Deep Spiritual Lessons from Camp

Adam got back from B.A.S.I.C. camp today and shared with us a video that demonstrated how serious he was at camp.

Matt, Kim and Brady Hudson were the leaders that took our youth this year. It is always a very special time to spend time with brothers and sisters in Christ.

Winding down after a week of work and study is normal.

Becca at Horse Camp

Becca was as Horse Camp all week. This was the only week of the summer where she was early to bed, early to rise.

While many of the other girls at camp had dreams of being equestrians, Becca just loved to spend time with her horse named Worthy. The equestrians brought crops to help develop their riding skills. Becca told us she didn't want one because she didn't like the idea of hitting a horse.

Jackie was there on the final day which included a party and activities like a slippy slide to cool off after the hot day. She looked around for Becca at the party and couldn't find her.

You might guess that she was found spending some more time with Worthy...

Becca reminds me of Mary not Martha in general ( an odd thing for an Eby ). Jackie's story about Worthy reinforces that.

I'm also reminded of the time that Jesus was "missing" and Joseph and Mary couldn't find him while they were traveling. They had to go back to the synagogue and drag him away from being about His Father's business. I imagine that Jesus was about Becca's age at that time.

Jesus grew in wisdom, in stature, and in favor of the eyes of God and the eyes of men. So is Becca.

21st Wedding Anniversary

Twenty one years ago, Jackie and I were married. We celebrated this anniversary at Jonathan's at Gratz Park.

My brother, Keith, (upper right in this picture) selected the restaurant remotely from Washington, DC and paid for it as a Christmas present.

( Thank you, Keith, you really went beyond your responsibilities as the best man in our wedding )

While we were dining there in a quiet room over the best food in Lexington, I asked Jackie which of the 21 years was her favorite. Before I asked the question, I had already anticipated her answer and knew what my response was going to be.

Her answer, "My least favorite year was last year (2006)". ( and we both knew why )
I responded, "My favorite year is next year". ( because neither of us know why )

Everyone under the age of 25 in this wedding picture will have graduated from a university in the state of Indiana by this time next year when the little boy looking at his mother graduates from Purdue University.

Dustin, lower left, is about to become a father. It is only by the grace of God that his mother is able to participate in this joyous event of becoming a grandmother. Cheryl's health roller coaster and Heidi's marriage framed 2004 as the most difficult year that our family has faced.

The First Kentucky Fried Chicken Restaurant

We have lived in Kentucky for 18 years and almost every where I go on the globe, when people hear where I live, it is common for them to ask me about Colonel Sanders and KFC.

The Bluegrass state of Kentucky is famous for horse racing, horse breeding, bluegrass music, coal mines, Mammoth Cave, Fort Knox and tobacco among other things, but Kentucky Fried Chicken gets global attention...

So on our trip home from Florida, we stopped at Harland Sanders Cafe & Museum to be able to say that we did. I must admit it was interesting.

The thing that stood out the most to me was the hand written poster that I believe captured the reason that Harland was successful in his business of serving customers.

The contrarian servant's heart skipped a beat when I paused to read it. I couldn't help but think that many small businesses, churches, organizations and corporations have chased fame, numbers, market share or other definitions of success until the easy way was buried in sand.

Here is the text from that poster:

The HARD Way

It is comparatively easy to prosper by trickery, the violation of confidence, oppression of the weak, sharp practices, cutting corners - all of those methods that we are so prone to palliate and condone as "business shrewdness."

It is difficult to prosper by the keeping of promises, the deliverance of value in goods, in services and in deeds -- and in the meeting of so-called "shrewdness" with sound merit and good ethics.

The easy way is efficacious and speedy - the hard way arduous and long. But, as the clock ticks, the easy way becomes harder and the hard way becomes easier. And as the calendar records the years, it becomes increasingly evident that the easy way rests hazardously upon shifting sands, whereas the hard way builds solidly a foundation of confidence that cannot be swept away.

Thus we builded. *

SANDERS COURTS AND CAFES

Asheville, NC
6 miles out on Knoxville Road

Corbin, KY
Junction US 25 - 25E-25W

* DICTIONARY:
Present participle and verbal noun.
To fashion or frame according to a systematic plan or by a definite process; to create; to BUILD a reputation.

Last night on the beach

After dinner at Gasparilla's Grill with the whole family, Jackie and I dropped off the kids at the condo and headed to Sanibel Marina for Key Lime Pie at Gramma Dot's restaurant.

The Key Lime Pie was fabulous and the story behind the marina and Gramma Dot's life brought a personal side to the vacation that allowed Jackie to enjoy it even more. ( She really likes to read the history of every restaurant )

Gramma Dot loved the arts, loved education, loved people and loved the sea. She also loved Sanibel and inspired her children and grandchildren to build a Marina and restaurant in her name.

Florida Coast Comparisons

Left Side: Daytona Beach, Florida Atlantic Coast, Summer 2002, Mom taller than Carmen, Adam short hair, Becca and Mom wearing glasses

Right Side: Sanibel Island, Florida Gulf Coast, Summer 2007, Carmen taller than Mom, Adam long hair, Becca and Mom no longer need glasses.

Somehow, I doubt that I will be able to get the family to pose for this picture in another five years.

Last full day at Sanibel

We had some sun this morning. Jackie went for a walk on the beach while I stayed behind to play cards with Becca and do some reports for work.

After things warmed up a bit, and Becca beat me, we all went outside to enjoy the sun.

I made a sand wall for the picture with a little shovel that was more like a scraper than a shovel. The kids loved taking this picture. I'm so glad they were cooperative. ( NOT )

On the way back to the room, I snapped a shot of the Iguana that hangs out in the pond that surrounds the pool.

I looked for the tortoise but couldn't find him this morning.

Island Cow

We spend the afternoon relaxing and recreating by the beach. We all played volleyball. The girls beat the boys. Adam and I tried his new skim board. I was much more entertaining to watch than Adam because of the way my legs flew into the air after loosing my balance which sends me into a half cartwheel / half dive roll ending in a skidding side roll.

I also walked the beach about a mile to see if there were any better condos if we ever decide to come back. I liked the Casa Ybel and talked to a lady that had been there twenty years in a row. The buildings looked newer, the back porches faced the ocean and the shore had more shells than ours ( if that is possible )

Later, we headed to the Island Cow for dinner. We had a great waiter (Marvin) and had no trouble ordering tonight.

Lighthouse Cafe

This morning we had "the world's best breakfast" at the Lighthouse Cafe.

After breakfast, we drove out to the lighthouse to see where people would be gathering for the Fourth of July fireworks. There were people there at 11:00 setting up picnics for the afternoon and evening already.

While driving to the lighthouse and stopping at shops on the way back to the condo, the kids played video games. This is what they did on just about every 10 minute drive that we took on the island.

They missed a lot of island sites with their noses glued to the small video game screen.

Cheeburger Cheeburger

I don't know if we have struggled more as a family to order at a restaurant than we did tonight at Cheeburger Cheeburger. Adam was so focused on the wall of photos of people that had consumed a 20 oz cheeburger, that he didn't see the flavors of shake on the menu or the wall or hear the waitress announce that "Raspberry Pie" Shake was the shake of the day.

When the waitress asked us what we wanted to drink, we couldn't respond because we were still trying to figure out which of the whole page of toppings we should put on our Cheeburgers. Adam was so overwhelmed that he order a Dr. Pepper Float instead of a shake.

Becca decided to forego the whole Cheeburger thing, but Carmen decided to go for the Cheeburger with no cheese at no extra charge for removing the cheeze.

Dolphins on the beach

Adam had just headed into the condo because "there is nothing to do here", when Jackie called us out to see the dolphins. Everyone on the beach was at the shoreline and some even thought they could slowly drift out toward the dolphins.

Some people were cheering and clapping when the dolphins would jump into the air like we were at Seaworld.

Four mile hike in the morning

Jackie and I went on a four mile hike this morning. The guy at the visitor center on Monday recommended that we take this walk and do the longer drive through tour during low tide because the birds and the alligators would more likely be out.

I'm sure that we both got a lot of exercise, but I don't know how successful we were at timing the birds and alligators. We only saw one alligator on the walk, they promise more on the driving tour which will have to be a different low tide.

We are confused as to how the fresh water refuge water levels relate to the salt water ocean tides... but we will figure that out before we leave.

On the hike, we learned about the "allegorical" mangrove tree. I call this allegorical because it is not "literally" rooted. The roots grow down from the branches and "hope" to find water.

Sometimes they do, like the ones on the right that are growing above the water.

Sometimes they don't, like the ones on the left that growing over the path.

There is a red mangrove and a white mangrove. I assume that is like a red oak and a white oak.

I also learned that I am more like a Gecko on Maui, and Jackie is more like the variety of elusive lizards on Sanibel. Geckos are slow and Floridian lizards scurry about quickly.

Jackie is scurrying (jogging) ahead of me in the picture on the right, while I poke along in my sandals looking for alligators and taking pictures of stuff.

Although it seems that she never stops, I do appreciate being pressured to exercise.

Mucky Duck

We enjoyed dinner at the Mucky Duck on Captiva Island.


This place is known for the great sunsets, but there were clouds that muted it while we were there. We waited on the beach for 90 minutes for a table and we loved the food.

Carmen had been complaining that she didn't want to go to the Hunky Monkey or the Monkey Duck or whatever. By the end of the evening, she could remember the name and I think she would go back.

Kayaking and Shell Hunting

We all slept in until 10:00 today after playing cards last night. We finished the Phase 10 game by noon and we scraped some lunch together before going to the JN Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge for a afternoon of kayaking.

After much debate, we ended up with Adam by himself, Carmen and Jackie in another kayak and Becca and I in the third. We raced through the Commodore Creek Canoe Trail. There were 17 stages and we attempted to keep track of the number of stage wins and the winner of the final stage similar to the Tour de France. ( Adam won )

We grabbed a drink and rested briefly at the condo before the kids headed out to the beach. When I got out there later, I found Becca hunting for sea shells. In fact, she had found a new use for Paul and Tracy's Boogie Boards.

Jackie had been floating out on the ocean while Becca, Adam and I collected shells. On my way back from shell hunting, I found her lounging on Carmen's chair. She was using one of the Boogie Boards to keep her sunglasses out of the sand.

On the trip down, the kids figured out a way to wedge the Boogie Board between the seats in order to play cards. They are very versatile.

Sunday night at Sanibel

For dinner our first night, we chose Matzaluna's. Everyone was hungry for pizza and the oak fueled oven that they used did not disappoint us.
The pizza was slightly burnt around the edges because that is the signal that the pizza is crispy enough to eat.

They also had great Bruschetta appetizer. The kids didn't want to try it, so I got extra portions.

After dinner, we went back out on the beach for the sunset. I suspect that we will see many of those here.

Moving into Sanibel Island

The picture above is from the pool out our back porch at Pointe Santo de Sanibel.

We barely got to sit down after we fixed lunch in the condo. Jackie had already changed into her swimsuit and was guilting us to the beach.

We brought a Frisbee along and thought we would play ultimate on the beach, but it was too crowded. Instead, we just tossed the Frisbee in the surf. Adam and I are both pretty white so we didn't stay out very long.

Paul and Tracy Barth loaned us a couple of boogie boards and we use them mainly as flotation devices to lounge in the water. No waves on the Gulf Coast today.

Carmen spent a little time in the ocean, but was most concerned about keeping sand off of her so that she would have an even tan.

Long Trip to Tampa

After finishing up a few things around the house, we got started on our vacation at 10:20 this morning. Our goal was to get over halfway to Sanibel Island, but due to the unavailability of rooms in Lake City and Ocala, we far exceeded our goal. We decided to get a reservation down the road a bit in Tampa, which represented 80% of our journey.

The most exciting stop on the trip was Bradley's Pit Bar B Que in Sweetwater, TN.

The food was good but the entertainment was even better. On our way into the restaurant, this painted concrete pig jumped out at Carmen and scared her. Carmen lept behind her mother for protection.