Civil War Guns

Gettysburg

Hooking up the Car

This is the view I get every time we hook the car up to the bus. My trusting husband stands between me and the bus to direct me to the right location. On this day, he made the mistake of picking a really nice McDonald's parking lot in which to hook up. Before we knew it, the kids were munching on Sausage McGriddle's!

The Fascinating Amish

We were blown away at the way the many Amish in Lancaster County integrate their simple life with the hustle and bustle of a thoroughly modern town. [Watch the video below!] They plow their field with teams of horses, drive along the roads with the cars (and RV's), and hitch their horses to the ample hitching posts around town. We watched the children play in the fields, the men build their fences, and the women beat the laundry outside. I must admit it was with a little envy that I gazed their way. They don't care what the gas prices are, or if the stock market is up or down. That the long coats of last year have been replaced with belted fingertip jackets does not interest them at all. They live each day working with their hands and enjoying each other without the distractions of our modern "conveniences". I was deeply affected by this place. I look forward to my return. For those who are from Pennsylvania, I salute you. It is a beautiful place.
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Mennonite Dining

We spent the night last night in Lancaster, PA. What an amazing place! This picture in no way displays the enormity of the "smorgasbord" we had last night at a Mennonite diner. This place could seat over a thousand people and the food was all fresh and wonderful. Attached to the restaurant was a farmers market. There was parking for the cars and long bars on which you can hitch your horse and buggy. The outside picture here has a horse and buggy pulling out behind us that did not show in the darkness.

A Little Roadside Stop

We had to make a little roadside stop along the way to fix a problem on the coach. Lacy (still in her pajamas) enjoyed exploring the ruins of an old business with Evan.

Paper Wasps Discovered!

Boys will be boys, and on this trip my big boy shared his "paper wasp making" knowledge with his young shadows. A war ensued and here you see Evan getting creative with his shooting skills.

Goodbye Canada

Here we are at the American/Canadian boarder. Clearly the Americans are a little more cautious about those coming in than their Canadian counterparts. The very nice boarder guard checked our passports, asked us some questions and actually came on board the bus! We laughed that anything we may have to hide certainly would not be on the kitchen counter that he saw!

We are happy to be back on our home soil, but we can see why our friends from the north love their country. It is a beautiful place filled with good people. One thing that struck us as interesting is how many Canadians had driven down to the Georgia and Florida coast. In fact, the church we visited has a group of men who go to a men's conference in Marietta, GA every year. They drive from Montreal and think nothing of it!

Our only regret is that we never saw a moose and we did not hear a single person say "aye". I guess we will have to come back and keep searching!

Canadian Haircut for Evan!

Evan was overdue for a haircut and decided a Canadian one would be fun. We went to a really neat barber shop in the mall. They gave him a cool new do! Is it me, or does he look two years older?

The Two Niagaras

I did not know that the American Niagara and the Canadian Niagara were two separate waterfalls. The one on the right is the Canadian side, and the one on the left is the American falls. We visited both today. I must say, the view may be better from the Canadian side. There is a bridge that crosses the river with two flags in it's center at the boarder. One American, and one Canadian.

Maid of the Mist

What a wonderful adventure we had when we travelled to the base of the falls on the Maid of the Mist boat adventure. If you are ever out this way, this is so worth the effort! When we boarded, they gave us these cute little raincoats and we thought, "how nice". We had no idea that the boat would literally take us to the base of the falls where the water is choppy and the driving wind and water seemed like we were in a mild hurricane! What fun!!!

The Falls

I was surprised at how accessible Niagara Falls is to the public. You really just drive along the road and there it is! People walked their dogs, jogged, and enjoyed picnic lunches along the water's edge.

Daddy's Girl

We parked in the town of Niagara and watched an IMAX film about the falls. From there, we walked a beautiful path through some gardens to reach Niagara Falls itself. Lacy took this opportunity to spend some quality time with her daddy.

Horsing Around

Lacy and Evan spent some time this morning getting all tied up on the playground! This RV park has two playgrounds and a wonderful open field where the kids love to play.

Beautiful Autumn Morning

No picture you will see can capture the crisp air and the beautiful colors of the fall foliage. They say we missed the bright reds, but I can't imagine it being more beautiful than it is now.

Special Quiet Times

One thing I admire so much about Ted is his faithfulness to a daily morning quiet time with the Lord. While we are on the bus, the kids rotate between the very comfortable sofa bed and the not as comfortable cots. Each morning, Ted spends his quiet time with his hand on the head of the child in the bed on that particular morning. He takes the time to whisper a prayer in their ear about them. I appreciate this about him. This morning was Lacy's turn in the bed and I could not help but capture this on film.

Busy Boys

After the movie, both the boys had a conversation in the car that made them both come up with ideas for different catapults. They rushed inside to draw up their plans. They are pretty good!

Movie Night

We went to a movie theater and asked if the movies were in French or English. We learned that all movies in Montreal are in English, even though all commercials and signs are in French. The people at the theater said the locals prefer the English, I find that hard to believe. We did enjoy watching the "City of Ember".

Notre Dame

This is a beautiful church that is very similar to the famous Notre Dame in France. So much of this downtown looks like this.

Downtown on the island

Did you know that Montreal is an island? I had no idea! This is the downtown square. Today is Thanksgiving Day so the streets were filled with mostly tourists. Many of the shops were closed.

Evan's Picture

Evan loved these pictures and wanted badly to stage this photo of the three of them under the"see no evil..." prints. It was really cute.

Dickens Anyone?

We had lunch in a charming bistro where we learned that in May of 1842, Charles Dickens, while visiting Montreal, wrote the notes for A Tale of Two Cities. It was old and intimate and outside it had skeletons hanging in cages above the door! Strange, but really neat.

Ted took some video of the area and some of the strange locals in the window!

The Old City

The old city of Montreal is very, very European. It is a French speaking community but because of all the tourists, most speak English in the city. The RV park we are staying in is in a village about 45 minutes away and there are not many who speak anything other than French. All the street signs and business signs are written in French alone.

Olympic Stadium in Montreal

We began our day in prayer for Carla and Gillian as they laid Jay to rest. It has been very difficult, especially for Lacy and me, not to be there. My understanding is that the funeral was beautiful. I am, again, so grateful for our former Sunday School class at PCBC who stepped in and fed everyone. Carla is a strong woman who loves the Lord with all her heart. She amazes me.

Today we toured the old city of Montreal, Canada. We began by checking out the famous Olympic Stadium. These cables are attached to a top on the stadium that can be removed for an open-air arena. It really is amazing architecture. Just beside the stadium is the BioDome which is an indoor zoo and nature center.