We finally did it! Dawn and I got away for a full week’s worth of vacation. This may sound unreasonable to some of you, but it has been around 20 years – give or take – since we took a full week off. Yes, sure, we have taken two or three days here and there. I took “almost” a week off during the first year of COVID-19. However, it was a staycation that had us doing some work around the house. Even when we were working for the IMB, we took only day trips here and there. Of course, there was the opportunity to come home for a month, half-way through our three-year term. That was more of a sanity-check than a vacation though. Regardless, what I am speaking to here is a normal week-long vacation get-away.
Ooooooooooook, now on to the trip and a little recounting about what I thought of it. First, let me set the stage. This was a senior adult bus trip with members of Englewood Baptist Church. A few months ago, Dawn asked me if we could possibly go with them on the trip. My dear wife has not asked for anything like this in a VERY long time, so I agreed. I think we both realized that we needed a break and change of scenery. So, we made financial plans to join the group and then, last Sunday morning, we all hit the road on our way to Lancaster, PA. This was along drive (over 900 miles), so we broke it up and spent the first night in West Virginia – I think! We also passed through Maryland for a bit.
I will post a lot of photos, broken up over two or three posts. So, look for more to come. This first post will have a few photos of the drive up and our trip to Gettysburg. This was a windy, rainy day. We visited several historic sites and listened to an expert tour guide recount various aspects of the war and how General Robert E. Lee almost won a major battle, but ultimately lost to the Union Army. Our visit to The Gettysburg National Military Park Museum was wonderful. It was beautifully and tastefully done. The exhibits were powerful and I was moved at the “wall of faces” that you will see below. That display brought a lot of humanity into focus for me.
The Cyclorama Sound and Light Show was also beautiful and engaging to the senses. On a side-note, I’d like to share a “moment” with you regarding a young person that I “think” was attempting to identify as a Goth trans-person at the lunch area where we ate at the museum. I am fairly sure this was a biological male who attempted to look female – to some degree. While we ate lunch, he was wondering around, cleaning tables as he give our group glances that seemed to land somewhere between curiosity and concern. After all, we were a VERY mature looking group of Southerners and we likely smacked of a very traditional church group. Most people tried not to look at him. He was dressed in black garb, had the head-half -haven look, wore black lipstick, and had black nails. As Dawn and I finished eating, I purposely timed it so I could walk right by him as we exited. I likely looked like a big ‘ole judgmental Southern guy to him as I approached. But, I looked him right in the eyes and calmly said “have a blessed day.” He paused and replied… “you too!” It was a moment, a small moment, but hopefully this young man saw a different side of typical from what he likely expected.
That last paragraph was not designed to make me look “holier than thou,” nor does it imply that I am liberal in my theology. I wish he wasn’t so busy working. I would have enjoyed sharing my faith with him in a non-threatening way, but that wasn’t in the cards for the situation at hand. Anyway, here are a few photos. I hope you enjoy seeing what I saw.
