life lately {scenes from a road trip part 2}...

Today is the day we arrive in Denver, and put our arms around our daughter. It's been almost a year. I'm so thankful we were able to visit last September, and I'm thankful now that we could take a {very careful} leap of faith and continue this road trip...

1. The plan? Head straight to CO. But once in a while...
you make room for something completely off the plan,
which is how we ended up in Wamego, KS, home of the Oz Museum. 

2. It made me grin to see this great green museum nestled into the very quaint Main Street.

3. While we waited for the museum to open, we wandered the town, found coffee
and Toto statues, and...

4. the Yellow Brick Road! Just a path from Main Street to the park, but if felt magical.
And...I made Eric walk much farther than he wanted to.

5. I expected the museum to be rinky-dink, but it was beautiful and so well done.
What a treasure we found off the beaten path!

6. You can even sit and watch the movie
{unless you have to finish your drive to CO!}

7. The Tin Man in the gift shop was just calling for a photo...

8. Just steps down the road, we visited the winery.
If you're on vacation, it is okay to do a wine tasting at 10:30am. 

9. And lunch! Toto's TacOZ. 

We had the full Wamego/Oz experience {or as much as we could in two hours} and we enjoyed the stop so much! Sometimes you have to make the quirky road stop... but the next stop? 

life lately {scenes from a road trip part 1}...

On the eve of July, we headed out on our long awaited road trip... armed with masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, Norwex cleaning cloths, and a cooler full of food. This was all just for travelling... never mind the rest of what was packed {Laura's too big to ship possessions} into the car. Our plan was to bee-line it to Denver, just to get to her, and the extra day off in the weekend. 

1. Ready to go... out of office email up and on my shirt! 

2. In all the cleaning out, I came across this state trivia learning
tool, and figured it was now or never! So with each state we passed
through, we learned a little something.

3. We ate lunch on the road, but we love this fancy Chik-fil-a,
and stopped for dinner {& gas next door.}  This year, it was just drive-thru.
We stopped for the night a little bit up the road, and learned...
 that hotel breakfasts are just grab & go now. 

4. Driving through Tennessee I tried to capture the COVID
messages on the electronic signs... just for the sake of posterity.

5. Picnic lunch and stretching our legs at the Kentucky rest stop.
Laura's Beanie Baby cat was along for the ride...

6. On into Illinois!

7. Driving through St. Louis.

8. Doesn't everyone carry their toll money in a taco?
Funny that I packed all of this change and most tolls were pay by plate...

9. We drove almost 15 hours the second day... the sun was shining and the roads were clear.
And, bonus that the day grew longer as we headed west. Double bonus for
Cooper's Hawk take-out in Kansas City!
{that makes this our 10th CH!}

Thank you, COVID, for not stealing this trip from us.
I needed it more than I knew...

hope motivated...

If you've been around me at all, you probably know how much I love the beauty of the sky. Vivid blue, rose gold, cotton candy streaked, fiery orange, liquid gold... I love it all. Sunrise? Sunset? Count me in. Always. 

The weather has been gorgeous for walking, but yesterday I was lazy. When I was talking to my work buddy on the phone, she mentioned how gorgeous the sky was, so I walked out to the driveway and WOW! It was truly a masterpiece of pale blue and brilliant pink, starting to streak with a little gold. I almost missed this... and I was not pleased with myself for skipping a walk. 

This morning, with hope in my heart, I headed out in the nearly-dark morning... for exercise, but also for the sunrise. It's probably my favorite time to walk, because I love to watch the world wake-up. I could tell that the cloud bank was pretty low, and that sunrise might not be all I hoped today... but still, I walked, with hope. When you've already tied on your sneakers, and walked out the door, you're pretty much in it for the long haul. 

The sky woke in wisps of gray, and the sky warmed to a light blue hue. While I still hoped for gold and pink, the music in my ears satisfied my heart {my walk is also my chapel}, and I trekked on. Turning at my favorite sunrise spot, I was greeted with misty gray. I smiled and headed home.

Hope. It keeps you going. Today may not be my day, but there is always tomorrow. And if not tomorrow... well, I'll just keep the faith, and hope in my heart. God gives us all we need, and so much of what we want, that I shouldn't let even a passing thought of disappointment cross my mind.

Almost home, and then I saw it. A swash of liquid gold peeking out from the clouds. I was planning on stopping at two miles, but that gold gave me a second wind. If I just walk up the street one more time... oh yes. There it is...

all grace.

perspective

Yesterday I was zoo-bound and listening to the radio on the way. I may have said it before but, my car is my chapel. Not my only chapel, but a good amount of worship happens in my car when I am driving alone. I mostly switch around between my three favorite stations, so I can stay in worship mode and not hear the ads and chatter, but once in a while, the conversation pulls me in. Yesterday... they were talking about giving the new year (and the old) some kind of perspective and offered this fill in the blank sentence: 2020 was _____ so in 2021 I'm ____. It made me think about how I would fill in those blanks.

2020 was productive, and in 2021 I want to keep up that momentum.

2020 was still, and in 2021 I want to be intentional of how I spend my time and not be in rush mode for no reason.

I'm looking forward, even though I'm documenting some of last year {for posterity}, but in reflection, I hope to bring along some of those lessons, some of those gifts. How would you fill in the blanks?