07MA: Days 6-8 - Leadership Summit

Wednesday and Thursday (all day) and Saturday morning I attended Willow Creek's Leadership Summit with Bill and Terri @ Grace Chapel in Lexington (where Bill is an executive pastor -- a great story in itself). I was planning to attend @ Discovery Church in Orlando with others from Wycliffe, but when it worked out for me to visit Burkes the days before, it only made sense for me to stay and attend with them.

The Summit was, as it has been every year I've attended, a well planned and well executed event balancing inspiration with information, admonition with encouragement, reflection with celebration.

Some sessions were favorites right away -- others become favorites later, as the content seeps its way into me.

John Ortberg -- that man is not only a great communicator with a delicious sense of humor, God speaks well through him.

I'm not going to summarize all the sessions in this blog. Maybe there will be times when I'm reflecting on what I heard and I'll do that -- but not now.

Saturday we left the summit and headed directly to Logan International airport when I discovered that Delta had changed me from a "through Atlanta to Orlando" flight to a direct flight leaving 20 minutes later and arriving 2 1/2 hours earlier -- and they'd upgraded my seat to 1st class again. Nice way to end a vacation.

07MA: Day 5 - Hogwarts

On Wednesday I slept in (after staying up late reading) and then spent nearly all the day reading. Finishing #7. I started it on the plane flying up. I moved from the chair to the sofa to the wicker chair on the deck to another chair...and read. It was delicious.

07MA: "The Big Dig"

Click on the title above if you want to read about the Big Dig. I was not really familiar with the project until I arrived in the city and was riding through the under-the-water tunnel and Bill told me about it. It's a rather extraordinary thing.

I'll resist any elaborate comparisons between this project an a certain tower that was central stage in one story in Genesis that didn't turn out as the way-too-intelligent-for-their-own-good city folk thought it would.

Anyhow, the "trivia" we heard from our ConDUCKtor was confirmed on the turnpike website: The Big Dig project placed 3.8 million cubic yards of concrete, enough to build a sidewalk three feet wide and four inches thick from Boston to San Francisco and back three times.

07MA: Day 4 - Boston (Duck Tour and Quincy Market)

After catching a view of the city from the SkyWalk on the 51st floor of the Prudential Building (a story in itself with strange clouds and all) Terri and I took a Duck Tour.

The fun began as soon as we boarded our "DUCK", an authentic, renovated World War II amphibious landing vehicle. After we all got settled, they moved us to another "DUCK" and there were some misunderstandings about "keeping your old seats" and all. I was mostly amused. Terri and I were with six others on a higher platform off the back end of the "DUCK."

We were greeted, as promised, by one of their legendary tour ConDUCKtor, who narrated our tour. We cruised by all the places that make Boston the birthplace of freedom and a city of firsts, from the golden-domed State House to Bunker Hill and the TD Banknorth Garden, Boston Common and Copley Square to the Big Dig, Government Center to fashionable Newbury Street, Quincy Market to the Prudential Tower, and more. Our ConDUCKtor even took us by Old Ironsides in dock. How cool is that! And, as Boston unfolded before our eyes, your ConDUCKtor gave us lots of little known facts and interesting insights about Boston -- like my favorite Big Dig trivia.

And just when I thought we'd seen it all, there was more. It was time for "Splashdown" as our ConDUCKtor splashed your DUCK right into the Charles River for a breathtaking view of the Boston and Cambridge skylines. It was very cool.

After the tour, we walked to Quincy Market for lunch. I had a Lobster Roll and a cup of New England Clam Chowder from the Chowda Company. FANTASTIC stuff. Another "food from a place" eaten in the place and check off my list!! (Next time, Boston Creme Pie!)

We dinked around in shops and wandered down to the water. I walked barefoot in the "real" grass a while. We sat in Rose Kennedy's Rose Garden for quite a while and talked. As we headed back toward the train, we ran into this performer just finishing his act.

I even found a pair of Clark's shoes (exactly what I'd been looking for, no kidding) on sale! What a day!!

07MA: Day 3 - Boston (Museum + Theater)

Terri and I took the train into the city. I can still hear the automated announcement: "Next stop, Harvard" and "Next stop, MIT." I had the lowest IQ on the train.

We took the red line to the green line and that out to the Boston Museum of Fine Art to catch the Edward Hopper Exhibit. While we waited for our "turn" to enter this special event, we headed to the Impressionists in the European Art section. I love it.

I'm so glad we rented the headsets for the Hopper -- I know so little and don't have the patience to read all the captions I need to read to really get it all. It was all very well done and Hopper's art is quite enjoyable in many ways. I still don't get the thing with some artists for painting women doing mundane things (sitting in a chair, looking out a window, reading the paper, and such) naked. Even more odd to me is naked except for shoes or a hat. Anyhow, I'm not really looking for answers about that...just find it strangely amusing.

We grabbed a late lunch and then, inspired by the RAIN to alter our afternoon plans, we headed to the Lowes multiplex across the street from Boston Common and just down the street from Park Street Church. (I'd like to visit there next time I go to Boston.)

We saw Becoming Jane. Also very enjoyable. Sad story, really...but nicely told. I enjoyed Anne Hathaway in this role.

07MA: Day 2 - Concord

On Sunday after church at Grace Chapel of Lexington and brunch, Terri took me to Concord. We stopped at the Minute Man Visitor's Center and watched a great (yes, Meg, I said GREAT) media presentation that told the story of April 19, 1775 when lanterns were hung in a bell tower and Paul (and another guy -- did you know there was another guy) rode through the night and the "red coats" marched from Boston to Concord, through Lexington.

Of all the "historic sites" around that event that I could have chosen, I wanted to see the North Bridge at the Minute Man National Park. Remember the "shot heard round the world?"



The bridge has been rebuild a couple of times since 1775, but it's the same place and same land. Also, most of these trees were not standing in that day -- the land had been cleared and there was a fairly good view from the hill just behind this into the town (not at all visible now).

Right next to this site is the Old Manse built c. 1770 by Ralph Waldo Emerson's grandfather who was a minister living in the house April 19, 1775 and, it is said, watched history unfold out his study windows.

Both Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote here. So, the trees are new since then and the grass is new since then, but there was this HUGE rock in the back yard of the Manse and it had to have been there when Ralph and Nathaniel were here writing.

It is impossible to think that they did not sit on this rock and look out at the river. So, THAT is where I needed to sit.

And then stand. The Manse is behind me -- I'm facing the river.

We also went to the Concord Museum.

Besides having a great collection of period furniture and clocks from various periods of Concord's rich history, they had a great collection of both Emerson and Thoreau "stuff." I loved seeing some of the things from the small house (cabin) Thoreau built and lived in at Walden Pond, for instance.

07MA: Day 1 - Lake Winnipesaukee

After my plane landed (thanks to Medallion status with Delta I enjoyed a first class seat on my non-stop to Logan International Airport which is one of my new favorite places to land -- beautiful view), Bill and Terri took me to their home in Lexington where we had a quick lunch before heading to New Hampshire. (BONUS...one more state added to my "been there" list!!)

We got to their boat and did all the things you have to do to prepare a boat to launch (I watched) and headed out onto Lake Winnipewsaukee. GORGEOUS! Weather was perfect. They said it was a little choppy, but I loved it.

We motored up to the town of Meridith where we docked and eventually disembarked for supper, a stroll around the town, and an ice cream cone before re-boarding and heading back to the dock where they keep the boat.

By the time we were loading into the car for the drive home, it was dark. Ahhhhhhh!



Bill is a very good captain, if you wondered. And no, we did not see the President of France -- though he was on this same lake at this time.

The water.
The mountains.
The sky.
Perfect way to start a vacation.

[Yes, I am posting these according to the dates they happened and not the dates when I'm finally blogging. It makes more sense to me this way.]