ON AN EXPEDITION

Yesterday, Eden and I took on an expedition to check out the state park.  According to Eden, we were Dora and Boots. She was Dora and so then I had to be Boots, of course. Well, it was quite an adventure!

One thing that I am pretty bad at is directions. Right now, I don't really know if I am facing north or south! I had a pretty bad reputation with Joelle, my 12 years old...until I got my first GPS. Talk about freedom now!

So, yesterday, Eden and I were ready for this adventure. I was just happy that my phone was charged and the car had gas... Another thing that I am not good at in situations like these is to plan ahead. The day looked great, Eden was in good spirits, I did not have to be home until 4pm... what else do you need? ...well...food! How grateful that I am that my 4 year old is pretty much like me and did not realize about the lack of food until ...well...1:30 pm.

Between listening to music and talking, the time passed. But what do you do when you find out that your GPS has taking you somewhere else? We were around the area; maybe 15 miles away from where we had to be. And not only that, my great GPS lost Internet connection as soon as we got close to hills, and forests, and away from cities. We were lost. A senior couple that we found on the road tried to help me but they lost me at hello when he started to say: "from here you turn right, but not after the second light, and then there is a stop sign, turn left and continue for 3 miles, and you will find another stop light so turn then right there and keep going for 10 more miles..." and so on and so on... Those were not the right directions either!

Where do I go now? I knew, I was going to find the way eventually, even if I had to ask every person in that town! The clock was ticking and Eden was going to realize that there was no food in the car and all the little stores around this town were still closed. But, never fear when there are a couple of pieces of candy in your daughter's bag!! So, Eden was happy because she could eat candy before lunch!! From the back, Eden said "Mountaineers (Rich is from WV...so we all are mountaineers at home) never give up!! " Where did that come from?  I will never know but it made me laugh.

I turned left...somewhere and I found myself again in the main street. That was a miracle in itself. I said, Lord help me... and then I see on my left "Visitor's Center". Yes Jesus!!


We parked and walked in. We were in Warm Springs!

The lady inside was so kind... She gave us a map and made us get to our destination after crossing the whole state park. It was long but it was beautiful!

After another 12 miles of driving, we finally got to the registration office. There was a nice fire going on inside this stone building, a black mummified bear with a big open mouth that got Eden's attention from the beginning because, as she said later on, "his mouth was not straight"... am I going to have a dentist in the family, I wonder? We asked for snacks but they did not have any at that moment, only ice cream. It was in the low 40's outside and the only thing available to eat was ice cream! As you can imagine, the weather is not a concern for a 4 year old and when there is hunger it is not either for her mom.

Here are some of the pictures we took on the Dora and Boots expedition:

May the Lord keep preparing your heart to meet Him and enjoy His presence during the retreat.

Love,

Silvi (aka Boots) and Eden

Eden with her ice cream :)



Eden with her ice cream :)



From Eden's survey:

The best of the day: ice cream

The worst of all: pine cones (because they are prickly)

What made me the most tired: walking around!

The scariest: the bear. The lady ranger said that I did not have to be afraid because those bears did not live around the area....but they live in her house.

I did not like: the bear's tail and that the slide in the playground was wet.

The awesomeness: eating lunch...finally!