Hi Blog Readers

We had a easy drive from RI to St. Louis. The KOA was not quite what it was made out to be. It was in the center of an older industrial complex. Luckily we found a great place in St. Charles, MO, called Sundermeiers. Cable to Wi-Fi and level pads, store as well as a restaurant. We will be here until the 16Th and then it is off to Texas for 2 days then out to California for a month to see the kids and do some preaching at three of our churches in the L.A. area.

Well it’s the 4th of July and we just spent a great week with friends and family. We were with Al, Arleen, Elsie, Janet, and her husband Bob for diner then on Thursday we went to Plymouth, Mass. To see the rock and get some of the best cranberry wine in the area from P C Winery. That PC does not stand for politically correct but Plymouth Cranberry. We just finished getting pictures when a dense fog rolled in and obscured the entire harbor as well as the replica of the Mayflower.

We were notified this morning that Faith has been taken to the hospital and is about to present us with our fourth grandchild on the forth. Her name will be Lily Kathryn. Dot and I will be leaving for St. Louis Monday. We have one more service to take care of at St. Paul’s then it’s on the road again. Faith just text. She figures Lily will joint us at about noon.

Well we are on our way to a B-B-Q at Steve’s and wait for word there.

Blessings

Tom & Dot on the road again!

Hi Readers

Today is June 30; it started out great and just got better. After a very heart healthy breakfast, a good devotion and a very close game of cribbage, Dot and I walked up to visit with dad. He is doing quite well. He knows I am his son but for the life of him he can not remember my name. How do I know he knows I am his son if he does not remember my name you ask? As I was walking in the other day he was walking up the hall and as he approached me he said hi son, did you bring your mother with you. I reminded him that she was with Jesus and he told me to go wait in the room while he went to the necessary. He knew I belonged to him even if he could not remember my name.

Well, this morning visit was good in several ways. We got to talk to dad but we also engaged him in a very tight game of rummy. He may not remember a name but he still knows how to play aces either in a run or a set. Dot was feeding him cards to see how he would react and as she played them he was able to understand what was played, pick it up if it was in his hand, build his hand with and help and discard. He is slow but methodical. As the game progressed he had a little trouble if he had too many cards or he took to long to make a decision. But over all, his mind is working well. At the end of the game he beat Dot almost beat me but still did not know my name.

This Sunday we are at St. Paul’s. I have already secured five weeks of preaching next year. I will be doing three at St. Paul’s and two weeks at Our Redeemer in Smithfield. It is actually in Greenville but there are several towns that make up Smithfield. The church is very close to my cousin Janet’s home. Our Redeemer started about twenty years ago in the Grange Hall and has grown to over five hundred. They have a very nice plant now that is very functional. At a clam-cake and chowder dinner there Friday I ran into my Jr. High principal Mr. Shepherd and a cousin from my Great Uncle Omar side of the family, Robert St. Jean. Neither is a member but they were there for the dinner.

Dot’s sister Sue flew in for the weekend and we drove up to their sister Nancy’s for a nice visit. We also got to visit with Kenny and his new wife Page. They are both doing well and Page reads many of the same authors as I, so we were able to have a nice conversation about the books we have read. I think she is going to be a great influence and support on Kenny over the years.

Tonight we go out with Steve and Pam. Tomorrow we are having dinner with the St. Jean side of the family up in Smithfield and then on Thursday Steve, Pam, Dot and I are going to Plymouth to see the rock and enjoy the area where the Pilgrims landed. Actually I think it is the Cranberry wine they are going there for not the rock.

Blessings
Tom & Dot, on the read again!

Hi Readers

Well we left the Virginia, DC area on Friday and headed up to little Rhody. What a horrible ride. What should have taken us 6.5 hours took over 10. The delays in Connecticut were terrible. It took us two hours to go 28 miles not to count the other delays before and after that. Finally we got to the Mystic KOA and shut down for the night. Nice place with quite a few amenities. From there we traveled the last 25 miles to Wa-Wa-Loam and settled in for the next 17 days.

We visited with dad, who because of his hair looked a little bit like Einstein. My brother Steve, his wife Pam, son Stephen and grandson Ian were with us. Sunday Dot and I went to St. Paul’s in Providence. That was the first of two Sundays I will be serving them. They are a good size congregation and a mix of about 50% Caucasian and 50%Liberian. It is good to see such a diverse group work together as this group does. It is a joy to worship with them.

It has been raining every day sense we arrived so we decided to run up to Vermont for a few days. On the road again! Dot calls these little jaunts “Road Trip”. Once we got half way there the sun came out and we had a great time. This was the only state Dot and I had not been to. Now we have all the lower 48 and Hawaii.

We stayed at one of our sister resorts and were able to visit Windsor, Woodstock, and Quechee. Quechee has a neat gorge. So, Dot and I decided we needed to see it. The walk down was not too bad; the walk up was a bear. But we got some great pictures of the gorge and bridge and some good exercise. From there we went in to Quechee itself and found a great covered bridge and a glass blower at work making glasses.

From Quechee we drove around the area and ran into other covered bridges that made for good picture taking. We also found a farm up in the hills that made some pretty good maple syrup as well as maple sugar candy that Dot just could not pass up. It was a good thing we had gotten so much exercise that morning at the gorge. On the way back to the Resort we stopped of at the

Harpoon Brewery for a taste of their product. They make a nice apple cider beer that was quite interesting.

We left this morning for home, the trailer and enjoyed the best fish and chips as well as fish cakes at Stadium Fish and Chips in Cranston. They are the only place were fish cakes are still made as far as we know. They are about an inch thick and about the size of a saucer and are made of layered potato and cod. Then they are battered and fried. Talk about good.

This afternoon we are going over to dad’s and the run some errands.

Blessing

Tom & Dot on the road again.

Hi our loyal readers


Dot and I moved our location on the 16th to Aquia Pines RV Resort and were very happy we did. Better location, better park, better sites, closer to Julie.

After we got set up again we spent the afternoon in Fredericksburg. This is a quaint town of Washington’s boyhood. His mother and sister lived her and it was here that Mary his mother died. The white house pictured here is the home George purchased for his mother. There are a few other homes here from the area as well as the Apothecary shop of Dr. Mercer who was also a military officer in the Pennsylvania Militia. There were several Civil War battles fought here and in the surrounding area. We had a great afternoon.

June 16
Today we picked up Julie and toured Arlington National Cemetery and DC. We were able to take in the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown and also visited the Kennedy Family site.

There is no way you can do justice to DC in one or two days. The people we are camped next to took eight days to see it and still felt they had missed some things. Well then, we missed a lot. It would probably take three to four days just do the Smithsonian. We saw it from the outside.

The White house was a nice visit as well as the Capitol. Tomorrow we are going to Mount Vernon as well as one or two battle fields.

Blessings

Tom and Dot on the road again

Hi All

Saturday we left Orange Lake and drove to Point South, SC and stayed at a quaint KOA. From there we were able to visit the Savannah area after church on Sunday. We found an ELCA congregation near by and decided to go there. The nearest LCMS was 67 miles away. The service was nice and the hymns great. I still have not figured out what the Pastor was trying to get across to the people. He missed it entirely. He had an opportunity to point his congregation to Word and Sacrament ministry as the way God plants and builds His church on earth and told them we know the when, where, and why but not the how. HOW, WORD & SACRAMENT THAT”S HOW. The Bible class was devoid of scripture and asked the question, “How can we make the church green.”

From there we went to Hilton Head for lunch and found a great Crab place called “Crabby Joe’s”. We plan to go back when it is cooler and spend a week. From Hilton Head we drove over to Savannah and toured the city. Savannah is laid out as no other city in America. It is built around 24 squares each with its own nuances. The squares have various statues of historic figures, fountains, as well as different architecture. The city streets are beautifully canopied with majestic oaks and lined with 18th and 19th centaury homes. Savannah was also the most populated city of free blacks in the South prior to and after the Civil War. The City Trolley Tour is so, so. Good narrative but not so good for pictures. It would be better to take the Carriage tour. Slower, yes, but more advantages for the shutter bug.

Monday we left for Julies. We drove through to the KOA and were glade we did. It allowed us a little time to find a better campground for our Washington stay. It was advertised as the closest to WA and for a KOA it may be. But, it is 52 miles south and off the beaten path. Quite rustic, too! So we are moving closer to WDC tomorrow by 25 miles and going into a RV Resort, not a camp ground down a Smithfield, RI back road out in the woods.

From the new location we will have better access to touring DC and meeting up with Julie.

Blessings

Tom & Dot on the road again

Hi All

Saturday we left Orange Lake and drove to Point South, SC and stayed at a quaint KOA. From there we were able to visit the Savannah area after church on Sunday. We found an ELCA congregation near by and decided to go there. The nearest LCMS was 67 miles away. The service was nice and the hymns great. I still have not figured out what the Pastor was trying to get across to the people. He missed it entirely. He had an opportunity to point his congregation to Word and Sacrament ministry as the way God plants and builds His church on earth and told them we know the when, where, and why but not the how. HOW, WORD & SACRAMENT THAT”S HOW. The Bible class was devoid of scripture and asked the question, “How can we make the church green.”

From there we went to Hilton Head for lunch and found a great Crab place called “Crabby Joe’s”. We plan to go back when it is cooler and spend a week. From Hilton Head we drove over to Savannah and toured the city. Savannah is laid out as no other city in America. It is built around 24 squares each with its own nuances. The squares have various statues of historic figures, fountains, as well as different architecture. The city streets are beautifully canopied with majestic oaks and lined with 18th and 19th centaury homes. Savannah was also the most populated city of free blacks in the South prior to and after the Civil War. The City Trolley Tour is so, so. Good narrative but not so good for pictures. It would be better to take the Carriage tour. Slower, yes, but more advantages for the shutter bug.

Monday we left for Julies. We drove through to the KOA and were glade we did. It allowed us a little time to find a better campground for our Washington stay. It was advertised as the closest to WA and for a KOA it may be. But, it is 52 miles south and off the beaten path. Quite rustic, too! So we are moving closer to WDC tomorrow by 25 miles and going into a RV Resort, not a camp ground down a Smithfield, RI back road out in the woods.

From the new location we will have better access to touring DC and meeting up with Julie.

Blessings

Tom & Dot on the road again