Wednesday, August 29, 2012

moving sidewalk

I grew up as an airline kid and traveling used to be quite the event. I remember seeing the advances in technology on planes and at the airport... and my favorite would have to be the "moving sidewalk." A pretty funny invention if you think about it... but when the moving sidewalk came onto the scene - I always opted for it...I mean why not? A speedier way to get to where you're going without the added energy one would have to exert by simply....walking faster :-/
Because, when we flew, we were, "representing the company," we had to dress up for every flight...which, for me, meant a chance to wear my sam and libby shoes, stockings, and a spinny dress. My brothers and I used to hate when we would have to sit by strangers on the plane...but flying stand-by, without guarenteed seats, as a family of 6... we had to suck it up and take any seat we could get!  I have two favorite "stranger" stories from the plane when we were kids.  One was when my brothers had to go to the bathroom really bad, but were blocked in their row by a stranger who was snoozing in the isle seat.  My parents and I watched from the seats behind as, in desperation, the boys crawled under the man's legs...and successfully made it to the bathroom.  The other story was when I fell asleep and woke up when we landed...only to realize that my head had been comfortably resting on the stranger-man's shoulder next to me the whole trip...one of the reasons I can no longer fall asleep so easily on planes ;-)


In Ashley's wedding in Atl. Mom and Dad came too!
I've been quite the travelin' lady lately.  I went to Savannah, GA....then back to PA....then back to Atlanta to be in Ashley's wedding (my friend since age 3)....then back to PA....then to Maine....then to Conneticut....then to the Jersey shore....and now here I am....back home, where the 55 and older is a nice reminder that I have 30 years until I was actually meant to live in one of these neighborhoods...but God works in mysterious ways.....? hmm.... not sure how that one applies to my situation or what is so mysterious about living in a neighborhood where the highlight of the week is usually the "first Tuesday women's club," or my Mom's nightly water aerobics routine.  I know my tone seems snarky but I really am grateful to have a roof over my head, food in my belly, family that loves me, and a plethora of neighbor's grandkids to babysit while I finish school :-)   just keepin' it real...
This blog post has been a draft just sittin' patiently in my computer...waiting for its debut as my first post in quite some time now. My computer did die on me, so I have a bit of an excuse for the lack of blogs lately.  My fingers have been on hiadas from their normal tap dance across the keyboard to tell a story, or make a point... or to tell a totally pointless story. On one of my recent trips to the Atlanta airport, I was on the moving sidewalk and suddenly remembered that this little post was waiting for me to come home and give it some attention.  Not sure why today is the day...but the typers are back in gear and ready to tap once more! 
 
There is so much to blog about from the trip I took to Maine with one of my best friends, Shu (pronounced "Shoe"). Oh my Shu :-)  If she was a shoe, she would be a converse all-star...but with a light purple, satin ribbon for a shoelace!
We always have the best time together and we laughed so much that I came home with a six-pac of newly formed abs!
hahaha I seriously did this pose from
"The Little Mermaid"-only a few will actually get this!
Pop-overs and blueberry tea in Maine
Anyway, in an effort to keep things interesting, I will not post a picture of EVERY morsel of food we ate or include EVERY detail of how incredibly amazing the fresh lobster and smoked gouda omlets were, or about the wild blueberry pancakes, lobster/pineapple pizza, pop-overs, blueberry coffee and tea, goat milk fudge and caramels....I'll just tell you the MAINE-ly important things and give you an appetizer of pics from our lovely hikes, a seven mile kayaking trip in the Atlantic ocean, a jazz concert, a hard-to-describe-Maine-backwoods-bluegrass-ish music fest, and MAYBE just ONE more mention of the best fudge this side of the Mississippi....and on every side of the Mississippi...I don't know where these phrases come from- but my friend, Christine, says I've gotten my southern accent back since I've been hanging out with all of my friends from below the Mason-dixon line....
 

Shu and I gearing up to sea kayak....olympic style,
U.S. vs France...or so we told ourselves for
motivational purposes...to try to beat the French ppl
who were on our tour...unsuccessful :-(
We stopped in CT on the way home to see Bean!















These bluegrass-ish musicians were playing at a bar in Maine and
every one of them looked like a character from "Deliverance"....
and they smelled like pirates (none of us have probably ever smelled a pirate,
but I can't think of anything else that could accurately display this level of smelly!)
We met an old couple from GA there, who asked me what type of music this was...
When I said the closest thing I could think of was bluegrass, they were offended.
Lesson learned: don't tell an old couple from the deep south what bluegrass is...

So it has been great to do some traveling lately and to experience some new adventures with loved ones. I feel like everyone always says this, but the summer really has flown by and I can't believe its almost fall...woah...and then winter, where a Pennsylvania style snow will be coming to a driveway near me...very soon.  I'm excited for what the fall has to bring: two new nephews (YAY!!), being done with school...again, and getting ready for whatever season God has in store for me next...maybe I'll move somewhere really cool...or join that bluegrass-pirate band and travel with them...and give up showering...you never know...God works in Mysterious ways ;-) 
I still have the tendency to jump on the moving sidewalk and hurry to the destination to see where I'm headed next, but I am enjoying taking the slower, scenic route for now....learning to see God in the moment and growing to trust Him...and trying to laugh a lot along the way...but I'm not sure my abs could get more defined then they are now ;-) ...hopefully the sideways wink face shows that I am using sarcasm.

Much love,
Julie
p.s. I had a lot more neat pictures to post but for some reason my Mom's computer won't let me...I'll try to add more later :-)

2 comments:

  1. Hey, does Christine live in CT with her mom, now? Sounds like your summer's been oh so fun, Julie. How come you and Shu chose Maine to visit?

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    1. Thanks for the comments D'Arcy!! Yes, Christina moved back to CT...and has some interesting things going on in life :-)
      Shu and I chose Maine because we've always wanted to go there, and My Uncle (who is not actually related) lives there..so we had a place to stay.
      Ya know...I've never been to Indiana before...maybe thats my next stop :-) Miss you!

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