Vacation in Clearwater: Part III

After going to north shore to catch up with some of the staff and students of CBSP '09, we had to stop at McKay Park for a picture! It was great to see some of the staff again and meet the students as they went to the beach for their first outreach.

The weather was beautiful and the beach was crowded on Memorial Day.

The picture of Gus (the egret) was taken with my dSLR camera. The one on
the right was taken with my point and shoot at sunset. Oh, the difference.

A beautiful sunset over Sand Key Park!

Funny moments: The phrases churches put on their signs are sometimes
cheesy, but this one cracked me up! (The chuch was completely covered
in tarps by Terminix.) And to the right, cranes.

We had a great time in Clearwater! It was so relaxing and such a great break. We enjoyed visiting some of our favorite places (we ate at the Columbia twice) and finding new ones. It was great to see the students that are down there to grow and serve the Lord, and to reflect on how much we have grown and changed since we were in their shoes.

Vacation in Clearwater: Part II

It was a bit strange to be back at the Villa, mostly because so many things have changed. The new Hyatt that is nearing completion blocks the view of the beach and dwarfs the Golden Villa. Aside from the construction, things are nicer than they were four years ago. The new bridge is finished, downtown Clearwater got a face lift, and the walk along the beach is nicely landscaped.

Kyle in our rental car, a convertible bug.

The Golden Villa is now golden! Ken and Linda painted the place last fall. (It used to be a light pink, which you can see in the photo on the left below.)

Kyle and I four years ago (left). Out to eat overlooking the water (right).

Part III tomorrow.

Vacation in Clearwater: Part I

We had a great time in Florida! But for the first few days, this was all we saw:


It was such a relaxing trip! Since it was so gross outside (I haven't seen it rain that much at the Villa since the hurricane came through!), we spent most of our time inside. We played Settlers of Catan quite a few times. Kyle pretty much dominated - I only once out of some seven games. For reading, we brought Sacred Marriage, which I would recommend to anyone, and Kyle took a few of the Harry Potter books. I also spent some time reading my camera manual trying to brush up on my photography skills.




Slowly but surely, the rain slowed and the sun peaked out - just about the time we were sick of staying indoors. More pictures soon to come!

Clearwater Bound

We're on vacation! See you next week.

Four years ago

Four years ago today in Clearwater Beach, Florida, Kyle and I met. While neither of us remember that first conversation, it was on May 17th that we arrived in Clearwater along with 40 other college students. We spent 11 weeks there, on Summer Project. It was a life-changing summer, and I don't just say that because we met then. So many wonderful friendships and relationships came out of that summer, and it was an amazing time of spiritual growth and living in community. It's hard to believe it has been four years!