day no. 5

 Caleb and Julie

Caleb and Julie are dear friends from my hometown Grand Junction.
Caleb and I were neighbors for over 10 years and the three of us attended high school together.
We have some ridiculous and wonderful memories to look back on..from youth group, missions trips, proms, homecomings..
I’m so grateful that it worked out for us to hang out while I was in Orlando for the tour. It was about time that I saw these two together! 😉 We ate lunch and ended up camping out at the restaurant for quite a while until a rain storm passed through. And that was perfectly fine by us. It was a great time of catching up and hearing both sides of their story.
Although we were all friends in Junction, they didn’t really get to know each other until a few years ago when Caleb moved to Orlando to study at Full Sail University. Julie made the move south with her family a few years previously and the two of them reconnected over facebook when they realized they were both in Florida. “Lost” was the common ground that broke the ice, they began enjoying each others company and well, the rest is plain to see.
I plan to be back in Orlando for their wedding January 2013!
I ‘happened’ to have my camera with me just in case they would like to take a few photos and they were all for it. This is what we came up with.
I just love seeing them so happy together. Enjoy!

day no. 3

Thursday we went to Disney World!

Our tour guides Isaac and Albert got us the hook up…we scored park hopper day passes! Woot!

I had no idea the size and extravagance that awaited. I was basically blown away. We ended up going to Epcot, then the Animal Kingdom and then Magic Kingdom. I would have to say that the highlights of my day were the different countries, visiting the motherland: Mexico…
Italy, and Norway was pretty sweet..
Albert I don’t care what they say, I think the ride was great! hahaaa… ;).
I also enjoyed the rock band wearing kilts in Canada. They were having such a good time on stage. I liked that a lot.
The butterfly garden was also great fun.  Isaac, “I wonder what butterflies eat?”. Kim, “Human flesh”…and there Kim’s “cannibalistic” side emerged for the rest of the day.. hahaa..

Then we made it over to the Animal Kingdom, after much debate,
and waited in line much longer than anyone should ever have to, for the African safari.
But I must admit, it was worth it.
Then we ate chicken fried rice and headed to the Magical Kingdom so we could see the castle.

I absolutely loved riding the ferry across to the lake to Magical Kingdom.
And once we were walking down Main St. it struck us..”This place really is magical!” Haahaa..I really did feel like a kid.
Then we got the best ice cream I’ve ever eaten..complete with Mickey Mouse ears!
And if you ask Kim, this was the highlight of her day.

The firework show was phenomenal.

I have to say that I’m glad I didn’t lug my camera a long with me. I would have been miserable carrying it for 10 hours.
Here are pictures from Kim’s phone. Enjoy!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRANDT TILLEY!!!!!!!

day no. 2

Here’s the house in the daylight..complete with covered patio and porch swing. it’s perfect.

Mr. Loop was so kind as to check my tires and give me a new tire gauge.
He also packed us a bag full of goodies for the  journey to Orlando..how nice
..and he offered to set us up if we ever wanted to come back for a visit
and even if we wanted to stay for an extended time he could hook us up with one of his rentals.
Maybe I’ll be back someday!

***

Pit stop at Long Beach, Mississippi
before we hit the road for 9 hours to reach Orlando, Florida.

First beach shot

***

We made it to Florida and haad to stop at a Citrus Center for ‘Free Juice’.
And it wouldn’t be a road trip if I didn’t buy a pecan roll.
I was so excited to introduce one of my favorite road trip snacks to Kim and she said, ‘yeah, it’s edible..’    Hahaaa 😉

And unfortunately gas station restrooms are typically disgusting.
-the awkward moment when there is no toilet paper or paper towels-

***

Our home for five nights!
Our host family is amazing and we feel so at home and well cared for.

day no. 1

At sunrise this morning, Kim and I loaded up my car
and said goodbye to Dallas for a month.

 I met Kim through my roommates at Christ For The Nations during my first semester.There are a few occasions that I remember going to the music building with them and all of us squeezing into a very small piano room to hear a beautiful song she had just written. I remember Kim’s words really striking a chord with me and I loved the way she played so beautifully and with such ease.

All that to say, when Kim asked me if I was interested in playing cello with her at a coffee shop last year, I was giddy at the very thought.

And look! Now we’re on TOUR in support of her new album Wanderlust  … that was officially released TODAY 😀

I’m so proud of Kim. It has been encouraging to see all of her hard work and dedication toward this dream paying off.

***

-Keeping it Classy-

-Peanut Butter Jelly Time-

-Louisiana Swamp Land-

-Smokey Fields-

***

After about 9 hours of travel we pulled onto highway 90

and I was SOO excited to be greeted by the coast soon after as we arrived at our first destination, Long Beach, Mississippi.

We found our host family’s house very easily..just about a mile off the water.

They welcomed us into their beautiful home and had prepared an amazing roast beef dinner, complete with mashed potatoes, peas, fresh rolls, an amazingly colorful salad –that’s the way I like ‘em- and cherry pie. How sweet.

There’s nothing like southern hospitality.

***

They helped us unpack the car and we got settled for a bit.
They shared with us a few stories of the devastation that the hurricanes left behind. So many beautiful antebellum structured homes of rich history ..gone. just like that.
Many Casinos buildings that were on the water, thousands of square feet, were carried away, tossed on dry ground. Wow.
People no longer wanted to build homes near the beach after seeing what waves stretched 30 feet high are capable of.
The Loups were among few who living close to the coast suffered little loss from the storm.

***

Mrs. Loup showed us Lindsey’s wedding album. What really stood out to me as very special was their reception.
Mr. Loup built a temporary long table with a head table at the end making a ‘T’, that fit rather nicely in their living room.
This seated twenty five guests making it an intimate evening.
The room had such a lovely and comfortable feel, yet it was classy and with well planned decor and silver place settings.

***

-I fell in love with their home the moment I walked in the door-

-This is my room for the night-