49 by 29: July 19 - Up with the sun for a day full of fun

 Hazelnut blend from Wawa, enjoyed on beach at Wildwood, NJ.

Diner Coffee, Wildwood, NJ.

Coffee:

-Hazelnut blend from Wawa in Wildwood, NJ. Enjoyed on the beach at sunrise. I love that Wawa, coffee, beach, and sunrise were just mentioned in one thought. You KNOW the day is going to be good when it starts with that combo!

-Thick house blend in a classic diner mug at the Star Diner Cafe. Perhaps not the best coffee in the world, but good in principle since it was enjoyed with a good friend over a diner breakfast in New Jersey.

From the journal:

Jer and I woke up early (before 5 a.m.) to watch the sunrise over the beach at Wildwood. I was busy taking photos until the batteries in my camera died. Since the van was locked with my key inside it and Jeremy was a ways down the beach, I actually had to sit still and talk to God.

Let's just say I'm glad the batteries died. I am so easily distracted sometimes.

While watching the sunrise and thinking about God's grace and God's judgement (see my previous post struggling with these issues here), I realized that I would not want to worship an incomplete God. I may not like the idea of God as Judge, but I also do not want to pick and choose parts of God to love. I do not want to serve a God of my making. I don't see any good in that.

***

After the sunrise and a hearty diner breakfast at the Star Diner, we drove around Wildwood a bit then headed to Cape May on the New Jersey mainland. There we gathered polished stones on the beach, visited the lighthouse, and saw what time can do to places in our childhood memories when we saw that an old "fortress" from Jer's youth that used to be nearly submerged in the ocean is now in the middle of a sandy beach.

We went to the Cape May Zoo, which is FREE and quite remarkable. I love zoos. We then cruised around Rowan University, where Jeremy went to college, and checked out a few more places he's lived. Wow. He's moved a lot...no wonder life on the road, staying in new places every few days, comes so naturally to him.

After visiting the college, we met Jeremy's parents, Jon and Marian, at a gas station near Rowan. They were on their way back to Wildwood after spending some time in Colorado. It was nice to chat with them for a bit. They were genuinely sweet, wonderful folk. Thanks, Jon and Marian, for taking the time to stop and chat!

We returned to Delaware for a nice family dinner and hang-out time. I cannot believe that tomorrow is the last day on this particular journey with Jer.

But I know there will always be another adventure... 

Sunrise over the beach at Wildwood, NJ.

Boy fishing at Cape May, NJ.

Cool fence in rocks at Cape May, NJ.

This "hand" drier in a tourist shop at Cape May, NJ, was hung at waist height. But, according to the photo instructions for use, it is meant only for your head. Push button. Bend over. Emerge looking like Justin Bieber.

A FREE zoo!

I wish I could stand in my cereal bowl.

Giraffes are so cool.

49 by 29: July 18 - The day I rode a roller coaster and conquered one of my greatest fears

I did not take this picture. This was the second of two days I forgot to take my daily coffee photo. Silly me.

Coffee:

Percolated. Black. So quaint. And so good.

From the journal:

Off to Wildwood, New Jersey!

Jer and I had a nice drive through fields, and horse pastures, and forests. I don't really know why New Jersey gets such a bad rap...I thought it was quite lovely.

We spent several hours on the beach in North Wildwood, Jeremy's hometown. It was fun to see the places of his childhood. As a girl who grew up in the mountains of Wyoming and went to beaches only on extravagant vacations, I can hardly fathom the sand and ocean being a daily experience. Then again, others can probably hardly fathom watching the sun set behind craggy peaks each evening.

I read a book on the beach. I walked barefoot in the sand and collected sea shells. I dipped my toes in the water. I danced. I prayed. I laughed. I listened to the sound of the waves crashing in and rolling out, crashing in and rolling out. I felt so grateful for this thing called life.

After the beach, we went down to the Wildwood boardwalk, a lively locale with restaurants, tourist shops, and an amusement park complete with roller coasters and a Ferris wheel. We got pizza at Angelo's and listened to part of the nightly service at the Boardwalk Chapel, the ministry Jeremy's dad has directed for years. All in all, the Boardwalk Chapel has ministered on the shores of the Atlantic for more than 65 years, presenting the love of Christ to hundreds of thousands of tourists and training young people how to serve God through skits, songs, preaching, and evangelism. Check out the website here.

Jeremy also accomplished the near impossible: he got me to ride a roller coaster. After fainting on the log ride in the Mall of America 17 years ago, I swore off any ride that dropped, swooped, or loop-the-looped. Over the years, many friends have tried and failed to drag me onto said rides. I've either flat-out refused or gotten in line and chickened out at the last minute every time.

But Jer made it happen. He pulled the old, "Look over there!" trick, bought two tickets, and had me up the stairs and boarding the wooden Great White before I could pull any disappearing acts. I didn't faint! And I even laughed. Kudos to Jeremy! Hats off! I'm walking a little taller now.

 Beach at Wildwood, New Jersey.

 Walking along the water's edge.

My shadow joined me as I sauntered along the shore.

Boardwalk Chapel, a ministry of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church of New Jersey.

A band of bagpipers stopped on their march down the boardwalk to play "Amazing Grace" in front of the Boardwalk Chapel.

 Us...with the roller coaster we just rode.

The Great White looms large over the coast of Wildwood, New Jersey.

We just rode a roller coaster, and you're still alive!

49 by 29: July 17 - Deep thoughts in Deleware

I did not take this photo. It was one of two days I totally forgot to take my daily coffee shot.

Coffee:

Keurig single brew house blend. I always love a good cup of Keurig. It just feels so personal, you know. I can have hazelnut, or vanilla bean, or French roast...or Earl Grey tea, if I really want. It's like having my own personal barista. 

From the journal:

We went to church with Joel, Jolene, Jared and Jessica, and I really enjoyed attending our first church service of the trip. For as much as I can rag on the state of the modern American church, I do miss it when I don't go. I see the value in gathering with other believers.

It was a big church, but folks seemed friendly. The sermon was on Judges chapter 5, also known as Deborah's victory song. It's a pretty brutal chapter celebrating men and women who destroy God's enemies (one woman drives a tent stake through a guy's head). Anyway, as I read before and after the chapter, I was reminded of how violent some parts of the Old Testament can be. This brought up for me the ongoing struggle I have trying to reconcile the God of the Old Testament--a seemingly harsh, judgemental God--with the loving and compassionate God portrayed by Christ in the New Testament.

I struggle to understand how such wrath and such mercy can co-exist in one God. And I fear that my worship of God is not complete because I don't honestly want to worship and revere God's judgement. I don't wish to draw near to an angry God.

But we are told to worship in spirit and in truth, to worship with all our being, head and heart, without reserve. We are to hold nothing back when we worship. And so, I will struggle to do so, remembering Jeremy's belief that everything in the Bible points to Christ. The harsh punishment we find in the Old Testament is what we all deserve for our sins, and it is the suffering that Jesus bore when he died and rose again to spare us our death.

After church, Joel and Jolene's friends came over for lunch. We enjoyed food and ping-pong and good-natured hanging out.

In the evening, Jer and I went to Philly to play ultimate Frisbee with folks from his old church. I played for about two minutes but had trouble figuring out who in the world was actually on my team and quickly realized I was way out of my league. I've played ultimate maybe twice in my life, and these guys were good. So, I bowed out and enjoyed watching a lively game in the cool night air. I never mind a good excuse to have fun snapping photos...  

49 by 29: July 16 - Air club...small-scale RC style

Coffee:

Percolated with milk at Jolene and Joel's house (Jeremy's sister and brother-in-law). AND...accompanied by homemade pancakes! YES! Thanks, Joel, Jolene, Jared, and Jessica, for your wonderful hospitality!

From the journal:

It was a down home, laid back Saturday. Jeremy and I joined Joel and the kids (Jared and Jessica) at a Delaware RC Club air show and spent the afternoon watching remote control airplanes take to the airwaves. It was a kick to watch these miniature replicas of our flying machines do barrel rolls and hammerheads. At one point, they had 23 World War I planes in the air! And at another point, an American plane and Japanese plane were re-enacting World War II...zooming and dive bombing all over the place. There were bi-wings and tri-wings and jets...all with miniature pilots wearing bomber jackets and aviator goggles and the like. I was truly impressed with the skill of the remote control pilots, too. Fun times!

Jer and I then went to Philadelphia to hang out with Christie, who was visiting from DC, and Jer's friends Dave and John...and some others, too. We sloshed beers (half liter of German Hefeweizen for me) at a German beer hall and enjoyed some lively conversation with friends old and new. I took no photos that evening, so the link is to Jeremy's photo of the beer hall.

 All those little black dots are RC planes during the exhibit of 23 WWI replicas.

49 by 29: July 15 - D.C. in a Day

 House blend, Peregrine Espresso, Washington DC.

Cafe latte, Newseum, Washington DC.

Coffee:

-House blend from Peregrine Espresso in Washington, DC. This was a nice little shop near the Eastern Market. We got our coffee to go, but it seemed like a shop I could have lingered in for a while. I would have read the Washington Post, I think.

-Cafe Latte from the cafe in the Newseum. I again got this cup of coffee to go. There's just too much to see in DC!

From the journal:

DC in a day! Go!

Jer and I rode the metro into the heart of DC. We got off at the Eastern Market and got some coffee...and head cheese. Yeah, cow brains. Brain food. Food for thought. It really wasn't bad. I mean, it won't become a regular part of my diet, but I'm glad we tried it.

After our little snack, we set off to pack as much DC into our day as possible.

First stop: Library of Congress. Wow! Such a beautiful place...and all of it dedicated to books. It was cool to see the Gutenberg Bible and Thomas Jefferson's library, which is the seed of the entire Library of Congress.

Next we went to the Capitol. And though I'm sure there were big important things going on, the thing that amazed us most was how invisible we felt. No one seemed to even see us or care where we wandered. We shuffled along with a group of people who were all wearing "Escorted" tags and ended up in some secure area. We thought about seeing how long we could be unofficial members of this officially escorted group but decided to head on our way. At some point, someone would notice us and would probably care very much where we were wandering.

 Each day, the Newseum displays one newspaper from each state. That means my name has been in this very display case when I had a story on the front page of the Casper Star-Tribune.

 The Newseum had an entire floor dedicated to news coverage of Hurricane Katrina. It was informative to see an explanation of these sobering marks I saw on houses when I was in New Orleans just a week before.

 This is a map of freedom of press around the world. Green is good. Red is not good. Any journalist in a "red" country gets my utmost respect.

 Display of front pages from around the nation after the attacks of September 11.

 This handwritten newspaper was published in Japan after the tsunami. The news must go on.

After the Capitol, Jeremy went to the sculpture garden while I spent a few hours in the Newseum. Yes, that's right, the Newseum. It's a six-floored museum dedicated to everything newsy. I truly enjoyed it...and I'm not a huge museum person. My favorite exhibit featured every photograph that has ever won a Pulitzer Prize. Some of the images were so powerful they brought tears to my eyes. I also enjoyed the exhibit dedicated to the dangers of reporting news around the world. We are truly lucky to have freedom of the press in this country! Overall, the museum got me all fired up to be a journalist again. I miss it. I want to report the truth. I want to tell people's stories.

 One of Jer's famous upside down shots.

 Vietnam Veteran's Memorial.

 World War II memorial.

 Thank you to all who have served and are now serving.

After the Newseum, Jer and I marveled at the Washington Monument, pondered the World War II memorial, reflected on the sacrifice of soldiers at the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, and gazed up at the much-larger-than-life Lincoln Memorial.

All in all, we probably walked about 10 miles. Sometimes I felt patriotic. Sometimes I wished I knew more about history. Often I wished I was more passionate about politics. Perhaps that is something I can work on.

Jazz in the Gardens. The entire sculpture garden was packed with DC-ers turned sardines.

Before leaving town, we met up with our host, Kim, and her boyfriend at Jazz in the Gardens. I have never seen so many people jammed into a park. Wherever there was ground, there were people sitting on blankets...all dressed up and drinking gobs of sangria. You could hardly hear the jazz. So weird.

We drove to Jeremy's sister's house in Delaware late at night. Jer is now "home."