Vacation 2044

No, that's not a reference to vacation plans in 31 years.  That is, approximately, how far we drove on our vacation.

We just got back from a quick trip to Montana.

Day 1 we visited at our favorite Way Station in Richland with Jane, Bruce, CJ and little Elaine (who discovered the joys of standing up on my knees and balancing herself).

Day 2 we trekked to our former town-of-residence and spent the night in Sheridan, MT.  We got to see some friends Saturday night; spent the night at a former parishioner's home, and attended services at Christ Church on Sunday morning.  They had pretty close to a full house, and we saw almost everyone who attended while I was serving there.  We also got to see two of our summer parishioners who come out west from Virginia every year.

We stopped in Spokane for lunch with some good friends that we've known since The Kid was born.  It was good to see them, even if for a short time.

After services and mingling at coffee hour, we drove up to Polson, MT, and spent Sunday and Monday (Days 3 and 4) nights at Camp Marshall, the Diocesan Camp.  We saw some old friends, enjoyed some excellent food, and spent time with The Kid who is working at Camp this summer.  She had Monday off, so we all got some quality time in.  And Monday night we drove down into town and had some great ice cream at The Cove.

I love Camp Marshall and the people there.  It's a special place.  HOWEVER, all of my time there was spent as the camp chaplain for a week of Family Camp.  This means that I got to sleep in clergy housing, with a real bed, my own bathroom and several other amenities.  Not so much this trip.  Not sure if I miss camp or my own room more . . .

Day 5 saw us traveling back to Richland.  We again stopped in Spokane to have lunch with another set of good friends before making our way all the way down.  We made it in time for a lovely bbq rib dinner, more time bouncing little Elaine around, and had a good night's sleep in a real bed (after two days in a cabin on a bad mattress, this was a good thing).

Day 6 was our last day on the road.  We left Richland at 9 a.m. and got home at about 5:45. 

All in all it was a good trip.  I could have wished for a few more days so that it didn't feel like I was perpetually on the road, but it was nice to see old friends and places again.

And that is how we accounted for 2044 miles.