3/8-3/18: Arizona Again...and Conclusion!

Alyssa and I both knew that we needed a transition point between traveling for 9 months and living life in one place again. Over the course of the planning stages, we tossed around many different ideas. The one we finally chose was to stay with our friend Esther and her family for a time. We had stayed there multiple times before, and it had become a home away from home.

The day that we arrived another one of our friend's from Arizona was admitted into the hospital because of a lung infection related to a chronic illness that she has (primary ciliary dyskenisia for those who are interested). We had hoped to be able to spend time with her at her house, but unfortunately that wasn't what happened. However, we saw God's hand at work in the time because we were able to help out her and her husband during a very trying season. We were blessed to be able to walk their dogs every day, bring needed things to the hospital, allow her to see her dogs one day, and simply spend amazing quality time with our friend, even if it was at a hospital. It truly was a blessing to have our final week of the trip filled with such an incredible opportunity to serve.

Our week was also filled with relaxing, planning for our next steps, and spending time with Esther. We all needed the time together to refresh and rejuvenate. The days were filled with ordinary things that felt so good. As part of the family for the week, we even got to enjoy watching The Music Man performance that some of Esther's siblings were involved in!

We also made one more National Park stop at Saguaro National Park. :) 

And then...we drove back to California to begin the next season of our lives...

Clearly a lot of time has passed since the conclusion of the trip. Where are we now? We are both starting up school next week as we move towards our career goals. It is another new season after a summer of working! Thank you so much for following our journey, even with the inconsistent publication times. :) We are grateful for each one of you and the role you played in our journey of a lifetime!

7/9: Henry Doorley Zoo

When doing research on where to stop on this trip, one of the places that stood out was a zoo in Omaha that claimed to be the world's best zoo! It would be worth a little extra splurge. 

(Not sure if this is written about earlier or not, so I'm going to share it again.) Right before we left we went to a dear friends house to pray with them. They have 4 kids; the older two prayed with us incredible prayers. Then we were talking about the trip. The mom asked us if we had enough money saved, and we told her honestly that we had some set aside but was trusting that God would provide as we needed. Next thing we know the oldest boy is handing us a $20. Then the 2nd oldest boy gave $11.50. They couldn't let leave the younger 2 kids out, so they both 'gave' us some money through their older brothers. When we left their house that day, we had in hand the most expensive and precious $36.50 we had ever received. Immediately we knew we had to do something special with the cash. Due to their love of animals, we quickly landed on the zoo in Omaha. 

So on this special day, we handed over most of the money to buy admission to the zoo and aquarium. :) The rest of the money bought us an expensive water later in the day. So thankful for these boys! Words cannot express how grateful we were. 

Let me start by saying that it is indeed one of the largest zoos we have ever been to!

Some highlights of the day included:

The Bears!

We first saw the bears. The zoo has 4 different varieties: 2 sun bears, 2 Andean bears, 1 polar bear, and 1 black bear. One of the sun Bears captured our hearts immediately when he was perched on top of a tree above the fence line (but couldn't jump to where we were). He entertained us even before the feeding! During the feeding he would catch his food (see video on Facebook page) while sitting in the tree! He even husked a corn cob. :D

We also enjoyed watching the polar bear swim laps. She would go in circles in her water pool, swimming in her back then diving under the water. During the feeding, she waited until the trainer had thrown all of the celery and the melon into the water. Then she gathered up the celery and the melon into her mouth at once. She brought it to the rocks, ate all her celery, then ate the melon peel and all! (Sadly we didn't get any pictures of her.)

The other bear we enjoyed watching was one of the Andean bear. He was the first one we saw feed. It was adorable!!

We didn't spend much time watching the black bear, but was fun to see after watching a video about them in Aspen. 

Desert Dome

One of the things that this zoo is famous for is its desert done. Inside the dome it maintains a desert like atmosphere because of the way the sun reflects off the dome. It was an amazing, nature-like exhibit. 

*Kookobura 

Downstairs they have an exhibit of nocturnal animals. It is very dark down there! We got to see alligators, beavers, bats, various snakes, and many other cool creatures. Since it was so dark the pictures didn't turn out very well, but here is a couple attempts. 

*Aardvark!

*The pathway

Definitely a unique part of the zoo that we both loved!

Penquin Feeding

We had the opportunity to watch some of the penguins being fed! There were two trainers who came in to feed them. One handed out the fish and the other one recorded how many fish each penguin ate. This is to have information in case an animal is getting sick or about to molt all their feathers. Right before a molt they eat as much as they can so they can live off their fat reserves when they don't have feathers. Really interesting! The keepers were so very willing to talk with us!

Aquarium

Within the zoo there is a small aquarium with emperor penguins, sharks, fish, and more!

We took a selfie with the penguins. It didn't fully work, but we tried!

We enjoyed all of the beautiful fish as well as see the jellies and an eel!!

Sea Lions

We had the chance to watch trainers work with the sea lions. The male sea lion was very loud! The trainers had them wave flippers, jump through hoops, and fetch rings. :) It was fun to watch!

There were two cute little baby sea lions that was born in early June. Right as we were about to leave, a trainer announced that there was an opportunity to name the babies. I submitted the name 'Magnolia' in honor of my friend's daughter who passed away a few weeks ago from a DIPG brain tumor. 

Gorillas

One of the male gorillas enjoyed showing off for everyone who was watching! He stood right by the glass and posed for a few girls taking photos. He then walked over and was posing for us! The personality of this gorilla made us smile. We decided to take a selfie with him! ;)

Giraffes

Our last stop of the day was to see the giraffes :) 

After the zoo, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner prepared by our hosts! Then, after showering off the gross sunscreen we had used that day, we played the best game of Settlers of Catan ever. It was a close game from start to finish which made it really fun!! We will miss this wonderful couple who welcomed us into Nebraska.

7/8: Lincoln

Let's just say that this was a day that did not turn out ANYTHING like we had pictured it. If I have learned one thing so far along this journey it is that flexibility is essential. If I'm honest, it is still not something I am good at. I'm learning, but it still can make me stressed and out of sorts when plans change. This was one of those days that, while I ended up enjoying it in the end, I was not a happy camper for all of it.

We had a slower start to our morning as the previous day we had driven all day from Aspen, Colorado to Lincoln, Nebraska. The couple we stayed with were extremely welcoming, and we ended up staying up late talking with them after we arrived (totally worth it!). Breakfast was a bagel enjoyed on the back deck of the house!! It was a beautiful day!

Our first stop was to the local Honda dealership. We had tried to get an oil change earlier, but timing hadn't worked out. There were also a couple other mechanical things that we wanted them to check as well. At 11:30ish we left the dealership and were dropped off by a shuttle at a Starbucks. There we worked on catching up on admin stuff as well uploading pictures onto the computer (which took triple the amount of time it was supposed to and led to much frustration!). 

It was around this time that we realized we would be without a car for most of the day. The only thing within walking distance was the place we had planned on for lunch: a Nebraska classic, Runza. We had never heard of one prior to that morning at breakfast when our hostess mention it to us! It is a fast food restaurant that sells food similar to hot pockets but way tastier. The classic version that we had was meat with cabbage in a bread roll. Mmmmmm. (We both are now bemoaning the fact that we will forever have Runza cravings that we can't fulfill!)

During lunch we worked to figure out a plan. Due to time and lack of transportation we would not be able to see everything we had hoped to. *cue me getting irritated* After quite a few phone calls we figured out how to take the bus...and how many maintenance repairs we would approve for the car. (Kids don't realize how many daily decisions adults have to make...) Thankfully the bus stop was close, and the route was much simpler than SoCal. People knew we were new on the bus, but that was half the fun! We also had the chance to hear people with various disabilities hold conversations on the bus, and we felt right at home. :D

We exited the bus right across from the capitol building. It had a huge tower on the top and looked very different from most capitol buildings I have previously seen. In fact, the people we were staying with recommended it since it is a unique part of Nebraska. (Btw, there is WAY more to do in Nebraska than I ever imagined!!) We were able to look out over Lincoln from the 14th floor of the building!!

After seeing the view from the top of the building, we caught the last tour of the day! We learned about the various themes throughout it. The paintings and mosaics were really cool.

Also during the tour we had the chance to see the room where the Senate used to meet before they became one group, as opposed to House and Senate. I forget the name of what that is called! That is certainly a unique feature of the Nebraska state government. :)

At one point a boy raised his hand and asked, "When will this be done?" The tour guide fielded this question well by replying, "I ask myself that every day! We have one more room." All of us chuckled. The last room we saw was the supreme court for the state. Then we indeed did all leave!

We picked up our car (finally!) and headed back to our host family's home for dinner and a game of Ticket to Ride with wonderful conversations

7/3-7/6: Aspen

Our alarms went off bright and early on Independence Day this year in order to help with the Buddy Race in Aspen, Colorado. We had driven from Colorado Springs to Aspen the day before and helped with pre-registration! It was a wonderful time of helping people, watching people, and talking with the person working with us. The morning of the 4th, we were going to help with registration.

We got there at 6:30 which was an hour and a half before race time. Alyssa helped check people in and hand out bibs. I handed out t-shirts. It was so much fun being a part of the race in a small way! 

The money raised through the race was going to a local organization called the Buddy Program which is similar to Big Brother/Big Sister programs. They help youth in the community who need an extra boost through a mentor buddy. The people involved spoke highly of the program! You can learn more at: http://www.buddyprogram.org

After the shirts were packed up, we headed to main street to watch the parade. We got there about an hour before it started; this was great for finding a seat, but made us very glad when the parade started and fire trucks sprayed us with water!

Another highlight of the parade was when they honored the various military personnel. Seeing men who had served in WWII was powerful, especially on the day that we celebrate independence. I will miss seeing this generation when they are no longer here with us. <3

Following the parade we returned the cottage we were staying at to take a much needed time of respite and sleep! We also enjoyed lunch with Alyssa's aunt and uncle who we were staying with. It was a great time for Alyssa to reconnect and for me to meet them

Despite our tiredness, we decided that no 4th of July would be complete without fireworks...so we headed back into town! They had a neat presentation of pictures from around the US before the show began. We were excited to see places we had been as well as anticipate places we will be going! The town of Aspen put on an incredible show of fireworks. The designs and colors were beautiful. A definite special memory for both of us!

For the two days following Independence Day, we took some time to relax in the Aspen area. It was a wonderful time of both exploration and respite.

On Sunday, we visited Crossroads Church. It was an amazing time of worship and a message that spoke deeply to our hearts. That very morning we had a conversation about fears that were difficult for us to let go. The sermon was about declarations of dependence that need to be made to God. Being dependent on God brings us true freedom. We will not find freedom through using our independence from God, but rather through depending on Him. Reflecting on this right after celebrating Independence Day was eye-opening and thought-provoking.

After church we walked around the surrounding neighborhood before heading back to the cabin to write cards, rest, visit with Alyssa's aunt and uncle, and watch some informative videos about animals. It was a much needed time of sabbath and recharging after a non-stop travel schedule.

Early Monday morning we drove to where everyone told us to go: the Maroon Bells. We were pleased to discover that our entrance cost was covered with our national parks pass! The views were beautiful, even with the clouds. :) The hike we chose was along the river/creek that flowed through the forest. It was quite an adventure with pushing our way through overgrown plants, crossing a flooded creek on a log, and navigating over uneven rocks. We enjoyed being able to exercise in such a gorgeous region of our country!

In the afternoon we were going to go hiking again, but ended up stopping at the ghost town of Independence farther up towards the pass. During a mining boom, the town was very full and active. However, after the production of precious metals died down, the town grew dramatically smaller. In 1899, the town was completely abandoned when the snow cut off the town's supplies. All of the residents skied down the mountain under the cover of a "race" until they reached Aspen where everyone permanently settled.

We drove a little farther up the pass to where we could say we had been on the Continental Divide on Independence pass!! It was starting to thunder by this point, so we made it a quick (COLD) trip!

Our time in Aspen was concluded with a wonderful dinner cooked by Alyssa's aunt. The food was incredible and the conversation was spectacular! What an amazing close to our weekend!!