful. We'll go back! I want to see a show at the Grand Ole Opry! Standing in Ryman Auditorium was really a thrill. They have a video loop that plays over and over with clips from their glory days with Roy Acuff, "Cousin" Minnie Pearl, Flatt and Scruggs (pictured) and the myriad of special performers. It made the Auditorium "ring" with their sounds, m...

After we left Asheville, we decided to go through the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. I've driven around them in the past, but I never (to the best of my knowledge - I don't remember all the routes we took when I was a kid) drove straight through it. It was unbelievable! The above pictures is a mountain stream we found - it was FREEZING but the water was so clean and fresh, we took some of our old empty water bottles and filled them with water from the streams. I loved it! To celebrate our recent anniversary, Julie and I agreed to wait until our trip to have our "special meal." Once we got to Nashville, we went to Opry Mills Mall - one of the biggest malls I've ever seen. There was a wonderful restaurant there - "The Aquarium." Here's a couple of shots from our anniversary meal last night. It was good food - if you like seafood. I'm not such a fan, but my wife definitely IS! She loved it and that was the point. Today (Saturday) we wen...

It's 10:00 AM our time, and we're about to leave Asheville. By 1 PM, we'll be on our way again, having enjoyed our conference and our golf. Read Julie's blog for info about the conference and you've already read my comments on the amazing golf. But as I got ready this morning, I couldn't help but think about home. To be honest, ever since we left, I've done considerable praying for our FBC family and where we're headed. I've thought about the last year and how crazy it all is that we came to Frankston at all. I've considered how the Lord's leadership, putting us together as he did, and what the Lord has in mind for us to do. I know those of you who read this are those who are those most interested (or tech savvy) - please know how much I covet you prayers.

I'm flipping through my latest "Golf Magazine" issue. I turn to the "Travel Golf" section just to dream a bit when I spot "Mt Mitchell Golf Resort - 1 hour from Asheville." I called and set a tee time as soon as I found out how much it cost (cheaper than a round at Pine Dunes back home). What the ad didn't say was the path to get there. It's not neccessarily hard to find - it's just that you have to cross three mountain ranges (one of them twice) to get there! I never gotten motion sick when I was doing the driving but I was near that today. It was like a stinkin' driving test. You know - the kind where they test your driving acumen: turning, braking, speed, etc. As I drove, I thought to myself "this had better be darn good." I wasn't disappointed. The picture you see here hardly does it justice. This was Hole #14, their signature hole. What you can't see are the mountains framing this hole. I gave up tryin...

I checked the weather yesterday and noticed it was hovering near triple digits. Sounds tough. I was gloating in the fact was 72 degrees and PERFECT here! I should've known I'd regret that. I got my work through this morning, so I snuck off to play golf at the same local place I played yesterday. While the temperate was just about the same, it was WINDY! Wow. My pants legs sounded like flags flapping in the breeze. There was a storm brewing somewhere and it did rain right around supper time - but I did get my round in! Shot a 90 today. Playing it twice helped enormously!

Today is a stunningly beautiful mountain Monday here. As such, I couldn't stand the thought of not playing golf today. So I slipped away and found a gorgeous little course hidden in the hills here - Black Mountain Golf Course. LOTS of hills and water on numerous holes. Their signature hole is #17; Par 6, it's 747 yards long. I got an 8 on that bad boy and I was proud to have it. I hit my longest drive of the day on that hole and a decent second shot and I was still more than 200 yards out! I didn't think I was ever going to get to the green! Fortunately for me, I played the back nine first (due to a senior men's tournament this morning) so that was #8 for me. I shot serviceably well - 96. For me, that's pretty good. If I could shoot that consistently, I would be delighted. I started to go another round, but then I remembered why I'd come, so back I came. We'll bring pictures back with us, but I don't think they'll do justice to the beauty ...

For the first time since I came to be pastor at FBC, I wasn't in the pulpit this morning. It always feels strange to not preach on Sunday morning - it's a part of me I can't turn off. Yet it is strangely refreshing to have the opportunity to take a short Sabbath rest - even the Lord rested (Genesis 2:1-3). But resting doesn't mean we didn't attend church today. We try to go to churches different than our own. We found one in Asheville that just fit the bill. "The Rock of Asheville" Church was where we attended today. In fact, because worship started at 10 AM our time (Eastern), we began worship before you began Sunday School and finished before you started worship! I firmly believe that taking a vacation OUGHT to include worship. Find a church, wherever you are. As I've been told, we've got branch offices all over the place! Vacations are coming soon for many of you - when they come, and if you can't get back to FBC before Sunday, fin...

Today we took a day to just rest. Our conference begins tomorrow - we'll have a schedule to keep. But today was all ours so we took it. After sleeping late, hanging out at the hotel and a leisurely breakfast (included in our room was the best "free" hot breakfast I've ever had a hotel!), I looked up the local municipal golf course and went to play! To describe it as "hilly" would be to denigrate the hills. The famed golf architect Donald Ross (designed of the famous Pinehurst #2 here in North Carolina) designed this municipal course in 1927 - it's still in use. It beat the hound out of me and fooled me a number of times with it's visual trickery - like #18, pictured here below. The tee box is on the same plane as the green but everything else is set at about 15 degrees. At 210 yards, it's not long - but I still made a 5 because I out-thunk myself. It was a great time and I made some memorable shots but mostly forgettable ones. I'll ...

We arrived here in Asheville Friday morning after a quick stop in Mt. Airy, home of Andy Griffith and the basis for his fictional "Mayberry." Mt Airy isn't the small quaint place we had envisioned - even less so with so many trying to profit from the popularity of Andy's shows. We hadn't planned to stay long and believe me we DIDN'T! It wasn't long until we were back on the freeway headed for Asheville. When we got to Asheville, we drove stright to it's most famous landmark, the Biltmore Estates. It's that little shack behind Julie. 250 rooms, 43 bathrooms, indoor swimming pool, two lane bowling alley, 15 foot ceilings - all of it built by George Vanderbilt (yes, that same one as in Vanderbilt University, Health Center, etc) before 1896. Stinking unbelievable. I'd show you pictures from the inside, but they don't allow indoor photography. 45 bucks a head and you can't take pictures. Hmmmmm. Ah well. It was a pretty exceptional...

Sorry I didn't get posted yesterday - it's a long story! We spent Wednesday morning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and I gotta say it was amazing! They were supposed to be doing track practice in preparation for the Memorial Day weekend Indy 500 Race. That's me kissing the 1 yard of bricks that marks the start-finish line. It's supposed to be good luck. I knelt down to the cold ground in the pit area of the track. I'd seen it on TV all my life but it's MUCH bigger than my mind envisioned it. We parked on the infield, walking Gasoline Alley and the pits, strolled the Hall of Fame Museum and watched the trucks go round the track drying it out from the morning rains. They ran the track dryers and they were LOUD!!!! Fortunately, my lovely wife had brought ear plugs for both of us. It rained out practice and it was stinking cold (50 degrees, maybe, with a stiff breeze.) but overall a wonderful experience. Next, on to Cincinnati where we saw the Reds-Mar...

We left Louisville this morning after we visited the Louisville Slugger Baseball bat museum. It was really exceptional! We didn't take the whole tour since they had some wonderful windows into the factory. We checked the place out (they had numerous bats you could handle copied from the bats of well-known players like Babe Ruth, Alex Rodriguez, Jackie Robinson and Brooks Robinson (the last one only for TRUE baseball fans!). It was great! I've always loved baseball and had a great respect for those who play it well. We left Louisville and headed north into Indiana, land of the Hoosier! We drove into Indianapolis and visited the home of Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd President of the USA. Wow! Nice shed! And the house was nice as well. After seeing the President's home, we toured downtown Indy, seeing the RCA Dome (past home of the Indianapolis Colts), Lucas Oils (future home of the Colts), Conseco Fieldhouse (home of the NBA Indiana Pacers and Victory Field (home of th...

We got up in Bowling Green, bought a camera and headed out! We visited Western Kentucky University (the Hilltoppers!) and rode the Duncan Hines Expressway (the original corporate headquarters for the baking giant is now a funeral home). The highlight of the day was definitely the visit to Mammoth Caves, the largest cave system in the world. We took a 2 mile walking tour plunging us more than 300 feet below ground and causing me to hunch over due to low ceilings (even Julie had to hunch over!) It was one of the coolest things I've ever done. We had a blast. After we left there, we visited Abe Lincoln's birthplace and boyhood home (not the same site - his father had a meandering spirit that ultimately took he, Abe and the rest of the family to Illinois.). Julie and I both hold President Lincoln in such high regard, it was only natural to make this a part of our trip. Here's a shot from the memorial at his birthplace. So we finally arrived in Louisville this evening wher...

A word to the wise - don't fly Continental Airlines. While their employees are great, their planes stink! Too small! "But Darin," you say, "isn't the real problem that you're too big?" It's funny to me the difference between a Continental Flight and an American Airlines Flight - somehow there's more room on American. We arrived in Nashville, TN last night around 9 PM after a dicey and bouncy flight through a storm. For those who were at church with us yesterday, let me explain why we're there and not in North Carolina where I said we were going. We're headed to Asheville, NC ultimately, but not before we go to see a Cincinnati Reds baseball game! So we flew to Nashville, we're driving to Mammoth Caves today in southwestern Kentucky. We spent the night in Bowling Green, KY a really beautiful city, at least what we've seen of it so far. We won't be here long - just long enough to purchase a new camera. :-( File this un...

We're sitting at Tyler Pounds regional Airport waiting for our flight. The airport is really small (3 gates), but a real gem. Lovely and fresh and almost brand new. We've had a small hiccup - I forgot our "good" camera. Perhaps we can work it out. This shot was taken with our Mac laptop, although I'm not sure why they "F" is inverted. We'll let you know how it's going. We're scheduled to be in Kentucky for supper.

We leave in about 20 minutes for vacation. We're pretty excited about it, as I guess most people are about vacation. Some place new, some place different, new experiences, new friends. This year, we're going to the Pacific Northwest. We're flying to Seattle (7:10 AM Wednesday morning), driving down to see some dear friends in Portland, OR, then coming back to Seattle for a Mariners game (we see a baseball game every year around our anniversary, a tradition we started on our honeymoon in Boston). On Saturday morning, our real adventure begins. We're catching a cruise ship (not the one that crashed yesterday!) for an Alaska Cruise, something we've always wanted to do. We're a little nervous as we've never taken a cruise before, but we're excited about the newness of it! We're going to TRY to find internet connection while we're gone so we can let you see what we're seeing. If we can't then we'll post it when we get home! When we get bac...