“…From Cows to Condos…”

Since returning from vacation, it has been back to the old drawing board. On Sunday, August 14, as usual, I celebrated two masses in the morning. It was wonderful to see and be with our parish family again. In spite of the fun we had on our vacation, it was a joy to see them because we missed them. But the week was going to be a very busy one with the Leadership Workshop coming up on the weekend (August 19 & 20).

Trip Home to South Florida

At 5:30 a.m., on Thursday, August 11, Judith, our children, my brother, Ian, and I began the 1500 mile trip from Toronto to South Florida. We avoided the Toronto and the Buffalo, New York, morning rush hour traffic by leaving early. It meant getting up early but it was a good move. On the way, we made stops every 3 hours for a short break. My brother, Ian, could not wait for the break times to occur. I guess it was a tight squeeze for him since he was sitting in the back seat next to our children.

Packing and Dining

Judith and I always planned before we left for vacation to spend the penultimate day of our vacation in Canada packing and not venturing out. We did that somewhat… until the evening. We awoke late in the morning, knowing that we were going to rise early the next morning for our trip. My brother, Ian, returned from Montreal in the afternoon and my cousin met him at the bus terminal. The next day, Ian was about to make the longest road trip in his life thus far.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Tuesday morning, August 9, began with heavy rain. Originally we had planned to visit a friend, Janet, in Hamilton, Ontario, but that visit did not materialize. We particularly wanted to visit her since the passing of her husband, and my long-time friend, Father Charles. Then we thought of taking the children to Center Island, an amusement park we had taken the children for the past two years. But the heavy rain prevented that from happening. I guess the Almighty knew that I needed the time to relax and to get ready for the Task Force Meeting which I ended up spending the day doing. I wanted to have the Order of Service for Worship finalized and therefore, I did that among other things.

…more of “O Canada!”

On Monday, August 8, the children awoke with excitement because it was a big day for the family since we were going to visit the Canadian National Tower, more familiarly known as the CN Tower, in downtown Toronto. It was the fulfilment of a promise made to Tadhg since last year. He had waited patiently for that, and those who know Tadhg know that patience is not one of his virtues. Aleksi was also thrilled as well since Tadhg had previously enlightened her as to the kind of place the CN Tower was.

“O Canada!”

Having driven for about 13 hours and nearly 800 miles, the family decided to spend Thursday, August 4 at home with our cousins. My cousin, Eddie, is retired, and his wife, Lee, who I refer to also as my cousin, is recuperating after surgery. My brother, Ian, was also at our cousins’ home when we arrived in Toronto, the previous night. He had spent a week with us in Florida before flying to Connecticut to visit a former youth group friend and then on to Toronto, Canada.

As expected, we awoke rather late in the morning. We spent the day enjoying the wonderful Toronto summer weather (the temperature was in the 70sF), sitting on the patio while the children played on the lawn, and catching up on a number of topics. Judith, Ian, and I also played some games with the children. These included: “Red Light, Green Light, One, Two, Three,” but our son, Tadhg, created a variation to the game, calling it “Sly Fox.” What a sly guy (smile)! We also played several rounds of “Scavenger Hunt.” We were amazed at how well the children, particularly Aleksi, played the game of “Scavenger Hunt.”

All in all, it was a wonderful, relaxing and fun day. It was delightful to spend a day where I did absolutely nothing. Those kind of days do not occur too regularly for me.

On Friday morning, August 5,  Ian left for Montreal, Canada, to visit friends and to join our youngest brother, Hugh, who was visiting from Barbados. We were sorry that he had to leave. However, later in the morning, the men of the house (my cousin, Eddie, and me) went to do some shopping. It was great seeing some of the old familiar places. We love the Toronto area but not the cold weather in the winter. If Illinois’ weather is colder, Toronto is colder. Nevertheless, it is the perfect place to be in the summer. Hence, why we go to Toronto at this time of the year.

In the evening, we visited the home of our friends, Michael and Erna, on the west end of Toronto. We like to see them when we are in Canada. We met over 15 years ago when I was invited to preached at their church, St. David’s Church. It was an interesting and enlightening encounter. While speaking with them on their way out and learning they were originally from Barbados, I soon discovered that she and my mother walked to school together in Barbados. From that time, we became close friends. They prepared us some wonderful “Bajan” delicacies. After spending a great Friday evening, we arrived back at our cousins’ home after midnight.

Saturday, August 6, the children and I decided to go for a walk in our cousins’ neighborhood. Judith remained at home. We left home at 9:00 a.m. and it was interesting to see the stamina of the children as we walked about 2 miles. We enjoyed ourselves – greeting people along the way, my children asking me “20 questions” as they see various things they were unsure about or did not know, and observing different styles of houses. But it was a great Dad – children time together. Next, it was off to visit a religious store which I visit every time we are in the Toronto area. While in the evening, we had dinner at our favorite chinese restaurant, Mandarin, with our friends, Violet, Vida and Stan. It is a standing annual arrangement for my family and these three friends to dine at this restaurant.

Afterwards, we spent the evening at their home. After a long day, it was time to return to our cousins’ home.

On this day, I also don the vacation clothes for the clerical, at least for a few minutes, and administered holy communion to a few persons and anointed those who were ill. It was a wonderful and spirit-filled Liturgy.

Although, we are on vacation, we always try to attend the Eucharist on Sundays. This year, we attended The Church of the Epiphany on Sunday, August 7, at the 10:00 a.m. It is the church home of Violet and Vida. We previously visited this church, attending the Eucharist back in the late 1990s. At that time, I preached. Father Brian, the Interim Priest, gave a children’s sermon with Tadhg and Aleksi sitting on the chancel step with a couple of children. He also preached about the story of Joseph, the man with the coat of many colors, whose brothers disliked him and wanted to kill him.  We were warmly welcomed during the reading of the Notices and Announcements, by the People’s (Junior) Warden, and received an invitation to preach the next time we are in Canada. After the service, we attended the Coffee Hour where we met and spoke with a number of people, before going home.

In the evening we attended a party for Lee’s granddaughter, Amaya, who celebrated her 1st birthday. It was a fun time for our children since they were other children with whom to play. The party was held on the 16th floor of an apartment building in downtown Toronto. The “older” or “old” people, like myself, sat around and chatted with each other while the children had a blast!

Off to Canada!

It is Wednesday, August 3, we awoke earlier than usual for our trip to Toronto, Canada. The drive took 13 hours and 15 minutes including stops for lunch, gas, and restroom breaks, rain, hilly terrain, winding roads, and road construction. We traveled through the states of North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and then into Ontario, Canada. On our journey, we played games in the car like, “I spy with my little eye…” When it got to my turn I said, “I spy with my BIG eye…” and we all laughed.

Beautiful Asheville!

On Monday, August 1, we spent most of the day at home just relaxing, and enjoying the mountainous area of Asheville. During the day, the children played with the dogs, ‘Kera’ and ‘Lila,’ and games with their Mom and Auntie Elisabeth while the men engaged in conversation on various topics. Later in the evening, Judith and I went for a walk with our children to admire the natural beauty of the area. Asheville is definitely a gorgeous area and one of the best places to visit in the summer. In the evening, Father John, Elisabeth and our family went to dinner at an Indian restaurant – “India Garden” – which specializes in genuine Indian cuisine. The food was absolutely delicious. There was even roti (for all those roti lovers like me).

From Church to Fuddrucker’s to Piazza

Today, Sunday, July 31, we attended the 11:00 a.m. Eucharist with Father John and Elisabeth at their church home, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Asheville, NC. It is an Anglo-Catholic parish with smells and bells. The rector was on vacation and according to the deacon, he was somewhere with “his toes in the sand.” I thought to myself that I left the sea and sand of Florida to be in the hills and mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. How ironic!

Next, it was off to a restaurant called “Fuddrucker’s” for brunch (more calories). It was situated a short distance from the church. We returned home after which I had a nap. Then it was time for dinner at “Piazza” – a restaurant that specializes in pizzas but had a varied menu of other dinner selections. We spent the evening having a glass of wine and reminiscing about our time in the Diocese of Springfield and talking about other matters.

From SC to NC

On Saturday morning (July 30), we decided to take it easy and to prepare to leave for North Carolina. We packed and then went to Fort Jackson Army Post with Jacqueline so that Tadhg and I could get hair cuts. The base was just about three miles from where we were staying. The barber shop was filled with people and there were about 10 barbers. But it was amazing to see how quickly these barbers can execute a hair cut. We were out of there in less than 30 minutes and I can assure you there were at least 20 people ahead of us excluding those who were sitting in the barber’s chairs at the time. It was unbelievable!