The rest of the trip · 5 July 2008 by Heather Voss Barta
The thing that I forgot before: 3 more states to go! We went through Rhode Island on this trip (and even stopped for lunch – which means that it counts as a state as Dave counts his states), and that was one of the states that I haven’t been to yet! Of the 50, I have left to visit: Delware, South Carolina, and Hawaii. Not doing too badly.
Today was a trip into the city for a walk around Battery Park, Trinity Episcopal Church, and lunch (after dodging through the rain).
Now we’re back for Amy’s high school graduation party. Which I should probably head down to…
Tomorrow morning (early) we leave for home! 12 hours straight back. Go us!
New York and Avenue Q · 4 July 2008 by Heather Voss Barta
Henry and I spent most of Thursday driving and finding family. Good thing that it’s vacation – everything moves more slowly and without a plan. We went into NYC to see Avenue Q. Very funny show. Henry even found some songs that he’d heard before. Great show – amazing acting with the puppets. Worth the trip and worth seeing.
The best part: the “Bad Idea Bears” – they are going to be a staple in our household now… There are all these ideas that occur to Henry and I’ve now started to refer to them being inspired by the Bad Idea Bears. In the show, they tempted the characters to drink and hook up with each other. For Henry, they usually involve some wacky idea like licking my face. Definitely from the Bad Idea Bears….
Walking around Boston · 2 July 2008 by Heather Voss Barta
Henry and I finally got up on Tuesday and headed in to Boston. We got off at the Park Street T stop and looked inside St. Paul’s Cathedral and then started the Freedom Trail. There were plenty of tours around so we were able to eavesdrop and learn some new information. There are 25,000 bodies in the same cemetery and Paul Revere – many of them children, and most of them buried vertically. And burying at the beginning was only about 3-inches under – none of this 6-feet thing!
We stopped for lunch at Limoncello – which was FABULOUS! (Thanks to Aunt Barb and Uncle John!)
We continued our walk around the Trail and stopped at the Bunker Hill Monument – and walked up (and down) all 294 stairs… I’m a bit sore today!
Then on to the Museum of Science to the The Alps on the Omni screen. Great movie! And encouraged me to not start mountain climbing any time soon!
Then on to dinner with Henry’s cousin at Cleary’s and dessert at Café Vittoria.
Then a train ride back to Braintree.
Then, lots and lots of sleep.
Wednesday was a drive down to Plymouth to see the Mayflower II and Plymouth rock (CALL groups moved rocks bigger than this during their trainings most summers). A fabulous lunch at Arthur and Pat’s – lobster roll and lobster and corn chowder. Pan seared sea scallops for Henry and Aunt Barb. Wonderful lunch!
Back home now for lobster dinner. A great day of food!
To Boston, New York, and back again! · 29 June 2008 by Heather Voss Barta
Henry and I are currently at a Marriott in Buffalo (acquired on Hotwire.com…). Tomorrow we complete the trip to Boston and hang out a couple of days. Then, on to New York City-ish and then home next Sunday.
Look for updates as we get internet. (Downside to this particular hotel: free internet in the lobby, $10 internet in the rooms…)
Camp Chickagami · 27 June 2008 by Heather Voss Barta
Henry and I had the opportunity for a clergy/spouse weekend at Camp Chick. It was great! I had never been there, and our accommodations were perfect! More civilized than Henry would usually go camping – we even had electricity in the cabin. But it worked very well.
I had a wonderful time talking with people, hanging out, boating and biking. We took Penny – she made a new friend and ran around a lot and we trained her to go with the bike. She was WAY tired by the end.
Though it was only 2 full days – it was a fun trip to be able to see some nature and hang out. I even got some time to read! (more posts coming soon!)
Ella Enchanted · 21 June 2008 by Heather Voss Barta
Major spoilers below…
So – Ella Enchanted has been on my list of things to see. Finally got it through netflix. Cute movie with a good message of empowerment of women, though the breaking of the spell doesn’t make much sense in the grand scheme. Or was it the extra magic of that room at that time? I could go with that…and then it would be about the choices that we get in our lives – even when it seems that we have no choice. Perhaps we could talk about the reframing of situations.
But this story could also point to the bigger systems that keep us from living in to our true selves. Our families have given us plenty of “gifts” that are part of who we are – but may instead get in our way of building relationship and keep peace rather than causing harm. When we aren’t aware of the gifts that we receive, then we have no choice – we just respond out of “hard wiring” or habit. When we have an opportunity to really reflect, we are able to see those parts that are helpful and help build ourselves and others up.
The extras on the DVD are worth taking a look at. Especially the extended ending scene. It’s cute and fun. A very nice change in the basic fairy tale.
Another random question: Where did the best friend go? Did we just leave the best friend for the man? No use going back to find her because we found our prince? I meant to take another look at the closing scene to see if she was there…but just sent it back. Comments on this particular topic would be appreciated.
The Reaper · 17 June 2008 by Heather Voss Barta
Someone on my GenX clergy listserv suggested that we all read The Reaper. Brilliant!
An Anglican priest kills his Bishop and various parishioners. Well written book that makes it engaging. The characters are fun and entertaining. Should appreciate it, regardless of your job, but might be especially interested if you’re clergy…
Tin Man · 16 June 2008 by Heather Voss Barta
Tin Man is a SciFi mini-series. It’s definitely worth tracking down to watch. It’s a great story with a connection to the Wizard of Oz. Brilliantly written and acted. Zooey Deschanel stars and approaches it with a great, laid-back style that doesn’t seem that she’s acting. Henry and I recorded it and watched it – and I was totally engrossed. It’s hard to get through 6 hours quickly…
I won’t spoil it here. Because it’s definitely worth tracking it down to watch it. I know that SciFi has been rerunning it.
The Happening · 15 June 2008 by Heather Voss Barta
Henry and I went to see The Happening tonight. Definitely not Shaymalan’s best work. I was happy to see a movie – it seems like it’s been a long time since I’ve seen one in the theater.
And I am LOVING Zooey Deschanel. I just realized that I never blogged on Tin Man. I’ll do that next…
SPOILERS follow:
So – I don’t know. Henry doesn’t like the science. While not perfect, I like the point – we’re screwing up the environment and at some point, it’s going to affect us. Probably not like the move depicts, but the environment will kill us – or, our screwing up of the environment is going to kill us.
And – what annoyed me even more – the whole thing is “we’re destroying our environment” and part of that is the number of people. So, what do the main characters do???? “Let’s have a baby!” What? Really? Obviously, we haven’t learned much in the last 2 hours…
Requiem for a Dream · 14 June 2008 by Heather Voss Barta
Henry and I watched Requiem for a Dream. Wow. It’s pretty horrendous. Henry said that it was criticized for making drug use look glamorous. I would say – anything but…
Definitely worth the watch. Brilliantly done film, but pretty darn hard to watch. Not a lot of fun, and definitely not an upbeat or encouraging movie.