End of a great vacation

The past two days have been spent in Yellowstone National Park. It is even more beautiful than I remember. We managed to pack the two days with a whirlwind of sights, sounds and, yes, smells.

Wednesday was largely devoted to the geysers and other volcanic-action sites -- Old Faithful, of course, but also hot springs, bubbling mud pots and vents emitting the rotten-egg smell that is a hallmark of the park. We stayed at the Canyon Lodge and joined an evening presentation in the outdoor amphitheater by a National Park ranger.

Thursday was devoted to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the amazing waterfalls, the northern Tower Fall and several trails up and down the falls areas, giving us better views of the falls action. The evening was spent on a three-hour Yellowstone bus tour watching and finding some of the wildlife that inhabit the park.

Friday is home travel. (This is the first time I am able to add to the blog. I did have Internet connection in the park using my Verizon MiFi. The speed was slow, so I devoted the time to business matters.)

After some time to organize the photos, I'll publish a link to a gallery of the trip. Stay tuned!

Some things never change

In a way, the vacation Jan and I are taking is a drive back in time. My family made several trips West, both through the Black Hills of South Dakota and to Yellowstone Park.

One of the enduring icons of South Dakota is Wall Drug, an ever-growing complex just off the highway, which has been there forever. Here are two pictures, almost 60 years apart. Wall Drug and its buffalo remain the same. In the black and white photo is my Dad holding my sister Barbara, my brother Leonard and me.

Tomorrow, Yellowstone Park!

A Wedding Meditation

Becca and Jake, it is a wonderful and special privilege to share your wedding day with you. I believe that I can speak for all of us to say that we are so glad that you found each other and are sealing that relationship today in this ceremony where we are all witnesses.

The lesson that you chose to have Sarah read [Ecclesiastes 4:9-12] says a lot about how you value each other. “Two are better than one… one will lift up the other.” The writer of Ecclesiastes was something of a pessimist – he is most remembered for writing that all is vanity and chasing the wind – there is nothing new under the sun.” Yet even he was able to see the value of a mutual relationship such as you have – that indeed, two are better than one.

My wish for you today is that you will always value that mutual relationship. The wedding ceremony that we are using has something of an odd construct: I didn’t ask “Do you take this man… do you take this woman…” Instead, I asked “Will you take this man to be your husband… will you take this woman to be your wife”. “Do” can imply a sort of passive, go-with-the-flow attitude; “will” implies a determination from within to value each other in your mutual relationship. That’s the attitude which will go a long way for making a strong marriage.

Becca, in your blog “Longhorn Lucy”, you wrote: “I am excited that I found a great man to marry, and I'm excited to see all of our hard work and planning all put together.” Jake, I would bet that you have a similar feeling about Becca. May it always be so, that your mutual hard work, that your mutual lifting each other up, that your mutual caring for each other, will always prove that “two are better than one.”

Fort Snelling: A 19th Century Frontier Outpost

We spent Friday doing some sight-seeing. Our first stop was the Fort Snelling State Park, which includes the historic fort which stood on the bluff overlooking the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. The lower-level park has some beautiful walking and biking trails and a modern interpretive center/gift shop/comfort station. From there we hiked up the steep trail to the fort.

Built around 1820 the fort served as peace-keeper, commerce center and Indian affairs monitor. The restored area is well preserved and, when open, features an enthusiastic corps of docents in historical dress, many of whom address visitors in the vernacular of the period. We saw soldiers, officers, wheelwrights, blacksmiths, cooks and one schoolmarm who gave us to know why the fort was important for the settlement of the Northwest Territory. The picture shows Jan atop the round tower overlooking the parade grounds and post buildings.

Later we shifted to the 21st century for lunch at Johnny Rocket's counter at the Mall of America. We even helped the economy a bit in several of the mall stores before heading back to the hotel for a swim. The trip to Red Wing for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner completed a great day.

"Church Basement Ladies 2"

The vacation is in G-force mode. We made the trip from Newark to Minneapolis with minutes to spare as we changed planes in Chicago. The car was ready for us at the Hertz Gold Card desk after only a few minutes delay. Our room was ready at the Hampton Inn in Egan, the Internet connection was working, and we unpacked quickly so we could get on with the rest of the day.

After dinner at a nearby Thai restaurant, we picked up my daughter in Apple Valley and headed for the Plymouth Theatre for the performance of "Church Basement Ladies 2: A Second Helping". This is little theater at its best Minnesota brand of humor -- a series of vignettes in the life of the faithful kitchen crew of a little Minnesota Lutheran church, somewhere near Lake Wobegon for sure. The more you know about Minnesota, the more delicious are the jokes.

Today includes the wedding rehearsal for tomorrow's big day. More to come...

On the road again

Tomorrow morning we launch for our next little vacation which will take us first to St. Paul, MN where I will preside at the wedding of my niece, Rebecca, as she becomes Mrs. Jake Good. This will be the second niece's wedding in as many years, an honor I did not anticipate, but one I thoroughly enjoy.

After the wedding on Saturday, July 11, the following day will be spent catching up with family news -- from my sister, the mother of the bride, my brother, second sister and many of their families' members who will be attending. On Monday, we head for South Dakota and Mount Rushmore, on Tuesday we drive on to Cody, WY, and Wednesday we reach Yellowstone Park. On Friday we fly back to New Jersey.

On this trip I am taking not only the laptop but also my Verizon "MiFi" which is supposed to connect me to the Verizon 3G network wherever such is available. All readers will be the first to know if this works as promised.

More to come...

Cataract Surgery - Day 2

Early the day after the surgery I had an appointment with the ophthamologist/surgeon.

Her assistant led me to an examining room and removed the eye patch and bandage. Now was the moment of "the reveal".

I remember blinking a couple of times and realizing that I could really see! Not only could I see, but I could see well!

The assistant gave me the standard eye-chart exam. She didn't tell me what exactly were the results, reminding me that it took several weeks for things to settle, but seemed pleased. Then she asked me to look at her white jacket, first with the left eye covered, then the right eye covered. This was a revelation: the repaired eye was seeing a white that was brilliant, the right eye, still to be fixed, was seeing something slightly off-white and more subdued. It was amazing to think of what I had been missing!

After a thorough overview of the after-care schedule, including three kinds of eye drops administered at varying times during the course of the day, the ophthamologist entered.

She reviewed the assistant's notes, pronounced that I was "doing well", and proceeded to test the eye for pressure. Finding the pressure too high, she adjusted it with what appeared to be a tiny syringe. After going over once more the after-care regimen, she placed on my face a large pair of sunglasses with side panels for protection against debris when outside, and sent me home.

Walking out the door, seeing colors I hadn't seen before, even while wearing the sunglasses, was just plain thrilling. Thanks be to God!