East Coast Excursion

Plimouth Plantation early settlement: Plymouth, MA.

Laura and I had a marvelous trip to the New England States and New York City. Both Laura and I had never been to this part of our country, so the experience was new and surprising.

New York City is like another planet. Frank Sinatra's depiction of a city that never sleeps is all too accurate. We stopped in for a late night dinner at the 3-story "ESPN Zone" restaurant at 10:30 p.m., and the place was packed! That excursion was right after we saw the play "Mary Poppins" on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre. What a show! These guys are truly the pros of theatre. Some UNBELIEVABLE acting, theatrical stunts (like Bert tap-dancing upside down on the stage upper frame), and stage props. We had a great time. We also saw the sites at Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty Park, along with Central Park, Madison Avenue, Chelsea Market, Little Italy (Lombardi's Pizza was amazing), Wall Street, Battery Park, Ground Zero (a very solemn moment), and Greenwich Village.

Enjoying the scenery at Statue of Liberty State Park

In the New England States, we stayed in Cape Cod at a beautiful time share (my parents graciously bestowed upon us) at South Yarmouth. It was right on the Nantuckett Sound. We visited historic towns up and down the Cape, including Chatham, Sandwich, Provincetown (first place the Mayflower anchored before Plymouth), Newfleet (great Oyster festival), Hyannis, Falmouth, Woods Hole, and our favorite, Martha's Vineyard (had to take a boat ride out to this Island from Woods Hole). We also spent some time in Newport, Rhode Island, at the Bauer's Wharf Seafood Festival. Great Mussels!We also spent some time touring the Freedom Trail and a bit of history in Boston. What a great tour! After teaching about the American Revolution to Middle Schoolers a number of years ago, it was great to actually see these landmarks in person. Everything from Paul Revere's grave to The Boston Massacre Site were places that now jumped out of the history books.Laura and I will never forget this trip! We grew closer as a couple and enjoyed the many sights and sounds of some fairly diverse areas.

Lobster Clam-Bake in P-Town, MA.

On a spiritual and sociological note, my main observation of the enormous cities of New York and Boston were how easy it is to just get lost in the crowd. I couldn't help but to wonder how many people are hurting and "hiding" in the city; probably the single worst thing one can do when life's challenges and human frailties crowd in and make us feel less worthy than we really are in the eyes of God. Christ wants us to seek others for help and guidance. The city provides the people, but it often also provides a place where no accountibility takes place if one does not make it a priority. May we live around people and be accountible to those we choose to call our friends. I'm convinced this is God's design.