We are enjoying a simple but happy retirement together. Well, one of us is more retired than the other. We have been together 31 years. In 2016, Sue turned 70 and Lee Ann turned 60. We will write about our "adventures" from both our perspectives and as a couple. Sue enjoys baking, cooking, walking and her great-granddaughter, Lincoln. Lee Ann enjoys running, biking and learning. She still works part--time at two businesses, Kairos Communications and Cedar Creek Sustainable Planning Services.
What happens when 23 of your 24 hours are wordless for a week? During my silent retreat last week at the Jesuit Center in Wernersville, Pa., I logged 36 miles walking and wrote 32 pages in my journal. I managed to read most or all of four different books, including…
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Silence is beckoning me now more than ever: the opportunity to be totally unplugged, without even a book other than the Bible and my journal. Several years’ worth of waxy yellow buildup are obscuring my true self. The last retreat I took was in 2012, with the Benedictine brothers in…
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I need Lent more than ever this year. My spiritual goal is to immerse myself into it with practices that clear my head, stanch the flow of negativity, and lead me to be more mindful and prepared to listen for the still, small voice of God. For one, I have…
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Click on the photos to make them larger. We had Lincoln for the day. It is a joy to be able to see things from her perspective. She laughs all the time and makes us laugh. In fact, she has not cried at all the past couple of times we…
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We are trying to figure out what to do with the rest of our lives. Frankly, we are all over the map as we discuss if and where we should move, where we should travel, what activities should we undertake, how much I should work, and other weighty questions in…
Continue readingSalt Lake City – June 9, 2016 Our journey ended in Salt Lake City’s Temple Square with a Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearsal, including a full orchestra. When in town, they rehearse on Thursdays. It was a thrilling experience that punctuated how varied this bus tour was – even though one…
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Jackson, Wyoming – June 8, 2016 Then there were the Grand Tetons. Floating down the Snake River, which was still turbid and swollen with snow melt, we called out jokingly about “rapids” ahead. It was calm enough to eat our lunches on board. I don’t think we even got wet,…
Continue readingJune 7, 2016 – Old Faithful Inn, Yellowstone National Park Who would think four days (so far) on a bus would be so exhausting? Here we are in Yellowstone National Park, it is 8:49 p.m. and still light outside, and we really just want to go to bed. The last…
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Sunday, June 5, 2016 – Billings, Montana Probably no other scene of American history is more embedded in my psyche than Custer’s Last Stand. It’s a mythic story that has intrigued me since I read a children’s biography of George Armstrong Custer – no doubt a sanitized version of his…
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Saturday, June 4 – Rapid City, South Dakota Today was a day trip out of Rapid City to visit the Crazy Horse Monument and Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills. It was our first trip together as a group of 48, and I detected a lot of New York accents…
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