Home!

We left Myrtle Beach at 7:45am and arrived back in Granger at 11:00pm -- a 15 hour 15 minute drive. We only stopped three times...a total of 45 minutes of stops. Weather was great...traffic was not too bad...no problems with the van.

It's been a great two weeks with the family--we've already been talking about our 2007 excursion!

Thanks for tuning in!

Tim

The Long Trip Home

We begin at 7am on Saturday, hoping to drive it all in one day. If so, that will be about 16 hours which should put us home around 11pm.

If you think about it, pray for our safety or give me a call to see if I'm still awake.

If we get tired, we'll find a hotel and get some rest for the night.

My Blogging Workspace

This has been a great place in the condo for surfing, finding fun places to eat and play, and working on a new blog.

Yep, I've just launched a permanent blog. I've been working on it for a couple of months, but was able to finalize it this week during my downtime. I'm calling it LeadingSmart.com, and will hope to offer helpful insight for any leader anywhere. Feel free to check it out if you'd like, and be sure to "subscribe" for future updates.

Differences between Road Trip 2005 and 2006

• Last year I didn't have a teenager.
• Last year we drove 7400 miles. This year will be around 2500.
• Last year we visited 16 states. This year will be 11 states plus D.C.
• Last year we averaged $2.36 per gallon of gas. This year it's been around $2.95.
• Last year we never stayed anywhere more than 3 nights. This year we stayed at Myrtle Beach for 7 nights.
• Last year we visited lots of family and friends along the way (and got some free lodging!). This year we've been by ourselves.
• Last year the trip lasted 23-days. This year it was 15-days.
• Last year the trip cost...alot of money. This year it cost...just as much.
• Last year was a "trip," not a "vacation." This year was a little of both. The past week has been very restful.

Last year we created a lifetime of memories. This year was no different. I wouldn't trade the time for anything in the world.

A Nice Crib

A few things that have made this place we are staying one of our best vacation experiences ever:

• High speed wireless internet
• 1800 s.f. to spread out (bigger than the main floor of our house)
• 3 separate bedrooms -- two of them with king beds.
• 3 separate full bathrooms
• High Definition TV
• A closet full of games
• Beautiful kitchen with marble countertops.
• COLD air conditioning
• A 200 s.f. balcony, with 3 sliding glass doors.
• A beautiful view over Barefoot Landing.
• A huge pool.
• Only 5 minutes to the beach with easy parking.
• A trash chute (the kids think that is pretty cool)
• A large screen flat panel HD monitor to plug my laptop into.
• A huge desk for blogging.

Convinced? Want to rent it yourself? The landlords have been GREAT to work with and I would HIGHLY recommend their place. Check the schedule, prices and see pictures here.

Can you find Faith?

This is where we spend part of our day, usually in the morning. But right now, Faith is down enjoying a book by herself in the sun while I'm up in the room with the kids. Extra credit if you can find Faith.

Proof that I got in the Water

Warning: Don't enlarge this picture. The rippling muscles of the subject might cause extreme jealousy.

Isn't she the most beautiful woman you've ever laid your eyes on? Not only that, but she's the mother of my kids and the perfect wife. And, I got to go on vacation with her. I'm feeling pretty blessed.

Miniature Golf

Some highlights from our Miniature Golf outing on Tuesday morning:

• Taylor is getting much better at golfing. He even got a hole-in-one.
• We were told to golf during the day and avoid the crowds. Of course, no one told us it would feel like 110 degrees in the shade. Hmmm, maybe that's why there were no crowds.
• I also got a hole-in-one. No one cheered. Faith pretended to be excited.
• We gave out awards at the end of the game. Taylor won the official score-keeping pencil for coming in 6th place. Heather won the score card for coming in 3rd place. I won bragging rights for beating my entire family.

Fireworks

A pleasant surprise on Monday night when there was a fireworks display behind our building over Barefoot Landing. We watched from our balcony.

This Picture is a Keeper

You'll want to click on it to make it bigger.

Tools for the Trip

I remember 1976 when my family took a big trip to the west coast. No TV in the car. No seatbelts. In fact, I'm not even sure we had air conditioning.

Haven't things changed! It makes long trips tolerable for the kids, and fun for a techno-geek like me. The tools are...

• DVD Screen -- we put this in last year before our west coast trip, and it makes long portions of the trip go much quicker. The kids each have their own wireless headphones, so we can't see or hear the movie, or the kids for that matter.
• Sirius Satellite Radio -- my lovely wife got this for me for my birthday last month. I'm an information junkie, so I've loved being able to tune into talk radio and Fox News radio, as well as some favorite music channels.
• Magellan Roadmate 760 (aka "Bertha")-- this was also a gift that I received just a week before leaving on this trip. This is the unit that is closest to the Hertz NeverLost system, and in fact made by the same company. It adds several features including touch-screen, different voices, voice technology that says the name of the streets, and a very accurate points-of-interest database. I am very pleased with this unit--it makes traveling pretty fun.

This is the Life

I've got my chair, my camera, my binoculars, my cell phone, and I'm watching my family have fun. What else could a man want?

All Cracked Up

Couldn't resist taking this picture :)

A Lazy Day in the Sun

After sleeping in, I watched the internet feed of our 11:45am service back at GCC. Corey Mann did an amazing job, as did the band, musicians and actors. A great service!

We spent the day either at the pool or at the beach. There is something about sand and water that I just don't get. Kids love the combination. Faith even likes it. But it drives me nuts. I just told the kids to stay away from my sand-free blanket, and that seemed to work out okay.

It looks like it's nearly unanimous that we'll be doing alot of this sand-and-beach thing over the next few days. It's amazing to me that so much fun can be had in the ocean. I mean, there isn't a lot of variety. The waves come crashing in about every 7 to 10 seconds. That's all there is to it. And yet it keeps the kids entertained for hours.

Long Drive

We made it after a long drive (480 miles) with a ton of traffic. Took a couple hours longer than normal, but we finally got here.

We arrived at the condominium and, wow, we were amazed. This place is unbelievable. I'll post pictures later. But let's just say that we are very happy with the choice of where we'll be staying for the next week.

We went to Wal-Mart to get groceries. So did everyone else in the southeastern part of the United States. It was nuts. 45 minutes just waiting in line for a cashier.

Today I've been thinking about my friend Corey Mann. He is speaking at church this weekend. I know he'll do great. I plan to catch the service at GCCwired sometime tomorrow.

#14 of the Top 50

I know I'm on vacation, but I did take a peak at my email yesterday and learned that Granger Community Church has been named one of the 50 Most Influential Churches by Outreach Magazine. This is a list that is published and updated every year. In both 2004 and 2005, we did not make the list, but were mentioned in the article as almost making the list. What really amazed me this year was that in our first year on the list we were at #14. It makes me wonder what God is up to at GCC, and what He has in store for this year's Innovative Church Conference.

Okay, back to vacation.

Final Day in D.C.

Another full day touring Washington D.C.:

• We had an appointment for a tour of the U.S. Capitol at 9:30 this morning beginning in congressman Chris Chocola's office. One of the interns (Mike from Mishawaka) took us around on a very good tour. The kids seemed to enjoy themselves. Congress is not in session right now, so we weren't able to meet Chris or any of the other congressman.
• Then we met up with Mark Batterson at their coffeehouse, Ebenezer's. He spent about 30 minutes with us, treating us to drinks, and telling us the story of the building (a former crack house) and their work to renovate it.
• Then we walked to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. We visited the Dinosaur and Insect exhibits -- which made 2 little boys very happy.
• We walked by the Ford Theater where Lincoln was shot, and the Peterson house where he later died.
• We ended the night by going to watch Superman Returns as a family. What a great movie! We all thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought that Kevin Spacey was especially good.

Tomorrow is our big drive to Myrtle Beach when the vacation really begins...at least the restful part. I think we've walked a hundred miles this week, so we're all looking forward to laying on the beach and doing a lot of nothing.

The Federal City

A full day, filled with fun and history:

• We started the day by visiting the International Spy Museum. It just opened this year, and was pretty cool. If I didn't have a good day job, I'd be calling the CIA for an application.
• We took the subway to Arlington National Cemetery. When we got there, we hurried to watch the changing of the guard. We found out that it would be delayed, but we got to watch some type of ceremony welcoming the President of the country of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, who was visiting for the day. No, he's not from Atlanta.
• Then came the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. That was fascinating. I found the discipline and preciseness of it quite inspiring.


• We came back and ate a meal at Union Station (where National Community Church holds services), and then rested for awhile at the hotel.
• We then went for a walk around the White House. You can't get real close, but it was fun to wonder if the President was walking around in his PJ's.
• Then we walked over to the Washington Monument, through the WWII Memorial, by the Reflecting Pool, past the Vietnam Memorial, and ended at the Lincoln Memorial. While at the Lincoln Memorial, we were able to observe the location where Martin Luther King made his famous "I have a dream" speech.