We made it to the other side – from the Caribbean to the Pacific. Where else but Panama do you get your hat out?

We learned that an authentic Panama hat really began and is made in Equador. I guess Panama Jack sells better than Equador Jack.

And, Wow! I forgot to use the word Lionfish in our last blog. Anyone catch that? I came to realize that in my 3:00 a.m. thoughts. Jay is our editor and he didn’t catch it either. We’re slipping.

So, now that’s out of the way.

We are at the end of 2024 and the last travels for the year. Our blog name is ayearwithjayandkelly.com. We named it in 2019 for one year of travel and here we are still writing. God is good all the time!

It took twelve hours from the time tug boats attached themselves to us until we were free from the locks. Amazing! No wonder they call it the 8th wonder of the world. What people went through to build this work of engineering art is astounding.

The construction and engineering geeks we are, I feel we have so much to share about Panama and the Canal.

Good morning, Norwegian Joy! We began the trek in Colon at 6:45 a.m. awakened by the cruise director’s announcement over the intercom. That was fun and very thankful so we could get up to see.

There are six locks – three on the Caribbean side and three on the Pacific side. They raise and lower the ship 85 feet. Gatun Lake, a man-made lake using the Chagres River, is in the middle of the six locks at 85 feet above sea level.

Vasco Nunez de Balboa, a Spanish Conquistadors, is credited for discovering the canal’s path in 1503.

France was the first country to attempt the great task of building the canal led by Count Ferdinand de Lesseps. (He was the builder of the Suez Canal.)

20,000 people died due to all the tropical diseases mostly carried by Mosquitos, which bankrupt France’s attempt.

In 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt saw the importance of the canal and the US took over the construction. George Washington Goethals oversaw the majority of the excavation.

In 1914 the first ship went through the canal on the same day WWI broke out. Needless to say there wasn’t a celebration.

The US handed over the canal to the Panamanians in 1977 with a handshake we would continue to protect it since the Panamanians did not have a strong military.

Thanks for letting me geek out on history for a moment. My history teachers would be so proud and say, Finally it’s only taken her 50 years to appreciate history!!!

When we left the last lock the tide was too high for us to go under the Bridge of Americas. The high tide and low tide are 18 feet differences in the Pacific. (Caribbean tides are two or three feet). Since our ship is so tall, we sat out in the Bay until 2:00 a.m. waiting for low tide. We were asleep and did not see it. Here is what we saw out our balcony when we finally awakened.

Panama has a favorite number like Cartegena. It’s favorite is three.

Panama broke from Columbia November 3, 1903. They have three cities in the Panama City proper. There are three rivers, three man-made lakes, three locks, three dams, and three Canal operator houses.

Our day in Panama we saw the first lock built and finished in 1914, the Miraflores, with one of our naval ships going through. The Capella is a military supply and vehicle cargo ship. It is named after the brightest star in the constellation Auriga.

The little trains (called mules) next to the ship help guide them through the canal. Depending on the size of the ship, there are 6 to 8 mules attached at different areas of the ship. I thought those were so clever in the building of this canal.

This office building for the management of the Canal is built on a 85 foot tall hill representing how high or low each ship is taken by the locks.

Enough about the locks.

We met this beautiful woman from one of the seven indigenous groups in Panama called Embera.

She wanted to give me a tattoo, but I bought a keychain instead.

In a very small boat on the Gutan River we hunted for different animals.

We saw three types of monkeys – howler, white face, and Geoffrey’s spider monkey.

Trivia – it takes a sloth one month to digest a meal. That’s slow.

So many birds. Panama has 1,026 spieces of birds. We saw ant and termite nests along with beautiful butterflies. And no mosquitoes!

The ship’s crew was busy decorating for Christmas while we were all out exploring.

My favorite person on this ship. Valdi from India. I have loved our conversations each morning. I want to bring him home with us. This young man has great plans for his life.

My second favorite is this guy, Ramon, who sings to us and plays his tambourine all day long and reminds us to wash our hands before entering the cafe.

Thirty-six hours at sea, we landed in Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica. We’ve decided to stay on the ship.

Costa Rica is seeing the worse outbreak of Dengue Fever this year than any before. Since I’ve already spent eight days this year in the hospital with it, I’m passing at the chance for a second round. Could be fatal for me now. Our view from our balcony on the ship.

We’ve had some wonderful entertainment such as this group who play all Beatles songs.

Not that the Harris’ are ever competitive, however I will say my years of driving the winding backroad to Folsom has paid off.

Next stop, Puerto Quetzal, Guademala. Our tour took us up 5,500 ft to Colonial Antigua, Guademala.

Guademala is home to 37 volcanoes, 4 active ones. We watched two errupt.

Guadamala is one of the few places in the world to find jade. We visited a place that carves it into art and jewelry.

Colonial Antigua claims to have the most beautiful Starbucks in all the world due to its setting and paintings.

As we were walking through the town, this woman kept trying to sell something to me. Her phrase, “Your husband will pay”. She couldn’t speak much English, but she knew that phrase well.

Turning 15 for girls is very fun in Antigua. It is a great celebration. They believe at 15 they will make better decisions and be more responsible for their actions. Hmmm….is that how you would describe your 15 year old? I don’t know. In some cultures in Guadamala it is time to marry at 15. Ugh!

This celebration is very important filled with fun and delicious foods. A moment this young lady will tell to future generations.

Colonial Antigua is the third capital of Guatemala. The city was destroyed by volcano activity in 1527. You can still see the damage.

The streets are still cobble stone.

The area for the women to wash clothes is still available for use. No need for social media here. Just come and wash your clothes with the others in the town, right!?

There are several churches in this area that have been rebuilt. Some of them are used for church services and others for different reasons. One has been made into a hospital to care for the poor. Doctors from all over the world come to help.

Other churches are preparing for the Christ child, Jesus. This beautiful nativity is waiting for baby Jesus to arrive on December 24th.

There are competitions in the catholic churches around here for the most beautiful nativity.

The Guaduamalan’s love Jesus and so do we. Christmas is really about baby Jesus here. You don’t see many Christmas trees and other type of decorations. I love that. Jesus – the reason for the season.

We have arrived into the Mexican Riviera and the waters could not be calmer. Jay has spent the afternoon taking pictures of boobies until his phone battery died. Get your mind out of the gutter guys….boobie birds flying 50 miles from shore.

Whales everywhere! We are in Puerto Vallarta on a catamaran for the day. Orcas and humpbacks. Some of the snorklers said they saw a tiger shark.

We actually watched a group of five Orcas surround a humpback and ate its tongue, then left it for dead.

A very sad time hearing the humpback in pain and watching the struggle, however a time we had to remember God’s plan and how he provides for all the fish in the sea.

There were other animals and beautiful sites such as waterfalls, bamboo forest, and squirrel monkeys.

The crew on the catamaran were the best. They entertained us all day. Thank you for a great day, Vallarta Adventures.

Good morning, Cabo San Lucas!

This guy was standing his ground and not budging for any boats on the ramp this morning. Jay found some food for him to help his mood a bit.

More whales today. None were eaten in our sight, thank goodness. There were dolphins and manta rays jumping out of the water. They were too quick for pictures, so one more time taking pictures with our eyes.

We hung out on a luxury sailboat for a few hours taking in all the sights and fresh air.

On our way back to the ship it looked like there was a pelican wake surfing behind a fishing boat with a sea lion begging. We missed the pelican in the picture, however here’s the sea lion riding the wave.

To end our time in Cabo, dolphins came to see us off.

Stardate: December 14th. It’s my birthday! The number is double six’s if you are curious.

It began by a sweet happy birthday kiss from Jay. Then the celebration began with these precious ladies singing to me.

The gentlemen that made my fresh orange juice each morning wished me a happy birthday. Then my favorite Starbucks guy, Valdi made a peppermint latte for a birthday present.

The general manager (really for other reasons than my birthday) decided to send a birthday wish too. Let’s just say there was a little fopaux on their part they are not wanting to admit to, however we are getting a few little extras since we called them out on it.

Jay and I took a class to paint a sunflower.

I can’t think of a better way to end a special trip than with family. I’m ashamed to say Becky moved 1 1/2 years ago and this is the first time we’ve been to her house.

Jay and Becky planned a surprise party filled with family and friends. Truly what a way to end a wonderful trip.

This is it for 2024. We are coming home. We are so blessed to have written over 60 blogs for you in these past five years of traveling. We pray the Lord grants us more travel to share with you in 2025.

Merry Christmas!

Blessings, Jay and Kelly

Here we are on one more adventure for 2024. It’s been an exciting year for travel. We see so many others out enjoying God’s creation – Earth as well.

As I’m writing, the view is spectacular!I’ll get back to that later.

This trip began with family in Florida for Thanksgiving.

Tom, Shannon, Lindsey, and Kassidy put on a feast. I did nothing but eat. I think I volunteered Jay for dish duty.

They were so gracious and made sure I wasn’t using my arm as it had grown quite a bit in size and a couple tumors above the skin had burst a few days prior to traveling.

The Tom Harris clan received a new member of the family a week before we arrived.

I love how God placed Thanksgiving before Christmas. Preparing our hearts with a time to remember and reflect on how good our lives really are even through trials.

We are truly thankful for all our readers that keep up with all the craziness we find to do. We are thankful for all of you who pray for me through this cancer time. We couldn’t do all this without your prayers.

I’ve asked this before, however these are such important questions to ask often – What are you thankful for? What brings you joy? Where does your joy come from?

After Thanksgiving dinner, we went to the Grandview Clydesdale Farm. This farm is family run – no employees. These are world class Clydesdales.

The owners keep 40 Clydesdales on the farm. Each one eats 100 lbs of food. 70 lbs of hay, 30 lbs of grain.

We stayed at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala. Beautiful and beautifully decorated for Christmas.

The next day we drove to Miami to board a ship – the Norwegian Joy. (Hence the name of the blog)

We chose the “Joy” ship because it is one that goes through the Panama Canal. And I like the name.

Absolutely gorgeous and a reminder of God’s promises to and for us….then He gave us a beautiful sunset too.

Two days at sea to reach Cartagena, Columbia. Whoa! It is hot here with 90% humidity. This California-Okie is not used to humidity any more.

Welcome to Columbia’s Miami – Cartagena.

We took the Big Bus Tour with a walking tour of the walled city. This is definitely a country of socio-economic classes and each class has their own district.

There is much poverty in the area. I can’t count how many time we said “no thank you” to all the trinkets they were trying to sell. Many were made in China. We did try to contribute to the local economy in helpful ways.

A Spanish Conquistador who founded Cartagena in 1554.

Juan is the great great great great great grandson of Pedro. He was also one of our assistant guides.. He brought up the rear of the group. So I got to have extra history lessons from him.

The number 11 is very important to the people of Cartagena. They received their independence from Spain on November 11, 1811 at 11:00a.m.

Cartagena has a dark side to it’s history like so many ports in the Caribbean. West African slave trade. Through those doors slaves were bought and sold. The balls on the street is where they were chained up in a single file to wait for their fate.

Cartagena is mostly Catholic with three churches in the walled city. It is very costly to be married in the cathedrals, somewhere around $300-$500.

The walking tour was really good. The big bus, not so much. Bless their hearts, there really isn’t much to show from the bus.

I found the people happy and proud of their city. Even through the poverty, there was so much joy and thankfulness that we were there helping their economy. For that, I was glad to be on the Big Bus.

My most favorite part:

Holding this sweet sloth. He was so cuddily. I didn’t want to let him go. I think he was pretty comfortable in my arms as well. I know the bible doesn’t have great things to say about slothfulness – its meaning is laziness, however I just love them. They could be one of my top favorite animals.

There was an area near the ship of so many animals -sloths, howler monkeys, parrots, flamingos, and turtles to name a few.

Early the next morning we began our time through the Panama Canal.

At 6:45 a.m. we were awakened by the cruise director announcing the arrival.

There has been a huge concern for the amount of water in the lake that feeds the locks. Right now the lake is at normal levels. (Rainy season just ended) They used to allow 40 ships a day through, however they are down to around 30 right now. They have been as low as 20 a day due to the lack of rainfall and the level of the lake.

The locks we went through are one way at a time. They allow five or six ships through one way. Then that many the other way. The ships just hang out in Gaton lake until their appointed time. Or going the direction we came the ships hang out in Limon Bay.

At their appointed time the tug boats surround the ship and guide them to the locks.

Back to the view I’m sitting and watching as I write I just can’t capture the beauty and green lushness. Here are a couple of pictures.

Sometimes you just have to take pictures with your eyes as a young child taught me long ago. Thank you, Campbell Jean, for those wise words.

This trip has been on our “Live Life Board” for quite a while. The doctors kept telling me I shouldn’t go, but here we are, and I am so thankful and full of extra joy today.

John 1:16 say, “The Word is full of His truth and grace. We all receive one blessing after another.”

I believe it.

Blessings,

Jay and Kelly

Let’s go straight to the shopping part of this travel since I didn’t mention any of that in the previous blog.

We have had so much fun walking the shopping streets of London and Paris.

In London there was Harrod’s and Selfridge, which is kind of famous for all the shoes they carry. I must say the old DSW in San Francisco that had five floors of shoes was much more impressive. I bought a fun sleep mask at Selfridge to remember it by.

There are all the originals of London such as Joe Malone perfume and beautiful Burberry scarves.

In Harrod’s we found this.

Finally! All our trips to NYC and we get to enjoy a little time inside the blue box. Our Tiffany time is complete.

In Paris walking the Champs-Elysee Ave which is 2 kilometers of store after store you would be familiar with. I loved sending Jay a picture of this corner.

Tiffany or Dior? Which do you choose? Mrs. Harris IS in Paris, so Dior it is. Plus they have a Dior Gallerie, a museum with many of his gorgeous designs.

The bump on my nose is from bending over and hitting my nose on a corner piece of marble. Blood thinners are not my friend when bumping your nose. Becky and I are a pair – my nose, her ankle. But, hey! As Queen sings, “Don’t stop us now, cause we’re having a good time, having a good time”.

I wanted to buy these shoes for Jay, but after seeing the picture he said, “Please No!”

Let’s go back to the beginning. From London, we hopped on the tube from London to Paris – under the English Channel praying no earthquake. Are there earthquakes in London?

Our first night in Paris was a cruise up and down the Seine with music and dinner.

On our way to the boat we found the Olympic torch.

They were so good. The violinist just showed off and the pianist was so smooth at his playing sometimes it looked like he really wasn’t playing and yet there was piano music. I don’t know how to explain it.

We passed by so many highlights along the river.

And there she is – Olympic rings and her glory.

More about the Effiel later.

A photographer came by each table to take pictures. The photographer said in his French accent, “Awwh, Mademoiselles, for your last pose, look into each other eyes”. Ackward! All we could do was look at each other and laugh. This was our reaction. It’s our favorite picture now.

The next day we spent a few hours in Musee de’ Orsay. This is one of my favorite museums. It used to be a train station and now it houses many Monet’s, Renioir’s, Van Gough’s, Manet’s, and Caillebotte’s.

Three years, nine months, and 29 days ago Becky and I were supposed to be at the top of the Effiel for her 50th birthday. Or at least on the fifth floor restaurant. (I will say I much preferred the way we did celebrate her 50th. Thank you Chef Brian.)

Once again I’m fired. I booked the wrong restaurant – 1st floor, not 5th, Oopsy! Still fun and delicious.

To make up for it, we walked in our heels to the fifth floor and back down to the ground. That would be 674 steps each way. Impressive if I do say so. Bought a ticket to the summit, rode the lift.

Manning the lift was a guy who remembered us from the beginning as he gave us suggestions. As per serendipity guy, we officially own the Effiel. We tried to get on the same lift down to really call it serendipity for Becky, but couldn’t find him. Serendipity wasn’t for Becky that night.

The next day we paid tribute to fallen soldiers and the wars France has been involved in. If you remember from the “History is Fun” blog, we learned how France came to our aid in the American Revolutionary War. There is a plaque for that war but I forgot to take a picture.

There are 12 intersections of traffic that flow around the Arc de Triumphe. Traffic is scary and many of the tourists we watched were oblivious to it. Even more scary.

Meanwhile….

Lionfish are still being captured and eaten.

It’s Friday night in the big city and the night club singers felt like we were back in the 80’s. A group of Senior ladies decided to get up and dance, so Becky and I joined them. They were so fun. It felt like a wedding reception when all the girls are dancing.

Becky had the best dress for Paris and those senior ladies loved it. Doesn’t she look great. I’m so proud of this woman and proud to call her my niece and travel companion.

On Saturday we spent a full day at the Palace of Versailles. In two words – opulent and ostentatious. Louis XIV built it, Louis XV played in it, Louis XVI paid for it by turning it into the museum it is today. Approximately 20,000 people visit it each day and I think we were in rooms with all of them.

The 2,300 room palace built today would cost close to $300 billion. The stories we were told just made me realize how filthy these people were. However, the gardens are spectacular.

The fountains at Bellagio in Las Vegas copied one of the fountains on this estate.

This is the table where the Paris Peace Treaty in 1783, negotiated by Jefferson and signed by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin.

The farm on the property was actually my favorite part. Quaint homes with thatch roofs. This farm is at the back of the property, a 1.5 mile gentle walk through all the gardens. Of course they had trains or golf carts, but walking all the gardens and seeing the fountains was certainly part of the fun.

It’s Sunday and I have awakened very sick. Can’t catch my breath and can’t talk. Becky and Jay were busy figuring out hospitals in case I got worse. Becky went to the pharmacy for all kinds of drugs and a covid test. Negative on covid and the drugs are working. All the walking we’ve done hasn’t bothered me a bit. Now my ribs feel bruised from coughing and trying to catch my breath. I won’t lie, the pain in my neck and arm has been more since we’ve been in Paris. I have felt a new tumor come up and is pretty angry.

I missed the Louvre, but talked Becky into leaving me for a while to enjoy the museum.

We caught another disease here, called the “paris-itis” which is a disease that causes a person the need to buy another suitcase. I guess you gathered that by the beginning of this blog. On our last day I rallied enough for brunch at Laderee and suitcase shopping.

I can’t think of a better way to end this wonderful trip. My other Bec flew in. Tonight I had dinner with my two Bec’s, Becky and Beka.

Another trip in the books. We are so blessed and the Lord is so good to me to give me the strength for these trips with loved ones. I want to encourage you to never miss the opportunity to be with those you love.

Samuel Johnson said, “If you are tired of London, you are tired of life”. I think I can say that for so many wonderful places on this planet. God’s creation is good.

C’est la vie Paris! We’re on our way back to the US.

Blessings,

Jay, Kelly, Becky, and Beka

Our travels begin at the San Francisco International Terminal.

And, then we part ways for the next two weeks. Jay flies to Curacao and I fly to London with my niece, Becky.

I already miss you, Jay Harris!!!

Non-stop flight with Non-stop seeing all the sights. Our itinerary is packed. Sweet dreams from the plane to rest up until we arrive at Heathrow.

A beautiful day with a couple small showers to welcome us to London.

Our itinerary is packed each day beginning with an eleven hour tour to Stonehenge, Bath, and Windsor.

Stonehenge is the oldest standing sight in Great Britain. There are so many theories behind Stonehenge, however they do know of burial places all around it.

Bath is a town in Great Britain that needs a whole lot more time than we spent. It is an ancient town where people came for the healing baths of the natural springs. Today, it is all tourist enjoying the beauty of the town. If you come, stay a couple days.

As most towns in Europe, there is a beautiful church to visit. We only had time for tea.

Next stop, Windsor Castle, just in the knick of time to walk through St George’s Cathedral to give our respects to Queen Elizabeth and Phillip.

Also, just in time to see the changing of the guard at Windsor.

As we we arriving at Windsor, my “one hour to get somewhere alarm” was playing. I found that quite interesting since I felt like I checked and rechecked our schedule for this trip. I couldn’t even imagine what that would be.

Sure enough, we were supposed to be arriving for our dinner reservations in one hour at the Royal Albert Hall prior to the symphony we had tickets for that night. Oopsy! Becky may fire me from her travel partner and planner.

So much for dinner since we were two hours away.

The Royal Albert Hall is absolutely beautiful inside and out. I may have redeemed myself as travel planner as we walked in two minutes before intermission and outside our seats was the Champagne Bar. We just sat down for a moment watching everyone come out for intermission.

This was the view from our seats.

We were sitting by a group of young boys from a boys school nearby. So precious all dressed up in their suits listening to the beautiful music. Young George was sitting next to me. On my chair prior to arriving was a little note that said, “Hi George” with a smiley face. George and I decided it was some gorgeous young lady admiring him from afar. He absolutely loved that idea. All during the second act I watched him read and reread his little note. I know I will cherish that moment of watching a young boy wondering.

Can you think back of a time when an admirer had you wondering? Or how about a special note given to you by your significant other? Do you still have it?

It also reminds me of the love notes our Lord gives us all throughout His Word. Want to read a great one? First Thessalonians would be my go to.

By the way, the music that night was from Romeo and Juliet.

Yes, that was all our first day.

Day two…Since Royal Albert was added to the first day, we thought day two would be an easy day taking in some of the sights of London using The Big Bus of London. We forgot to take a picture by the bus.

But first we walked to Notting Hill. Anyone seen the movie? It was on my check list before traveling.

Here are a few things we saw.

London Bridge is the most disappointing bridge of them all. I didn’t even take a picture. However, I might be able to say Becky tripped, fell off the curb, and twisted her ankle a little bit. All the while, instead of helping her up, I was thinking she is going to get run over by the traffic. Thank goodness for the red light that stopped it. She’s okay! I don’t get Aunt of the year for that one at all.

The first London Bridge was dismantled in 1831. The second one you can find at Lake Havasu.

On to other attractions.

There was so much. Our light day was over 29,000 steps.

Day three I etched my travel planning redemption with Kensington Palace tour, the gardens, high tea at the palace and, well, I’ll make you wait for it.

Redemption came with last minute tickets to “The Phantom of the Opera” Center stage, row J at “His Majesty Theater”. Back in the running for Aunt of the year as Becky loves the theater as much as I do.

Since 1994 it has been my dream to see The Phantom in London where it all began. Dream – checked off, it was all I had imagined along with some spontaneity.

I think both of us could have come home the next day, however there is three more very full days of this time in London.

Before we continue in London – across the pond and way down south, more Lionfish are being speared in Curacao. Our mighty hunter is at it, cleaning our reef system one fish at a time and bringing up 14 or so most dives. Thank you, Jay. I love you and miss you!

“Fubol is Life” or my favorite, “Be a Goldfish”. Ever heard these phrases? They are from the show Ted Lasso. It was filmed in a Burroughs called Richmond. I think a Bond 007 had some scenes from this area too.

Ted is a guy from Kansas who had never heard of soccer, however came to London to coach a team. He was a very kind hearted man, who took many egos and formed a team. He placed this sign in the locker room the first show and it became the teams mantra.

The park, the pub, the streets of this town are so fun to walk around. none of the pictures really do it justice, so I will move on from that day with this picture.

Monday, day six – another packed day with Westminster Abbey, changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, and cruising the Thames.

In our last blog, “History is Fun” we had some history lessons. Let me tell you, these places are packed with history long before our country was founded. The pomp that still occurs as it did 1500 or more years ago is astonishing. The Kings and Queens, the Princes and Princesses are hard to keep up with.

Westminster Abbey is where all the kings and queens have been crowned and ordained. There are so many great writers, scientists, and nobels buried and/or honored with a stone here. People such as Handel, Shakespeare, Issac Newton, Darwin, C.S Lewis, Robert Browning, T.S. Elliott, David Livingston. A person could get lost for days in the Abbey.

The changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace was more parade than I had imagined. The guards are paraded with a band through the streets to Buckingham and St. James palaces. They are on duty 24-48 hours, standing for 2 hours at a time and 4 off for rest – rain or shine.

For me one of the biggest surprises of this trip (other than the The Phantom) was the tower of London. I thought it was a bridge. Talking about history! This building houses the crown jewels from kings and queens. It was a place of beheading such as Queen Anne Boleyn, the nine day queen-Catherine Howard, and Lady Jane Grey. There were hangings, along with so much torture. It is where the Beefeaters live and work. (No, not a place where gin is made) It was London’s first zoo. And, resident ravens are the guardians of the tower.

There is so much to share and show. This is just some of the highlights. We averaged around 23,000 steps a day in London.

As this part of our trip winds down, I’m coming back to the phrase “Be a Goldfish”. The Goldfish has one of the smallest brains, therefore doesn’t remember much. They forget. I like to think giving grace, mercy, and forgiveness to one another each day is like being a Goldfish.

Go out and be a Goldfish today.

Blessing,

Jay, Kelly, and Becky

When we saw this sign, our thought was to post this picture and write “enough said! Blessings, Jay and Kelly.

I wrote this in May, however I’m just getting my blog back up and running. Better late than never as they say.

Last time we were on the east coast we didn’t have time for a tour of Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. Then we heard all these stories of Colonial Williamsburg. So we just had to go see.

First thing I will say is we didn’t plan enough days in Virginia.

Second thing I’m going to say is I did not pay attention to American history in school at all. Young ones, don’t be like me, learn it, it is pretty interesting.

Our first day we discovered Jamestown. You all, I thought our first settlement was the pilgrims at Mayflower. That is not true. The first settlement was in Jamestown, VA. On May 14, 1607 English explorers landed and the colony began. They were greeted by the Pohawtan tribe. Does that mean the first Thanksgiving was earlier and it was Virginia baked ham instead of turkey?

Our second day began with a beautiful drive to Monticello. This is the only house pictured on any of the US currency.

Jefferson education was a lawyer, however he was a student of architecture and self-taught. He did not want to be remembered as our third president. Instead he wanted to be remembered as the author of the Declaration of Independence, the father of the University of Virginia, and the Virginia Statue of Religious Freedom.

Thank you, Mr. Jefferson, for our religious freedoms. We cherish them each day. I hope you do too.

We learned approximately 193 countries have used our declaration of independence as a template for their own act of democracy.

While touring and hearing the stories I felt Jefferson was truly troubled by slavery. He actually owned 600+ slaves, he kept families together instead of selling off members of families to other plantations. He wrote, “maintaining slavery was like holding a wolf by the ear, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let them go.”

When he wrote in the declaration of independence, “all men are created equal”, he knew he wouldn’t see it in his life, but hoped the next generations would make this a true statement for all living in the United States of America.

We woke up on our third day and decided we wanted to see what Yorktown was all about. We had no idea the stories of the American Revolution which is kind of scary. Are we the only ones, or is this normal for American adults not to really know our history?

It is said if we don’t know our history, then history will repeat itself. Something to think about especially these days.

Let’s just say if it wasn’t for the French, we would not have won the American Revolution. They just happened to have 30 ships in the northern part of the Caribbean. They turned and came up to block the English from the Chesapeake Bay area. This frightened the general. Then weather set in and they could not escape. It was in Yorktown George Washington and his troops came in, and the rest is history – which apparently I’m just learning. Had no idea.

We ate in a little basement in Colonial Williamsburg that has claim to George Washington frequenting the place for meals.

During those days you brought your own silverware and napkin. Your napkin could show your living class.

We continued our travels down to Savannah, Georgia for a little more history. On our way, we past this town with all these whirligigs. A gentleman, who has since passed, made these on his property. After passing, the town raised enough money to have them moved and built a park in his honor.

We spent a few days in Savannah enjoying all the parks and memorials. On Sunday we worshipped in the oldest African American church, First Church. Bells to let us know worship was starting. I love the legacy and culture that is kept to this day.

John Wesley was hanging out in one of the parks. And we ran into…

Not really, just a life size of her to stand by after lunch in her restaurant. You leave this place saying to Paula Dean, “Bless your heart for cooking all this. My goodness sakes alive, I’ll never eat again, Sister!”

So many restaurants just like that, such as Mrs. Wilkes Place. Here is our table and what was served – not ordered, just automatically served. Get ready to go to the hospital to get those arteries cleaned out….lots of butter in this part of the country.

Martin Luther King spoke a very important sermon at the Second Baptist Church of Savanah. It became his “I Have a Dream” speech.

Again, so much history here. From the American Revolution to the Civil War to famous speeches, and great chefs. It’s a place we certainly recommend visiting.

Next stop was Atlanta to visit family – The Miller’s and Kuek’s.

Next stop – Niceville, FL. Ever heard of it. It’s what you can imagine. So nice you would want to move there. It’s a town close to Destin, FL. That’s exactly what happened with my sweet name sake, Amberlyn Kelly, to which I call her little Kelly, and Jay calls her AmberJay Kelly. Sorry Papa Grant for taking the Lynn out.

She fell in love with Uncle Jay and really didn’t want to much to do with me. I enjoyed watching their interactions.

We also got to be the first to see Anthony and Kyle’s first home purchase. They just received the keys the day before. Such a cute place and a special memory. Congratulations!

And….there was a Lionfish derby going on that weekend. I bet you thought I couldn’t get Lionfish in this blog. Big awards for the largest, smallest and the most caught. I will just say, we’ve speared bigger ones than the largest recorded at this derby. One group speared 363 fish.

Next stop, Ocala, FL. Home of the World’s Equestrian Center, and our family The Tom Harris clan. I failed in the picture taking until we got in the car to leave and I said, Wait! I don’t have pictures. Next trip, more pictures!

We did do some fun things such as NASA and a glass bottom boat tour to see manitees and monkeys. Yep, our luck, 900 hundred monkies around there and we didn’t see one. No manitees that day either. However it was fun being with family.

From the Harris backyard, we watched history in the making – something taking off into space. I think they were launching a satellite possibly.

History is fun! Making memories with family and friends is fun! Memories turn into history, don’t you think?

What kind of history are you making in your life? Go out and make some. Maybe even while learning some history. We definitely recommend it.

Blessings,

Jay and Kelly

Here we are once more on our beloved island. How many people did I tell I wasn’t going to blog this trip? I almost made it. One blog allows us to remember important pieces to our trip.

Let’s get right to the title – Chaos to Calm. If I had to describe this trip in a few words that’s how it would be described.

Our flights from Sacramento to Miami was quite the adventure with snow storms in Denver and other weather across the U.S. Thank you Tom and Shannon for picking us up in Miami at 1:00 a.m. Then taking us back to the airport a few hours later.

Curacao was having some very unusual weather when we arrived – Excessive heat with excessive winds for the first several days. Our beautiful apartment for the first two weeks was next door to another construction project. This one was dirt work with extremely loud equipment working hard from 7:30 to 5:00. Our beautiful ocean view was blocked by gorgeous palm trees swaying with the winds

Once again we celebrated our anniversary #28 at our favorite place, Fort Nassau. It’s becoming a tradition. Thank you, Carrie Zenker for our lovely gift.

The Idaho Harris clan came to explore the island this year.

I look at this picture and think it isn’t complete. Daniel is not with us and that is a big hole. Daniel, we miss you and hope one day you too can experience the island we love so much. Thank you for sending us a picture of you drinking very strong Ethiopian coffee. (Papa Jay was on the beach, just not in the Pic)

Even though some where not accustom to the heat, humidity, wind, mosquitos, and changing apartments; the beautiful waters and views made up for those minor times of discomfort and chaos. I believe most of them still enjoyed their time here.

We have never had a guest jump the 42 foot cliffs until now- Matt, Luke, and Lilly.

As a non diver, this year I latched onto the dolphin swim with the other non divers, Noah, Angela, and Rosie. After they had booked their trip, I found the very last ticket available to join them. It was meant to be and so much fun.

After the first two weeks we moved to our favorite area of the island. It’s difficult this time of year to find a place for the extended time. Our island has truly been discovered and it is busy.

I love Piscadera. It feels like home. And I have my view again to watch the ships go by and our coast guard friends fly by each morning. Awwh! The calm! All is right in my world once again.

All is calm after one last hiccup – a trip to the ER. Did you know pesto has pistachios in it? Lilly is epipen allergic to them. She’s okay. We left the hospital and a couple hours later the two divers were in the water – Lilly’s first night dive. As I sit on a dock near the dive shop, I can spot them with their lights in the water. I think they can see the light from the space station.

Isn’t that just how life is? We go from chaos to calm, mountaintops to valleys, fear to courage, tears to laughter. Sometimes our tears can have sadness and gladness simultaneously. Have you ever experienced that?

I think of the disciples as a violant storm approached and began to swamp the boat. They truly thought they were going to die in that storm. (Have you ever felt like that during some chaos in your life?) And yet, there was Jesus with them, sleeping. Chaos and calm in the boat at the same time. The disciples awakened Jesus so he could do something. They didn’t know what, just something, please! What does he do? He calms the chaos. Where or what or who do you turn to in times of chaos to bring calmness?

Chaos certainly tests our faith and our patience, don’t you think? In response to chaos or yet-unnamed but imminent storms, some hide, some run, some live in denial, some escape into fictional worlds with addictions such as alcohol or food.

I almost named this blog “The Legacy Continues”. Our oldest granddaughter has officially become a diver as well as a lionfish huntress. I think I could write one whole blog on her time here with us. Lilly extended her time on the island as the rest of her family left.

She is now the proud owner of all my dive gear. I want to think she is now seeing all I saw when I was able to dive before blood clots and cancer. It brings me tears of sadness that I’m unable to come alongside her as a new diver and tears of joy that she is now enjoying the adventures her Papa loves so much.

She is spotting and spearing. Papa has even had her holding the zookeeper.

One morning I received this note after coming home from my walk. Papa and Lilly were already headed for the waters.

She did exactly that, brought home the dinner for two nights.

I love her spirit of adventure and most of all I love her heart. We have been able to have her experience many of our favorite things on the island such as hiking Christoffel, the highest point on the island.

Love those yellow arrows while hiking. They bring back so many great memories.

Punda Vibes every Thursday with ribs and fireworks too.

Lilly was able to complete her advance diving certification while she was with us. Her instructor’s name was Iris. Jay with two beautiful flowers, Lilly and Iris.

An advanced certification allows you to dive deeper, navigate sometimes in stronger currents, and wreck diving. You have to complete five specialty dives. Two are required and three are electives. One of her electives was lionfish spearing. We all know who’s heart was burst with pride when she chose that one.

The other animals on the island have been a treat to help the calm through some of the chaos. A couple of us saw and heard a little bird hit a glass wall. It knocked him out and we thought his neck was broken. Jay to the rescue. He was revived and he flew off.

Lilly has taken over the underwater camera as well and doing a great job.

We wish she could have stayed the remainder of the trip. Thank you, Lilly for coming to spend time with us and making more memories. We love you so much, enjoyed every second, and are so proud of you.

Our next guests arrived, The Williams. They brought Trenton, one of their sons to dive. I think he is going to have the job of lugging their tanks and equipment around. Sorry, Trent!

First stop for everyone was church. I love our church in Curacao. They are the most loving people and have taken the two of us in as their family and welcomes all those we bring.

After church we went to Director’s Bay with the whole crew for Lilly’s last dive and Trenton’s first dive in several years.

Lilly did spear a fish. Then for the fishes revenge one of its spines poked Jay in the finger. A family on the beach was cooking all kinds of stuff for their Sunday afternoon family outing. They got hot water on Jay’s finger right away, then began feeding him meatballs, some kind of fish, who knows what else if had he stayed. I think Lilly can add rescue dive to her log book bringing Papa back safely.

This is what a deck looks like when you have five divers in one house. Dive equipment everywhere!

Did you know under 21 year olds can’t check into many of the major hotels on their own? The hotel in Miami for Lilly canceled on her after seeing her age just a few hours before her flight.

The others went to the east end for a couple dives and brought home fish for a few days.

Jay has fish cleaners now.

As we close out another time in Curacao we are reminded that through chaos and calmness there are memories to be had. We cherish each one these days and look forward to writing more again soon.

Thanks for reading.

Blessings,

Jay and Kelly

We are back in the United States. The land where avocado and attorney is not the same word. (We were told Canadian French uses the word avocat for both avocado and attorney.)

We are in the land where no one is asking us, “Where are you from?” We sound just like everyone else. It reminds us some of the phrases we used to use such as:

Or, “Gettin too big for his britches”, “Fit as a fiddle”, “We’ll I’ll be a monkey’s uncle”, “Two shakes of a lamb’s tail”, or one I still might use on occasion is, “You’re gonna make me lose my religion”; which Jay’s response would be, “You need to simmer down”.

Kentucky is the land of bourbon and horses. We aren’t bourbon drinkers, so there aren’t pictures of distilleries, however we heard it is very interesting tour and explanation of how bourbon is made.

We just shared the one stop regarding horses, Churchill Downs. Oh my, this place is amazing. I want to go buy a hat and sip a mock mint julep.

Kentucky is the land of Fort Knox where approximately half of the US Treasury gold is stored. No tours allowed.

Our car rental seems to be bigger than our room on the train. You decide.

Kentucky is at the beginning of their fall colors.

We stayed one night in a small town called Lawrenceburg, IN. (Not to be confused with Lawrenceburg, KY, which are two hours apart from each other.) Lawrenceburg, IN is located on the corner of three states, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. A gorgeous small town on the Ohio River.

Music is piped throughout the streets of their downtown – from country and western to Rolling Stones. Wouldn’t you love to be on the committee that chooses the music? I wonder if praise and worship music is played on Sundays? That’s what I would choose.

Pam, so sorry time didn’t allow us to go just a little bit further to see you. So close and yet so far away.

You are probably asking, “How in the world did you discover this town?” And, why is Kentucky mixed in with Canada? Kentucky is also the land of the Creation Museum.

The creation museum is about the Genesis six days of creation written in the bible along with how sin destroyed the good plans God had. Even then, Adam and Eve were allowed to choose their direction. We talk so much about God’s creation and experiencing the beauty in all the blogs so far. This museum helps describe the Genesis of it all.

We hope you expand the picture of the quilt to get the full circle of the 7C’s – Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Children of Isreal, Christ and the Church, and Consummation.

Although evidence shows earth is more than 6,000 years old, the saying goes, “You can’t use science to prove or disprove the supernatural”.

2 Peter 3:8 says, “Dear friends, don’t let this one thing escape you: with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one year”.

Psalms 90:4 “For in Your sight a thousand years are like yesterday that passes by like the few hours of the night”. Could that be why some of creation appears to be older than 6,000 years?

Nonetheless this museum is well done explaining Acts 17:26, “From one man (one blood, Adam and Eve) He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live”.

The only aurora seen on this trip was in the creation museum.

The grounds around the museum are called the Garden of Eden. I knew there were waterfalls.

Some say Noah’s Ark is in Ethiopia. We found it in Kentucky. Kentucky is the land of the Ark Encounter – a replica using the measurements spoken in the Bible. The largest wood structure in the world.

It took Noah 75 years to build this at the age of 500 years old. The three decks inside are full of information regarding what animals could have possibly been on it as well as what animals today came from particular species then.

The original rainbow and true meaning was given to Noah and his descendants, which is us, as a promise that God would never destroy the land and its people by a flood again. Genesis 9:13-17, “I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth. So God said to Noah, ‘This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.'”

Kentucky – also the land of a beautiful wedding location. Our dear sweet Shea baby and her groom, Damian, picked a gorgeous place, Versailles Kentucky, for their wedding. We are so honored to be invited and the ability to come.

What’s a little rain during set-up.

The trees dropping their yellow, orange, and red leaves as if to say, “who needs rose pedals to line the aisle”?

Meet the Comiskey’s. A perfect setting and a perfect evening to celebrate a beautiful couple. May the Lord bless you and keep you all throughout your marriage.

Thank you for asking me to say the prayer over the dinner reception. I am deeply humbled to have this special honor.

We think we’re done “Runnin all over hell’s half acre” and we’re goin back to “livin the life of Riley”. Which we would really say, “we’re headed home to our beautiful surroundings with our accents refreshed and renewed. We are so glad you could come on our adventure with us. Thanks for reading. We love you all.

Blessings, Jay and Kelly

Don’t you love Forrest Gump quotes? “For no particular reason I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean. And when I got there, I figured, since I’d gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going. When I got to another ocean, I figured, since I’d gone this far, I might as well just turn back, keep right on going.”

We got this far, Toronto, we might as well keep going. So that’s what we did….all the way to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The morning arriving into Toronto, we woke up to the color red mixed in with the yellows. Who could have imagined the abundance the Lord is giving us on this trip.

On this adventure Jay decided to make a list of all the diversity in professions on one train. Here is the list: University professor of philosophy, (who has cancer and treating it naturally by using a naturopathic, Dr Shallenberger in Carson City, NV. God-incidence again) Teacher, Professor of genetics (a cowriter of a paper currently being published with the FDA on spinabifida)
Canadian government analyst, landscape architect in Germany, manager of pharmaceutical manufacturing in Germany, electrical enginer, art and philopher teacher, assurance analyst, owner of a waste management company, Dr office receptionist, international cyber security specialist with the DOD (Thank You!!!) who is taking his dad, a retired train traffic controller, on his 80th birthday trip, a train engineer, phosphate mine quality control manager, and a title company and farm loans executive, and the mayor of Montreal’s borough, Lasalle. She is running again in the next election.

That is a diverse group. 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 talks about diversity, “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptised by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many”. We need all these vocations to make up our life on earth. I love how we have lived on these trains together enjoying God’s creation and the many people we met.

It seems like one couple stands out on each of our adventures and we become friends. We exchanged information to continue the friendship after travels.

Dennis and Josie from the providence of British Columbia. She is a nurse and he maintained saw mills up and down the west coast and is a retired Navy submariner. Dennis has 17 grandchildren and knows all their names and birthdates. Impressive! (Sometimes we struggle with five). Josie is also a quilter, and taught quilting classes. Again, Impressive! She told Jay she would be sending material. I don’t have enough, only one closet full. Her favorite quilts to make are from scraps, which is what is sitting on my quilting table at home. Oh how she will be a huge help for me. Dennis and Josie are somewhat newlyweds, beginning their second year of marriage.

Another couple we met, Mo and Bianca. Mo is from Somalia and is now a coffee expert living in Winnipeg, who doesn’t drink coffee. Bianca is the connoisseur. Mo exports coffee from Ethiopia and has a coffee roasting company called Negash Coffee. His business is getting quite a bit of press around Canada. Here’s what we learned, dark roast has the least amount of caffeine. It’s like they roast the caffeine out of the beans. They have invited us to come back to Winnipeg and help roast some coffee.

We had 24 hours in Toronto. Spur of the moment decision to rent a car and drive to…

Niagara Falls. When you are this close, how do you not go. “Since we’ve gone this far.”

The Falls at night are lit up in red, blue, and green, which really looks yellowish in the picture, interesting.

We found several falls on this train trip. Niagara is beautiful, however I think my favorite are the ones you see the craggy rocks around the falling waters. That’s how I picture falls in the garden of eden.

All of them are beautiful in their own unique way. That’s how God made them.

The next day we took the train to Montreal to rent a car to drive to Quebec City where our hotel reservations for the next two nights were. Our train arrived in Montreal twenty minutes late, 5:20. The rental car places close at 5:00 on Wednesdays. We were not aware of this. So….

Here we stand in line for the next train to Quebec City. We made it! It’s good to be flexible. So glad we didn’t miss that hotel reservation. Our room was well designed with many futuristic features for the next remodel at the Harris house.

This is how you controlled the toilet. The seat was warm and the lid automatically opened when you approached. Yes, it says massage on the controller. We’re not sure how that works. It was too scary to push that button.

Quebec City is full of history. Rosie, we needed you. Everyone speaks French. It’s Canadian French which is a bit different from European French.

College tuitions in Quebec are $3,000 Canadian dollars per year is what a guide shared. Rosie, think about it.

One day is not enough, however you do what you can with the time you have. We walked 16,000 steps and then….

Yep!, used the Big Bus hop on/hop off to get a great synopsis of how rich the history is in this area of our world. Here are a few pictures of this great city.

The walls from the lower section near the banks of the St Lawrence up the promontory are about 100 meters high. In 1648 until present they call these walls “Cape Diamond”. It originated from the french explorer, Jacques Cartier, who in 1541 discovered diamonds and gold in the walls which turned out to be quartz and iron pyrite. This could be why I might like Tiffany’s better than Cartier.

The panoramic views were described by Charles Dickens as “The Gabralter of America” when he visited in 1842.

The parks are beautiful in Quebec City. One used to be an airport where Charles Lindeberg landed in 1928, flying in blizzard conditions, bringing antiviral pneumonia serum to the city in attempt to save one of his aviator friends, Floyd Bennett, who was desperately ill. Unfortunately, not in time. His friend died soon after Charles arrived.

Another park near the train station celebrates poetry . Each chair holds a different poem.

The roofs of the brownstone housing all over the city are diverse.

One thing each train station has in common is a clock.

The providence of Quebec is at the height of fall colors – reds and yellows amongst the green. A spectacular show! Our spur of the moment train rides between Montreal and Quebec City have been outstanding. We are so glad we missed the car rental and rode the train.

Coming into the metropolitan Montreal kind of reminds us of San Francisco a bit -the busyness, the construction, the smells. One thing San Francisco does not have is locks.

Our last train ride takes us overnight to Halifax, Nova Scotia. This protest began a block from our hotel, so we rented a car and found our way to the country towns of Halifax.

Liverpool, Nova Scotia and Mohone Bay were towns you think of when you invison Nova Scotia. They are towns in the district of Lunenburg, the Christmas tree capital of the world. Our train porter suggested this area. She told us about an artist at a garden center. He made statues from concrete and placed them throughout a beautiful nature trail.

Mahone Bay’s homes are salt box houses and are all different colors, pinks, purples, blues, yellows, etc. This was my favorite combo of color. (Teal it up for Ovarian cancer!)

Peggy’s Cove is the home of one of the most photographed lighthouses.

This guy was playing the horn the Swiss use to call the cows home. He said sometimes his wife would come home too.

And lobsters (before and after).

Diversity – the mixture of old and new, diversity of ways to travel, waterfalls, people, animals and terrain – Canada has it all. We experienced so much traveling coast to coast, however there is so much more to discover.

We can’t end this blog without sharing our sorrow for the sudden loss of our dear friend’s fifteen year old grandson. The past several days we have been in diligent prayer day and night for this sweet young boy. Our deepest sympathy to the Mitchell /Greenfield family.

There is no way to make sense of a loss such as this one except God is in control and knows what He is doing. For us who know the Lord, we know we will see him again.

Our prayers are not for nothing. We know they are heard and are stored in golden bowls that we will see one day. But for now, Psalm 56:8 tells us, “You keep track of all (our) sorrows. You have collected all (our) tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book”.

We are uniquely created for special roles for the time we have here. All the beauty around the world, our seasons as well as the animals we see in the wild, all God’s creation. All made by His touch. All together we are Christ’s body. May we use each of our special gifts He has given us to glorify God through Jesus, the one who died for our sins, the sacrifice, once and for all.

The sun is setting on this time in Canada.

Canada, we’ll be back!

Next Stop……

Blessings, Jay and Kelly

For all you Yellowstone watchers, Not that train station!

To begin…Happy Thanksgiving, Canadians. Our first day on the train was Thanksgiving for Canada. The whole traditional Turkey dinner. Yes, I did partake….so delicious. Not often in your life you get two Thanksgivings in one year.

What are you grateful for? It seems to be the question asked on that day. How many other days of the year do you specifically ask that question?

This whole blog could be quoting one verse after another regarding thankfulness, so many to choose. One of my favorites, and my hope is I live it each day, is Psalm 9:1,”I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of your wonderful deeds.”

Another one that makes me begin to clap and sing is the combo Psalm 100:4 and Psalm 188:24. Everybody, clap and sing with me….”I will enter his gates with Thanksgiving in my heart. I will enter his courts with praise. This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice for he has made me glad.”

As you know these trips are never just about the two of us. Let us now introduce, Flo. Flo is short for….we can’t remember. He is from France and this is his first day on the job. He doesn’t like wine, only Bellini’s. He was our entertainment and a joy to be around.

When we hit the beautiful Canadian rockies, I just wanted to sit back and soak in the view. However, one elderly man attached himself to me and told me stories of his travels along with many of his pictures in his phone. (I didn’t get a picture of him.) I finally excused myself and went to a different part of the train to enjoy the scenery, when this man decided I might be a good listener.

What a story! He is 90 years old, travels on his own with a couple of napsacks (backpacks) and a small bag. He is extremely concerned for the Hamas terrorists attack. He watched some Russian militants kill his mother when he was very young living in Austria. He said he stays well by eating mostly vegetables and intermittent fasting. He shared so much more.

Where is Jay during these visits? I don’t know. How do you loose someone on a train? What I do know is I’m reminded it really is about the people the Lord puts in front of us even when we want to just be quiet. As Ron Mitchell says, “It’s about the people”.

And then, the Lord gives abundantly his beautiful creation.

I had to add this last picture. As we are sitting in the dome car, it feels like James Bond and his current villain should be running across the roof at any moment. Jay is searching for an opening to get up there.

If you remember in the last blog we told you our plans in 2020 was Toronto to Vancouver. As you have already guessed it, we are traveling the opposite direction, Vancouver to Toronto.

First stop, Jasper. This is how we were greeted.

Our morning view in Jasper.

We took four days off the train to enjoy the Rockies – two days in Banff, two in Jasper. The Icefield Parkway between these two points is gorgeous. National Geographic rated it the most scenic drive in the world. We would agree.

Banff is in full fall colors. It’s difficult to choose what pictures to share.

Lake Louise, we thought we would just drive by and get a photo. No! It is stunning! Bluer than Curacao waters and no Lionfish. We walked as far as we could around it, then back.

Columbia Icefields along the way was glacier after glacier. We hiked to the toe of Athabasca Glacier, then decided to walk on it as well. What “No Entry” sign? We didn’t see anything.

The glaciers form their own little weather systems called Katabatic wind. I always tell Jay our street has its own weather system. I am now going to be calling Rio Blanco’s weather Katabatic.

Hunting for the red chairs is one way to get your steps in and choose what hike you want to do. There are 400 chairs placed in different areas in Canada. We found two and almost a third but ran out of time to get to it. It was getting late and we were in bear country at dinner time. We averaged 15,000 steps per day. So many hikes, so little time.

Animals roam the streets and sides of the highways. The Canadian interstates have fencing along the sides to keep them from jumping into traffic. They build underpasses and overpasses for the animals to use for crossing. Phil Clevenger’s brother designs the bypasses.

We saw a bear and two moose, but couldn’t get a picture in time for either. We did get pictures of the elk and big horned sheep.

Back on board, next stop, Toronto, in three days.

Train math – we have 22 cars, each of them are 88 feet long. Six of them we are not allowed to walk. How many times do we need to walk it each day to get our 10,000 steps each day?

Our first encounter with wild life in the prairies of Canada were a herd of Buffalo during breakfast and a wolf during breakfast. Just watching out the window we watched a bald eagle flying over a small lake. We’re not quick enough with our camera.

The tamarack, poplar, and birch trees are brightly lit yellows all throughout this trip.

In the prairies of Saskatchewan are huts covering bee hives to protect them from the elements.

Welcome to Winnipeg. We had a lovely evening walk around the Forks Riverwalk while the train was being serviced.

Where in the world have they dropped us off for our afternoon walk? Hornepayne is 98 kilometers from White River, Ontario. (Not Rio Blanco Dr.) According to the hardware store clerk, the closest Walmart and other stores are 2 1/2 hours away. Rancho Murieta, we can’t complain.

We are getting close to Toronto, so we will close this writing for now.

The majestic snow-capped mountains, the golden prairies, the rolling farmlands dotted with cattle and large hay bails, the crystal-clear lakes, the dark green forests, and the dark skies all have their own beauty. They are God’s creation each placed in their perfect spot in this world.

Rod Stewart’s song, “Get Ready” says, People get ready, there’s a train a comin. You don’t need no ticket, you just get on board. All you need is faith to hear the diesel humming. Don’t need no ticket, you just thank the Lord.”

Are you ready? Are you thankful? We are.

Blessings, Jay and Kelly

P.S. Train math answer = 7.10

It has been a long time coming. This particular blogging site was set up for our one year of travel in 2019 and the first quarter of 2020. We haven’t really known why we have kept this going until now.

Have you ever had a dream that has come so close to occurring, then for some reason or another it didn’t? When that happened, did you keep dreaming and trying to make it happen when the time was right? Or did you just give it up and move on to the next?

Do you find your expectations of that experience heightens? Jay likes to use the phrase, “Delayed Gratification”.

When I think of delayed gratification, I think of the Israelite wandering in the wilderness waiting to go into the land of milk and honey. How about Hannah, she wanted a child so badly for so long. Then when the time came, she gave her son back to the Lord as a sign of faith. What a prophet for the Lord Samuel became. Or how about the whole story of Ester, “Such a time as this.”

Last week we thought this trip was going to be delayed once again. Thanks to many who helped me recover enough to get on a plane, we are here. To Becky for her massages, to Chelsea for helping me get into an acupuncturist and cupping, to Dr Long for his Chiropractic skills, to Dr Zalom, my oncologist, for getting my arm checked for lymphodema so quickly, to the PT’s for the lymphodema drainage massage and exercises, (no lymphodema) and most of all, to all who prayed for relief.

We flew to Seattle and met up with some dear friends, Tom and Teri. They picked us up, fed us a wonderful vegan lunch at their home, then took us to the train station.

Before we really get started, let’s back up to March 2020. Does anyone remember that particular month?…….

You guessed it, Covid19. Ugh! We were in Curacao getting ready for the last leg of our wonderful year of travel when we received a cancellation notification for this leg that was taking us home. This leg was supposed to be from Toronto to Vancouver.

Psalms 39:7, “And, now Lord, what do I wait? My hope is in you.”

Finally….this week, we make it to Vancouver….

In the fall when all these colors are coming out.. Oh how the Lord just adds even more when we wait on Him.

Vancouver is a very interesting city to visit. One day isn’t enough. Vancouver is the beginning of a long awaited trip.

We’ll begin at the Pacific on a train, and see where it takes us.

Are you ready? We are!….Finally! All Aboard!

Blessings, Jay and Kelly