Danville: a pearl in the wilderness

Let me share this hidden gem before our blog's readership gets too big and the secret gets spoiled. As we were driving through Kentucky, we decided to poke into Danville because it was apparently a wonderful small town to live in, and we wanted to see what the fuss was all about.

Skepticism grew in my heart as we got closer through the central Kentucky plains and pleasant yet unexciting rolling farmlands south of Lexington, with more and more characterless single-story homes around the road leading into town. What's so great about this little secluded community, thought I?

Well it's biggest claim to fame is that it was ranked 4th best place to retire nationwide by Money Magazine. That's gotta mean: 1) affordable, and 2) good healthcare (indeed as we were walking in the center, we came across almost an entire bloc along Main St of different types of health providers and services; there's also a big hospital there). But also, it's home to Centre College, a reputable college.

As we drove down the main drag, things started looking more interesting. The town was starting to show more (maintained) history in its architecture and infrastructure until we parked at the visitors' center which is located on the edge of a city-block park with old colonial buildings and plaques describing the place's history. Among the "firsts" that Danville proudly claims are the 1st courthouse in Kentucky and the 1st post office west of the Alleghany Mtns.

So we went in and talked with the young lady who was on duty in the visitors' center. She loved the place (always a good sign; we've visited some places where locals tended to say something to the effect of: "Uh, yeah, it's nice here... look, there's these interesting places/things to do within a 2-hour drive from here..."); she grew up in Danville and recently came back upon graduating from college. She enjoys the relaxed and friendly nature of the people as well as the safety (like jogging at night, not locking her home...).

She also showed us a list of the annual events that fill up the calendar. It was quite a bit more active than what I expected for this laid back, away from the mains roads little town. There's something every month: wine tasting festival, outdoor film festival, car show, Christmas parade, the state's barbecue festival, music festival, horse show... Also the college welcomes quite a few renowned exhibits and performances.

Having such a small, liberal arts, private college seems to mean: the community has fun & affordable (for college students) activities and attracts culture. In fact, next year it will host its second vice-presidential debate in 12 years. Not being a public university, it is not a "party school"; one of the locals we talked with described the students as "smart, they study hard." Also, the college guarantees to the students who make it in that they will have an internship and an opportunity to study abroad and graduate in four years. So that's bound to bring some interesting culture awareness and bright minds.

By the time we walked out, several other staff members had shown up, including one who had previously lived in Virginia (almost everyone else who lives in Kentucky apparently grew up near their current hometown and just never found a better place to settle), and it was nice to see that they were not full of themselves. They love Danville, but they told us about other small towns in the greater Lexington area that they also find awesome.

We stopped for lunch at a family-owned restaurant that makes excellent pizzas then kept walking down Main Street before stopping into Karamel Kreations where Beth, who runs the place, gave us some samples of her chocolate-caramel concoction and told us all about the area and why she set up her fun little shop in Danville even though she lives in Lexington, a good 45-minute drive away.

By the time we left the little town, we were surprised by how much we loved it there. There's even a river and a lake nearby, so kayaking looks feasible. I'm not sure how far good skiing and hiking are, but there were some hairpin turns on the road up to Lexington, along the Kentucky River, where the driving reminded me of going up some parts of the Cévennes mountains more than anything else.

The biggest downside for us of living in such a place seems to be that it is about as far from either of our parents as we could get within the part of the country we think we'd enjoy being. So that doesn't sound ideal if a baby is in the picture (no, this is NOT an announcement, we occasionally happen to think ahead).

Keeping the Forest Wet

I may have blogged about this analogy before, but it is worth blogging about again!

During our pre-marital counseling at some point or another, we were told to always keep our "forest" "wet" - aka, keep our relationship always saturated with encouragement, trust, and support, even when we don't really "need" encouragement, trust, or support. That way, when the "lightning" of life strikes - conflict and hard times, the forest is so wet it won't go ablaze; the relationship will be able to sustain the numerous strikes being thrown its way.

We have taken that to heart over this past year and have consistently (not always admittedly) made sure to keep our relationship a safe and welcome place for the other person, where we can be encouraged. It has been sappy and, for many, perhaps somewhat nauseating to be around us, however we have been determined to practice this "wetting" of the forest.

These past few weeks we now are beginning to see what our counselors were talking about- life's storms come. Between loosing Ticky-Tacky, travel through several states, a cell phone debacle to end all cell phone debacles, a crisis in a close friend's life, and the many other things life has thrown our way in the past few weeks, our relationship has not gone up in flames.

I know without a doubt that it is the Lord holding us together to Him through His grace and mercy that He has displayed to us through each other over the past few years. That said, I'm so much more committed to making sure the "lulls" in life are used to prepare for the "storms," through continued encouragement and strengthening of each other through words and quality time. With the hustle and bustle that has been the past month, it has been hard to sneak in quality "us" time, but we have had reserves to draw upon that have kept us from smoldering.

So, I write this as a reminder to my future self to keep pursuing and strengthening our relationship, to you all to encourage you in your relationships, and to Jon for all his compassion, encouragement, and hugs which have been in abundance for the past few weeks!

Constancy

This Sunday Ticky-Tacky went to be with God. This is personally my first great loss, and I'm slowly beginning to understand what it means to loose someone like this. To process, I'd like to dedicate the next week of blogs to something I remember about him, and see where that takes us. Okay by you?  Good. Let's begin.

Constancy
As I'm sure many things are, I don't think I realized what a steady constant presence Ticky Tacky has been in my life until he is gone. Between all our many moves, and my many moves and countries later, Ticky Tacky and Mom-mom would always be found in the same house in nearly the same state - kept up but nothing fancy. The home had an odd way of luring you to sleep with it's steady character- we'd come to visit them both and find ourselves falling on couches later on! What a visit, but they always said they enjoyed it anyway. And seemed to understand.

We'd come as a family, and later on I'd come alone as an adult, then one day bringing Jon to pass their approval sometime two years ago. Ticky Tacky was always so glad to see us, or even just me, in his own way, generally leaving me to visit with mom-mom after a certain amount of time, although only after taking me out to lunch first. I can't tell you how much that meant during my single years, to be taken out by my grandpa with my grandma. Afterwards he'd generally vacate the womanly chatter to the sanity of the living room or his office.

All the rooms in their house have gone through so many changes - except his office. When we visited a few weeks ago, I took Jon through the house a bit, and of course visited the office. Stepping into the space, I felt immediately 6 years old again, sneaking into a place I knew I wasn't allowed, hoping to snag a coke out of the fridge. Twenty-some years later, there are still cokes in the fridge in the same location, except this time I can go on in without permission. Standing there was surreal, one room remaining so much the same through so much turbulence in life. Yet it felt so normal, and comforting, to feel like something  had remained the same through all of life's changes.

Ticky-Tacky was somewhat like that too. Very steady and nearly unchangeable.  We always knew what to expect - jokes, thoughts, the story about how he found an error in the dictionary, pointed it out to the authors, and didn't get a new dictionary in return. Maybe there'd be some mumbling about something or the other, however there was always a presence of love, and I would always leave with the solid knowledge he'd be very glad when I returned.

I'm going to miss that. A lot. (I can tell because I'm crying just writing about it!). It would be wrong if I didn't. And I hope I miss it for a long time, and seek to emulate the same welcoming in our own home when we settle down one day.

I am glad for one thing though. The next time we see him, there will be no returning, just a huge greeting and lots of laughter and sharing. I'll get to know him as a young man, and see him at his best. He himself will probably be able to speak a few languages (he was always in awe that I could speak German), and we'll all be together in a place that has always been Home in our hearts, in a place even more steadfast than Ticky Tacky's office - our place in God's presence, in His welcome and love.

Charlevoix: Day 6

This was our last full day in Charlevoix, and was absolutely brilliant!!!

Day begin: Driving to Boyne City to have a fare-well lunch with auntie, uncle todd, and uncle tim. It was delicious, at a semi-european restaraunt. A good breakfast with good people is always a great way to start the day!

Mid-morning: "Exhausted" from the early rise, drive, and delicious food, we napped all morning :o) I love vacation.

Noonish: Arising slowly from a blissful nap, we meandered our way down-stairs, grabbed some snacks, and hopped on the kayak! It was the most wonderful trip! We made a map of it, where you can see where we went and what we did. (obviously, click on the blue line to see it)...

   Starting out: Paddled our way into round lake, passing through a sailing school and having to dodge young sailors! We padded our way around a small island, which was most peaceful and a fun place to take a kayak, as boats cannot go through there (it's too shallow).

 Next we went under the Charlevoix Bridge, and out to lake michigan! This was my first time being on, what feels like, open waters, and it was a wonderful freeing feeling. We eventually padded our boat onto the beach,  pulled it up onto shore, and ate some snacks. It was a fun adventurous feeling!

 When we left, the current and wind were in our favor, and we made it back to round lake in good time. We stopped by the pontoon boat that serves food in the summer, called "A Girl, and Guy, and a Grill" - now run by a brother and sister who use it as their summer job! Very impressive, and so much fun! We bought smoothies, which although they were over-priced, tasted wonderful after such a long paddle. We went back to the island, meandered very slowly (think "lazy river") around the island, sipping our smoothies, and then popped back out onto Lake Charlevoix. By this time we were quite tired, and went directly back to the home.

It was the most delightful trip, and was definitely worth hauling the kayak up here!

Evening: We went to the Dairy Grille, a mandatory pilgrimage for all who vacation in Charlevoix. We grabbed some DELICIOUS olive burgers (they even made mine without a bun!), and brought it back home to the grandparents, and ate dinner with them. (Don't worry, we brought them food too!) The day ended with some cleaning and rummaging around for our kayak car carrier. We got to bed on time, satisfied with a wonderful vacation in beautiful Charlevoix.

Charlevoix: Day 4

Yesterday we had a very unique day. We drove down to Traverse City, and then up the Leelanau Peninsula to visit some wonderful wineries! We went to Mawby and Black Star, and enjoyed it very very much. At Mawby we were able to sequester a little table away from the crowd and overlooking the vineyard to enjoy some sparkling wine and goat cheese. At Black Star we got caught in the rain, however were able to enjoy a delectable little lunch in their cafe, and then of course the wine tasting. They make really nice wines up here!

We came back "home," ate some pizza with the family, and then took a nap :o) The evening was spent chilling, rubbing moisturizer on the sun burn, and watching "Dan in Real Life" - the perfect movie to watch when on vacation with the family.

4th of July

Today was pure bliss. Here's the quick run down:

• Slept in - made nest-eggs for breakfast! (see previous post)
• We started doing things around the house - now it is nice and clean! I haven't been able to clean off my desk for 2+ years, it is such a relief! It's nice to have an area where I feel like I can effectively "manage" our home, rather than the constant worry that I'm missing something in the pile. 
• Went to Mon Ami Gabi for lunch, as they were having a promotion and our meal was basically half of. It. was. delicious  (it's our favorite french restaurant in the area!) Very fun to go out on a date!
• Went to hunt down a petanque court (French boci-ball), and found a gravely patch in a park that will work well. Unfortunately the bugs enjoyed it too, and it quickly got too annoying to play. Got a few quick rounds in though!
• Came home and got busy resting. Watched all the extras on "The King's Speech" and then watched the movie with the commentary. So relaxing and informative at the same time! Can't seem to stop researching it, the royals are very fascinating for some reason. 
• Walked to the nearby park to watch the fire works! It was fun - they put on a decent show here [although I'm not a fan of fireworks in general.]
• Walked home, chilled some more, and now we're feeling rested for the week!

It was blissfully to stay home for a day and just be - especially as Jon took the day off from work. Yay quality time! 

I did however discover that I do not enjoy the plethora of people shooting fireworks off at random on the streets, sidewalks, and parks. They are loud, dangerous, obnoxious, and illegal in other states. So weird. Definitely hearing alot of ambulances...

Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! We are so glad you were born today! :o)