it was one of only two rainy days in the 40 year history of the event!
My results:
http://tiktok.biz/city2surf/2011/10059
Wednesday 17 August 2011
My City2Surf 2011 photo courtesy of marathon-photos.com
it was one of only two rainy days in the 40 year history of the event!
My results:
http://tiktok.biz/city2surf/2011/10059
Tuesday 16 August 2011
City2Surf Results
Amazingly, our first time City2Surfer Andrew Houtas has blitzed the field with an outstanding 76mins and 40secs!!! He even managed to eclipse Glen Mace's incredible 'most improved' time by 12 seconds.
Despite a dodgy knee Geoff still managed an impressive 78mins and 37secs. The remainder of the Stoddart family must have been holding hands as they crossed the line with a very respectable collective time
of 86mins and 42secs.
It also looks like Jonathan managed to steal line honours from his dad by just 12 seconds with an impressive first time result of 89mins 20secs.
Incredibly, Andrew has only narrowly missed leap frogging the 'green' group and going straight to the 'red' group if he decides to run next year.
To be honest, I am a little disappointed with my own results even though I did beat my previous years time by one minute. I had been struggling with a cold all last week, and as of this morning I have been diagnosed with a related sinus infection after a nasty ear ache last night.
I am now on antibiotics and will hopefully I will be all better for the Pub2Pub in couple of weeks. I think if I try to keep up with Andrew for a long as I can I might be able to get a reasonable time in that event!
Tuesday 26 July 2011
A recent exchange on the Huffington Post article "The Bible: History or Myth?"
I am a long time supporter of Creation Ministries International and I recently had a discussion with an atheist on Huffington Post web site. I have included this on my blog because I hope it shows that you don't need to be a scientist or theologian in order to refute some of the theological and scientific arguments often presented in such discussion threads. I believe it is important to always be able articulate the reasons for my faith.
Lee Harvey
"Creationism is the belief that God could create the world in 6 days, but couldn't find 2 naked people hiding in a garden." - Anonymous
Wes Dart
I think Lee that you may have missed the point of the question.
"Adam, where are you?" has a much deeper almost existential meaning. God was calling Adam to examine the state of his own heart, and the predicament that he had found himself in, as a result of his rejection of the boundaries that God had established for the creation.
George Genung
08:01 PM on 7/18/2011
Wes, did this deity of yours select this creation out of an infinite possible creations knowing everything that would happen, before it made the creation?
Your answer will tell a lot about the basis for your theology.
Lee Harvey
My post was supposed to be funny. Maybe it failed.
Brooke123456
01:25 AM on 7/19/2011
And you know this how?
If you had a conversation with god, then did others hear it?
Did he sound like George Burns?
If you had thoughts in your head, that's just your brain doing what it does, if you heard audible voices then, please seek help.
If your post was meant as a joke, then please forgive my response.
Wes Dart
08:37 PM on 7/19/2011
Hi Brooke, I was doing my best to reflect on Lee's original post in the context of the Genesis narrative. We all start with a presupposition of some kind; mine is intelligent design, yours is likely some variant of materialism i.e. what we can observe is all there is. From my perspective the very fact that you can even have 'thoughts in your head' is testimony to an intelligent designer. We don't observe complex systems with amazing redundancy and inter-dependencies arising out of chaos anywhere in nature; detailed information is coded into every living cell.
http://creation.com/mind-by-design-peterline-interview
I would imagine that you would interpret the same evidence in a very different way based on your own pre-supposition?
Brooke123456
12:58 PM on 7/21/2011
No presupposition here.
I have a brain, the brain can be observed and scanned.
The activity in the brain can be correlated to my activities.
Same goes for your brain.
Where is the presupposition?
You state:
"We don't observe complex systems with amazing redundancy and inter-dependencies arising out of chaos anywhere in nature.."
Answer: Sure we do, its called life and its all over the place on earth!
Wes Dart
04:52 AM on 7/23/2011
We both see the same evidence "it's called life and it's all over the place on earth"; but you have revealed the source of your presupposition in your answer. You are relying on observation and correlation of the physical evidence to explain what you are seeing. This presents no problem for me. My question to you is where can you observe non-living matter becoming living? You are relying on a presupposition that all this happened somewhere in the unobserved distant past. Observation in the present will verify that life is required in order to 'create' new life. There is no evidence even that a mutation results in any new information being added to our DNA e.g. like getting feathers instead of hair -- it is always a 'loss' or a corruption of existing information e.g. an extra or perhaps missing finger. So this won't help you either.
Brooke123456
15 hours ago (10:23 AM)
Wes Dart....okay...I have loose evidence that abiogenisis happened....there is decent suppport for it. But I will grant you, there is no way to KNOW for sure...of course that applies to everything.
That does not however mean you get to just make stuff up! The appropriate response is "I Don't Know", not my magic sky daddy did it.
I could make up a story that fits the facts a whole lot better than your god!
Flying Spaghetti Monster is a much better answer!
Ryan Nice
11:03 PM on 7/19/2011
Actually his reading of the that verse isn't that abstract - I'm surprised your having trouble getting it. But then again purposely missing the point is a quick way feel like you're winning an argument. Well done.
Wes Dart
0 minute ago (2:15 AM)
Hi Brooke, I guess the point I was making is that we both are taking a 'faith' position when it comes to the past. I am much happier taking the eyewitness accounts of people who were ultimately happy to lose everything, many even losing their lives, for the sake of remaining faithful to what they had seen, touched and experienced. That's why I could never consider a 'flying spaghetti monster' as a rational alternative to an omnipotent God. Wes
Saturday 16 July 2011
An amazing coffee made by my nephew Josh
Thursday 7 July 2011
Virgin Money Childhood Dream Competition
I just entered the Virgin Money Childhood Dream Competition, hoping to win myself a trip to space!
Part of the competition was that you had to submit your childhood dream in 25 words or less.
I was going to make something up, but then I remembered that this really was my dream when I was in my early teens:
"To build a new community in a remote part of Australia using innovative construction techniques, technology and alternative energy as a model for the world."
Funny how life turns out sometimes. I wonder whether Richard Branson feels like he has achieved his dream?
Sunday 8 May 2011
Wednesday 13 April 2011
Are We Disappointed With Space Exploration?
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/04/are-we-disappointed-with-space-exploration/237136/
A very interesting article and to be honest it is pretty hard to fault the logic.
My only observation would be that what is perceived as valuable often changes with the passage of time. There are potentially lots of opportunities for profit in outer space, unfortunately opportunities are not always apparent until you have spent some time in a place.
In my own country, the Dutch explorers arrived before the British and decided that Australia wasn't all that interesting to them from a commercial perspective. Curiously they made a similar decision about Manhattan Island! Then the British decided that Australia might make a nice prison camp.
Eventually someone worked out that money could be made on a massive scale growing wool for export; but it wasn't really until the 20th century that we began unlocking the vast mineral wealth lying beneath the surface.
At the end of the day I believe it will all come down to obtaining resources at the best price possible. I am betting that eventually we will need to look off-world to satisfy demand. If we can build a space tourism market in the mean time, then this will help to establish the necessary infrastructure to begin mining H3 on the moon or perhaps some other exotic minerals on passing asteroids.
The question to ask is: what resource that is scarce on Earth is otherwise readily available elsewhere in the solar system?
Also, I would add that the role of government is to provide an environment where private enterprise can flourish.
If we had insisted that the Australian government be solely responsible to mine the mineral wealth of Australia; we would have ended up producing sub-standard product at an uncompetitive price. Now that sounds a lot like communism to me, or the National Broadband Network or a host of other government programs in my own country. Perhaps there are even shades of NASA there too.
Instead I believe the role of government is to regulate in order to bring the best outcome for as many stakeholders as possible; then, I hasten to add, to happily collect royalties and taxes along the way. This is how you end up with world class mining companies like BHP-Billiton or RIO Tinto.
Don't leave outer space to NASA, ESA, Roscosmos, CNSA or JAXA. It is too important to be left with the politicians.
Let's encourage entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, John Carmack and Robert Bigelow. I only wish we could add some Australian names to the list -- Rupert Murdoch seems too focussed on his terrestrial concerns. Perhaps we should be looking at some of our mining magnates?
A very interesting article and to be honest it is pretty hard to fault the logic.
My only observation would be that what is perceived as valuable often changes with the passage of time. There are potentially lots of opportunities for profit in outer space, unfortunately opportunities are not always apparent until you have spent some time in a place.
In my own country, the Dutch explorers arrived before the British and decided that Australia wasn't all that interesting to them from a commercial perspective. Curiously they made a similar decision about Manhattan Island! Then the British decided that Australia might make a nice prison camp.
Eventually someone worked out that money could be made on a massive scale growing wool for export; but it wasn't really until the 20th century that we began unlocking the vast mineral wealth lying beneath the surface.
At the end of the day I believe it will all come down to obtaining resources at the best price possible. I am betting that eventually we will need to look off-world to satisfy demand. If we can build a space tourism market in the mean time, then this will help to establish the necessary infrastructure to begin mining H3 on the moon or perhaps some other exotic minerals on passing asteroids.
The question to ask is: what resource that is scarce on Earth is otherwise readily available elsewhere in the solar system?
Also, I would add that the role of government is to provide an environment where private enterprise can flourish.
If we had insisted that the Australian government be solely responsible to mine the mineral wealth of Australia; we would have ended up producing sub-standard product at an uncompetitive price. Now that sounds a lot like communism to me, or the National Broadband Network or a host of other government programs in my own country. Perhaps there are even shades of NASA there too.
Instead I believe the role of government is to regulate in order to bring the best outcome for as many stakeholders as possible; then, I hasten to add, to happily collect royalties and taxes along the way. This is how you end up with world class mining companies like BHP-Billiton or RIO Tinto.
Don't leave outer space to NASA, ESA, Roscosmos, CNSA or JAXA. It is too important to be left with the politicians.
Let's encourage entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, John Carmack and Robert Bigelow. I only wish we could add some Australian names to the list -- Rupert Murdoch seems too focussed on his terrestrial concerns. Perhaps we should be looking at some of our mining magnates?
Monday 4 April 2011
Running at Hawks Nest
We enjoyed an excellent time with other leaders from our church at Hawks Nest over this last weekend. Jonty, who one of our international guests currently doing a gap year with the church happened to take this amazing picture of the sunrise as we were running past.
I absolutely love running, but it is being outside enjoying creation that often thrills me more. Just before this photo was taken we had witnessed a pod of dolphins swimming in synchronized perfection among the morning breakers.
I absolutely love running, but it is being outside enjoying creation that often thrills me more. Just before this photo was taken we had witnessed a pod of dolphins swimming in synchronized perfection among the morning breakers.
Tuesday 22 March 2011
Lockheed Martin shows test spaceship
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8227136
It has been fascinating watching the progress of this with Obama wanting to cancel the Constellation program and Congress determined to keep as many pieces of it alive as they could manage. For all the wrong reasons in my opinion!
Don't get me wrong, I love watching the space program, but I would love to see NASA focus on the cutting edge stuff like the Nautilus X that I sent you links about a few weeks ago. I find it pretty hard to get excited about what essentially appears to be Apollo Mk2.
It has been fascinating watching the progress of this with Obama wanting to cancel the Constellation program and Congress determined to keep as many pieces of it alive as they could manage. For all the wrong reasons in my opinion!
Don't get me wrong, I love watching the space program, but I would love to see NASA focus on the cutting edge stuff like the Nautilus X that I sent you links about a few weeks ago. I find it pretty hard to get excited about what essentially appears to be Apollo Mk2.
Friday 25 February 2011
An old letter from 1978
My mum recently dug out an old letter she had originally sent to her mother in Perth back in 1978. It gives an interesting insight into my life when I was around 10 years old. I don't remember being 'keen' about piano lessons, but I can still play a couple of the pieces that Gem Buck taught us, so I guess something went in.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Hi family,
Dad has been having quite a clean up and came across this letter written to my Mum, dated August, 1978. Thought you might be interested in these excerpts:
It was great to find this letter. It was three pages all up mentioning things I have long since forgotten.
Love Mum
Hi family,
Dad has been having quite a clean up and came across this letter written to my Mum, dated August, 1978. Thought you might be interested in these excerpts:
"I can hear Natalie singing to herself in her room, but she's not complaining yet so I'll continue on here. She is a real delight right now and we feel as if we'd like to "freeze" her and keep her just as she is at 18 months old. She is learning to talk and says quite a lot of words and will try to repeat words we ask her to. She says 'bye-ee', and will often find me where-ever I am, carrying her bag and tell me 'bye-ee', wave and toddle off. She's a real bundle of mischief, more so than all the boys put together and is able to climb up and get into everything. However, for the most part she is very easy going and amuses herself well (even if it is up on my dressing table!)
This week is education week in NSW schools and this morning I have been up to the school to visit Leigh's classroom. I spoke briefly to his teacher and she said that she is delighted with him. I was aware that with his schoolwork he was way ahead and I know from what he brings home that he rarely makes mistakes, but it was good to hear that she is also very happy with his behaviour, so I have come away feeling quite proud of my little boy!
Tomorrow is sports day for the primary school, and on Thursday I have to visit Carey and Wesley's classes. They both brought home very satisfactory reports and while they're not genius standard, they were both average and above average and also very pleasing in the comments on behaviour and social adjustment. Wes has done particularly well with his 'book work' and is in fact quite a book worm (as his mother and grandmother before him).
Did I mention that all 3 boys have been learning music this term? Carey and Wesley are especially keen - I guess maybe Leigh is a little young as yet. One of the ladies from the church is teaching them all. Two of them go together on a Monday morning before school and they take it is turns to have a lesson alone on Wednesday mornings. It's a mad rush to try and get them there by 8a.m., but well worth it we feel. The only problem is that I get awfully sick of hearing that piano practice all the time, with three of them on the go!!"
It was great to find this letter. It was three pages all up mentioning things I have long since forgotten.
Love Mum
Friday 18 February 2011
Deep divisions simmer in our cultural melting pot
A very interesting article:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/18/3142403.htm
I find myself in agreement with much of this article. I remember being at school in the 70's and 80's and gaining the impression that Australia had little if any to offer in terms of culture before the wave of post WWII immigration.
It has definitely fueled my own determination retain the core values of what it means to be Australian.
The extract from Paul Keating's speech is pretty good:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/18/3142403.htm
I find myself in agreement with much of this article. I remember being at school in the 70's and 80's and gaining the impression that Australia had little if any to offer in terms of culture before the wave of post WWII immigration.
It has definitely fueled my own determination retain the core values of what it means to be Australian.
The extract from Paul Keating's speech is pretty good:
"The first loyalty of all Australians must be to Australia, that they must accept the basic principles of Australian society. These include the Constitution and the rule of law, parliamentary democracy, freedom of speech and religion, English as a national language, equality of the sexes and tolerance".
Thursday 17 February 2011
Nautilus-X could be NASA's first manned deep-space explorer
I am very excited about Nautilus-X.
http://dvice.com/archives/2011/02/nautilus-x-coul.php
http://spirit.as.utexas.edu/~fiso/telecon/Holderman-Henderson_1-26-11/Holderman_1-26-11.ppt
The PowerPoint is a thing of beauty.
This is the sort of thinking, planning and building that NASA should be doing. This is a proper spaceship!
My friend suggested that we still some way off working out how to overcome the debilitating effects of long term space travel both physically and psychologically.
However, I believe that the centrifuge with artificial gravity will make a big difference. They are hoping to test a version of it on the ISS. With the Mars 500 mission underway in Moscow we are already doing long-term psychological experiments on the type of isolation required for a long range space flight.
I'm just excited that there appears to be some original thinking and planning going on inside NASA.
http://dvice.com/archives/2011/02/nautilus-x-coul.php
http://spirit.as.utexas.edu/~fiso/telecon/Holderman-Henderson_1-26-11/Holderman_1-26-11.ppt
The PowerPoint is a thing of beauty.
This is the sort of thinking, planning and building that NASA should be doing. This is a proper spaceship!
My friend suggested that we still some way off working out how to overcome the debilitating effects of long term space travel both physically and psychologically.
However, I believe that the centrifuge with artificial gravity will make a big difference. They are hoping to test a version of it on the ISS. With the Mars 500 mission underway in Moscow we are already doing long-term psychological experiments on the type of isolation required for a long range space flight.
I'm just excited that there appears to be some original thinking and planning going on inside NASA.
Wednesday 16 February 2011
Saturday 12 February 2011
Friday 4 February 2011
Simon's Dedication from September 3 2000
I found this when I was cleaning up my old Yahoo mail account. It was written by my Dad. All I have done is clean up some of the formatting and correct the odd typo. I still remember parts of this sermon years later, and I honestly think that Dad was preaching under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, perhaps even more than he understood at the time. Enjoy!
+++++++++
FATHERS' DAY DEDICATION OF SIMON WESLEY DART
Sunday, 3rd September, 2000
Christian Worship Centre, Collaroy Plateau
Infant Presentation & Parental Dedication conducted by his paternal grandfather
Psalm 127:3 says that children are 'a heritage and a reward from the Lord' and in Deuteronomy Chapter 6 parents are reminded that it is their responsibility to make their faith an integral part of their family life. Parents are encouraged to love God with all their heart, soul and strength and impress God's commandments on your children. 'Talk with them
when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up'. In other words, informally in the everyday living of your life, demonstrate in words and attitudes and actions that God is in control of your life, that He is the creator, that He is the provider, that He is the sustainer of your life and relationships i.e. parental education is NOT information-oriented but relationship-oriented and life-oriented!
Purpose :
1. To give thanks to the author of life
2. To enable the parents to make a commitment to God publicly
3. To invite special friends, church family and extended family to support the parents in the privilege and responsibility entrusted to them
Q.(of Wesley & Belinda) Do you promise before God and His people, with the help of those who stand with you today and through the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit, to bring Simon up 'in the nurture and admonition of the Lord ', to live godly lives and by precept and example to transmit the love of God and do your part to make Jesus Christ known to Simon as Friend and Saviour?
Q. (of Jenny & Neil) Do you, as special friends of Wesley & Belinda, promise before God and His people, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to provide all the support that Wesley and Belinda need to fulfil their God-given task and will you pray for them regularly and allow them to be accountable to you for the parenting they will share together?
Q. (of the Congregation) Do you promise before God, insofar as you are able to live your lives before Simon (and all other children) in ways that are Christlike and to pray and do whatever you can to encourage and support Wesley & Belinda in the challenging task of parenting? (IF YOU ARE PREPARED TO DO SO, PLEASE INDICATE BY STANDING )
The following blessing and then prayer (taking Simon in my arms)
SIMON WESLEY DART, 'May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you, the Lord lift up the light of His countenance upon you and give you His peace.' (Numbers 6 : 26)
+++++++++
PARENTING IN THE 2000's
I want to speak today to parents of all kinds............
The Family was instituted by God and in Genesis 1:27 the Bible says that after God created Adam and Eve and then He blessed them and said to them amongst other things - 'Be fruitful and multiply'.
And so parenting was approved by God. Children are special to him and he entrusts them to fallible human beings!
The Word of God tells many stories about both the influence of parents on children. I want to remind you this morning of a few examples of parenting which are recorded in The Bible for our instruction.
1. HOW NOT TO DO IT
* ISAAC & REBEKAH (Gen. 27) with sons, Esau & Jacob
Deception & Lies
* JACOB & RACHEL (Gen. 37 esp. vs 3&4) with son, Joseph
Favouritism (sibling rivalry)
* ELI - The Priest (1 Sam. 2:12 & 22-25a) with sons, Hophni & Phineas Lack of Discipline -immorality
* DAVID (2 Sam. esp. Ch.13) & his children
No boundaries or limits set
cf. own adultery, incest, rebellion,murder
2. HOW TO DO IT
* THE PARABLE OF THE LOST SON (Luke 15 :11-31) - told by Jesus
vs. 11 - Two sons.
Children are different.
vs. 12 - The father listened to his son and was willing 'to let go'.
Children need parents to listen and after modelling the right values, to allow them to take risks and, if they make mistakes, to be there when they come to their senses vs 20. The father continued to love his son even though he was 'in a far country'. Children need parents to love them even when they do the wrong thing.
vs. 21ff - The father allowed expression of opinions & feelings and was ready and willing to forgive his children.
Children need parents to respect how they think & feel and to distinguish between them and their behaviour so that they can forgive the child without condoning sinful behaviour.
vs. 20,22 & 31 - The father affirmed his children in words & deeds.
Children need parents to express their love as well as show affection.
vs. 28ff - The father was prepared to take the initiative (esp with his elder son)
Children need parents to make the first move when relationships have turned sour.
N.B. The story of the prodigal son is not just the story of an earthly father treats his children but the story of how our Heavenly Father treats us - his prodigal children!
1. He is an active listener to our requests (even unreasonable ones).
2. He always responds and allows us the freedom to make mistakes . He never seeks to control us and make us do what He wants but has a given us a free will.
3. Even when we make mistakes, He loves us just the same and He never gives up on us.
4. He allows us to learn from the mistakes we make and is always ready and willing to forgive us when we come to our senses and repent of our wilful and sinful ways.
5. He affirms our worth and value and made each of us in His image.
6. He permits us to own and express our thoughts and feelings to Him without judgment or condemnation.
7. He hates sin but loves the sinner.
8. He loves us unconditionally and He took the initiative in expressing His love in action by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Savior and Redeemer.
This is how God parents us and nurtures us. What a gracious, tender, loving and forgiving parent He is. He invites you and me today, with the enabling of His Holy Spirit, to treat our children, grandchildren and one another the way He treats us.
It's my prayer that, in future, as you reflect on the parable of the prodigal son, you will not miss the picture of the love of God for His lost children and will see His arms outstretched and running towards you , ready to embrace you and welcome you or any other person who repents and returns home.
+++++++++
FATHERS' DAY DEDICATION OF SIMON WESLEY DART
Sunday, 3rd September, 2000
Christian Worship Centre, Collaroy Plateau
Infant Presentation & Parental Dedication conducted by his paternal grandfather
Psalm 127:3 says that children are 'a heritage and a reward from the Lord' and in Deuteronomy Chapter 6 parents are reminded that it is their responsibility to make their faith an integral part of their family life. Parents are encouraged to love God with all their heart, soul and strength and impress God's commandments on your children. 'Talk with them
when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up'. In other words, informally in the everyday living of your life, demonstrate in words and attitudes and actions that God is in control of your life, that He is the creator, that He is the provider, that He is the sustainer of your life and relationships i.e. parental education is NOT information-oriented but relationship-oriented and life-oriented!
Purpose :
1. To give thanks to the author of life
2. To enable the parents to make a commitment to God publicly
3. To invite special friends, church family and extended family to support the parents in the privilege and responsibility entrusted to them
Q.(of Wesley & Belinda) Do you promise before God and His people, with the help of those who stand with you today and through the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit, to bring Simon up 'in the nurture and admonition of the Lord ', to live godly lives and by precept and example to transmit the love of God and do your part to make Jesus Christ known to Simon as Friend and Saviour?
Q. (of Jenny & Neil) Do you, as special friends of Wesley & Belinda, promise before God and His people, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to provide all the support that Wesley and Belinda need to fulfil their God-given task and will you pray for them regularly and allow them to be accountable to you for the parenting they will share together?
Q. (of the Congregation) Do you promise before God, insofar as you are able to live your lives before Simon (and all other children) in ways that are Christlike and to pray and do whatever you can to encourage and support Wesley & Belinda in the challenging task of parenting? (IF YOU ARE PREPARED TO DO SO, PLEASE INDICATE BY STANDING )
The following blessing and then prayer (taking Simon in my arms)
SIMON WESLEY DART, 'May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you, the Lord lift up the light of His countenance upon you and give you His peace.' (Numbers 6 : 26)
+++++++++
PARENTING IN THE 2000's
I want to speak today to parents of all kinds............
The Family was instituted by God and in Genesis 1:27 the Bible says that after God created Adam and Eve and then He blessed them and said to them amongst other things - 'Be fruitful and multiply'.
And so parenting was approved by God. Children are special to him and he entrusts them to fallible human beings!
The Word of God tells many stories about both the influence of parents on children. I want to remind you this morning of a few examples of parenting which are recorded in The Bible for our instruction.
1. HOW NOT TO DO IT
* ISAAC & REBEKAH (Gen. 27) with sons, Esau & Jacob
Deception & Lies
* JACOB & RACHEL (Gen. 37 esp. vs 3&4) with son, Joseph
Favouritism (sibling rivalry)
* ELI - The Priest (1 Sam. 2:12 & 22-25a) with sons, Hophni & Phineas Lack of Discipline -immorality
* DAVID (2 Sam. esp. Ch.13) & his children
No boundaries or limits set
cf. own adultery, incest, rebellion,murder
2. HOW TO DO IT
* THE PARABLE OF THE LOST SON (Luke 15 :11-31) - told by Jesus
vs. 11 - Two sons.
Children are different.
vs. 12 - The father listened to his son and was willing 'to let go'.
Children need parents to listen and after modelling the right values, to allow them to take risks and, if they make mistakes, to be there when they come to their senses vs 20. The father continued to love his son even though he was 'in a far country'. Children need parents to love them even when they do the wrong thing.
vs. 21ff - The father allowed expression of opinions & feelings and was ready and willing to forgive his children.
Children need parents to respect how they think & feel and to distinguish between them and their behaviour so that they can forgive the child without condoning sinful behaviour.
vs. 20,22 & 31 - The father affirmed his children in words & deeds.
Children need parents to express their love as well as show affection.
vs. 28ff - The father was prepared to take the initiative (esp with his elder son)
Children need parents to make the first move when relationships have turned sour.
N.B. The story of the prodigal son is not just the story of an earthly father treats his children but the story of how our Heavenly Father treats us - his prodigal children!
1. He is an active listener to our requests (even unreasonable ones).
2. He always responds and allows us the freedom to make mistakes . He never seeks to control us and make us do what He wants but has a given us a free will.
3. Even when we make mistakes, He loves us just the same and He never gives up on us.
4. He allows us to learn from the mistakes we make and is always ready and willing to forgive us when we come to our senses and repent of our wilful and sinful ways.
5. He affirms our worth and value and made each of us in His image.
6. He permits us to own and express our thoughts and feelings to Him without judgment or condemnation.
7. He hates sin but loves the sinner.
8. He loves us unconditionally and He took the initiative in expressing His love in action by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Savior and Redeemer.
This is how God parents us and nurtures us. What a gracious, tender, loving and forgiving parent He is. He invites you and me today, with the enabling of His Holy Spirit, to treat our children, grandchildren and one another the way He treats us.
It's my prayer that, in future, as you reflect on the parable of the prodigal son, you will not miss the picture of the love of God for His lost children and will see His arms outstretched and running towards you , ready to embrace you and welcome you or any other person who repents and returns home.
Sunday 30 January 2011
A true friend
Proverbs 18:24
"Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family."
See it at YouVersion.com:
Sent from my iPod
Monday 24 January 2011
The Gospel of Steve Jobs
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/januaryweb-only/gospelstevejobs.html?start=1
Incredibly I had never quite made the association between the Apple corporate logo and the Genesis narrative! Although I have always understood Steve Jobs as being an incredibly driven man who often drives the people around him a bit crazy.
Take a look at the history of the Apple logo:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Apple_Inc.
Interestingly, original original logo was all about Isaac Newton (a Christian and a creationist) and the apple falling on his head when he had his eureka moment about gravity.
The more familiar 'original' logo had the rainbow in it as well.
The article talks about this:
"Nothing exemplifies that ability more than Apple's early logo, which slapped a rainbow on the very archetype of human fallenness and failure—the bitten fruit—and made it a sign of promise and progress."
You could just a easily put a positive spin on this from a Christian perspective. The rainbow is a symbol of hope, grace and promise from a loving God; and the only hope we have as fallen human beings is the promise of being covered in the righteousness of Christ.
Despite this, reading about Steve Job's early life shows just how far away he was from having a 'traditional' Christian upbringing by USA standards.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs
We should continue to pray for him as he faces the big questions of life and death as a result of his ongoing health problems.
Incredibly I had never quite made the association between the Apple corporate logo and the Genesis narrative! Although I have always understood Steve Jobs as being an incredibly driven man who often drives the people around him a bit crazy.
Take a look at the history of the Apple logo:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Apple_Inc.
Interestingly, original original logo was all about Isaac Newton (a Christian and a creationist) and the apple falling on his head when he had his eureka moment about gravity.
The more familiar 'original' logo had the rainbow in it as well.
The article talks about this:
"Nothing exemplifies that ability more than Apple's early logo, which slapped a rainbow on the very archetype of human fallenness and failure—the bitten fruit—and made it a sign of promise and progress."
You could just a easily put a positive spin on this from a Christian perspective. The rainbow is a symbol of hope, grace and promise from a loving God; and the only hope we have as fallen human beings is the promise of being covered in the righteousness of Christ.
Despite this, reading about Steve Job's early life shows just how far away he was from having a 'traditional' Christian upbringing by USA standards.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs
We should continue to pray for him as he faces the big questions of life and death as a result of his ongoing health problems.
Thursday 20 January 2011
A tribute to my lovely wife
The mother of one of Belinda's students had this to say about my lovely wife:
"She is amazingly gentle, funny, and an amazing expert with children who learn differently. We treasure her."
I couldn't agree more!
Wednesday 19 January 2011
Disneyland Hush Puppies Recipe
We first tried hush puppies at Fiddlers Seafood Restaurant in Ridgeland South Carolina. They were delicious. I later came across this recipe at the Disney World Magic Kingdom.
# # # # # # #
Makes 2 & 1/2 dozen
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except the egg, milk and oil.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together egg and milk. Using a deep pot, preheat oil for frying to 350 degrees F.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture. Do not let the batter sit longer than 15 minutes.
4. Use two teaspoons and carefully spoon a ball about the size of a large olive. Fry in the oil until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes, turning once. Drain on paper towels and serve at once.
Ingredients
1 cup flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon finely diced shallot
1 heaping tablespoon cooked and finely chopped bacon
1 & 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped parsley
3 heaping tablespoons white sweet corn
1 & 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 & 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
4 cups corn oil or shortening
# # # # # # #
Makes 2 & 1/2 dozen
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except the egg, milk and oil.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together egg and milk. Using a deep pot, preheat oil for frying to 350 degrees F.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture. Do not let the batter sit longer than 15 minutes.
4. Use two teaspoons and carefully spoon a ball about the size of a large olive. Fry in the oil until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes, turning once. Drain on paper towels and serve at once.
Ingredients
1 cup flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon finely diced shallot
1 heaping tablespoon cooked and finely chopped bacon
1 & 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped parsley
3 heaping tablespoons white sweet corn
1 & 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 & 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
4 cups corn oil or shortening
Tuesday 18 January 2011
We were higher than Mount Kosciuszko
It turns out that Mount Kosciuszko in Australia is 2228 metres (7310 ft) above sea level while the mountain pass we went over during our time in Arizona in order to get from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon was 2452 metres (8046 ft) above sea level. An interesting fact that I wondered about at the time, but only now thought to check.
Friday 14 January 2011
Wednesday 12 January 2011
Our USA Adventure - part three!!
Hi Everyone,
Me again!! Thanks for all the encouraging feedback concerning my ramblings, they have stirred me on to write some more. Unfortunately I am not often able to reply to emails because I am the only family member without any electronic device (go mum!!) so I have to wait for availability and often the wifi is poor so not able to access my email.
Anyway, today is Saturday 8th January which means that I have a staggering amount to catch up on. (sorry) We are currently on our way from Las Vegas to Santa Margarita which is near the Hearst Castle approx 4 hours north of LA. It will be a long drive. Back to my ramblings...
Day 21 Wednesday
Still on this day... We did have a long day driving and because we were arriving in New Orleans late we decided to park overnight at the visitors centre along with a couple of other rv's. Having heard and read that New Orleans has areas in it that are not good to visit after dark, especially with children, we decided to stay at the visitors centre. We had no plan other than we were wanting to go on a swamp tour early the next morning.
Day 22 Thursday
Up we got nice and early and went on our way to find the Alligator swamp tour. Lola did a splendid job of navigating us to the place (I'm giving credit where credit is due!) We arrived and paid our money. We opted for the bigger airboat with more people because it cost half as much as the small airboat with less people. Hooray though, because we were there so early there was hardly anyone else there so we were on this airboat thing with only another couple (and the guide). While we were waiting we got to look in the pools that they had inside the building with some baby gators (need to say gators with a real Southern twang). There were a couple of albino gators. We spent the next couple of hours out on the water (swampy, lake, bayou) spotting for gators. The airboat was so much fun and we were moving at a great speed. Thomas, Bethany and Simon had a turn at driving it under the watchful eye of Captain Monkey our guide. We scoured the rivulets for gators but unfortunately only saw a few baby ones because the others are all hibernating (ridiculous!). Apparently in the height of summer they can see several hundred gators. While we were examining every inch of the water looking for a gator, Captain Monkey whisked a baby gator out of a special pool area that he has at the back of the airboat and gave us such a shock. This little fellow became the representative for all other gators that we had not managed to find. We all had a hold of him (me included, despite my cry that I'm allergic to reptiles) and I think we are all glad that we did so. Just one of those things you have to do. He felt quite tough on the top of his body but quite squishy underneath. Needless to say he was not impressed with his showing and he tried to jump out of Captain Monkey's hands into the freedom of the swamp but it was not to be.
We thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. So much so that we thought that we would visit their cafe in New Orleans to have a gator snack (and no I'm not kidding). Off we set for New Orleans for what we thought would be an easy acquisition of some lunch however this also appeared to be everyone else's thought also. We had a terrible time with Lola (I'm also still giving credit where credit is due) because she seemed unaware of the one way streets in New Orleans and it was an extremely difficult time manoeuvring the rv through such a busy place. In the end Wes found a spot to double park and Bethany and I went in search of the cafe called Gator-Me-Crazy. It took some time to find it and we managed to order some food and then had to wait ages for it. (Perhaps there was more going on in the kitchen than we realised!) A lot of people came in after us and we noticed that no-one else was ordering gators, rather they were ordering shrimps ??? We had ordered gator rolls and they were ordering shrimp rolls??? Once we finally had our order we ran back through the maddening crowds filling the pavements to a worried Wes because we had been gone for so long. The gator rolls were delicious – they were made of gator (of course), cheese, Cajun spices etc which were rolled in breadcrumbs and deep-fried – amazingly delicious – like chicken. We also tried some gator sausages and gator kebabs, also delicious. (Note from editor:- I must say that it was a bit surreal to be searching for gators (and holding one) in the morning and then eating some by lunchtime – I felt like a bit of a betrayer).
After lunch we decided not to stay in New Orleans any longer (due to the large crowds and probably not that interesting for the children) and so we headed off for a place called Lafayette (North West of New Orleans) and only a few hours away. We checked into our Lafayette rv park and went in search of some dinner. Unfortunately the only Cajun place near our park was too expensive and everyone was a bit ratty by this time. We ended up in a greasy Chinese buffet restaurant which we thought was a bit ironic given that we were in the heart of the southern states and Cajun country, but we were too tired and past it.
Day 23 Friday New Years Eve
You will all be amazed to hear that the weather was so fine (i.e. warm enough) and so I sat outside the rv with only my long sleeved top, jeans and thongs on eating my breakfast. It was glorious! Today we are heading for Fort Worth Texas. On the way Wes tells me that he has an idea to surprise the children for New Years Eve and that is to try to get to a rodeo tonight in Fort Worth. When we stopped at the Visitors Centre in Texas we met two of the most helpful ladies who helped us call and book tickets and also gave us some suggestions for a place to stay. It was another long day driving and we did eventually pull into Fort Worth at the rv park (we decided to secure our accommodation before we went to the rodeo in case it was too late afterwards). The office was already closed because it was New Years Eve however a kind lady came to help us and we were able to do late check in.
Then, the drive of our lives through the spaghetti freeways to the rodeo. (I canna take much more of these roads) Fort Worth is HUGE, so many people, so many cars. Lola did well getting us there although it was a bit hairy at the end bit. We managed to find parking for the rv and we found where the rodeo is and in we went. Wow, what an experience! It was such a lot of fun and was an amazing people watching kind of place. The rodeo riders varied from those who were thrown off straight away and those who managed to stay on for longer. The bulls were extremely annoyed and the clowns in the ring managed to protect the riders from harm. I think we only saw 3 or 4 riders go off injured. At the beginning of the evening we all stood while someone prayed and then we had the National Anthem and then the rodeo started. It was very interesting to see all the cowboys who had come to watch the evening. There was a mixture of all the cowboys (immaculately dressed and groomed in their best jeans, shirts, boots and hats), with their lovely ladies on their arms (also immaculately dressed and looking glamorous) and then there was all the rest of us. We did note that the cowboys were very polite and well behaved and they were so proud of the lovely lady that they had with them and were very courteous towards them. Even when we were outside and Wes was waiting in the queue for the tickets some cowboys came up and started another line, when they realised that Wes was there first they all stepped back so that Wes could go before them. We enjoyed our evening and Thomas and Simon even bought themselves a hat each. (They look very handsome) We left the rodeo at around 11pm and got back to the rv park close to midnight. We had some ice-cream (since dinner had been a snack at the beginning of the rodeo) and headed off to bed.
Day 24 New Years Day
Today we accidentally had a sleep in because Wes' iPod alarm didn't go off – some bug with the change to the New Year (hooray!!) Our plan for today is to go to Roswell (where the aliens are), however we discovered we had a flat tyre. The rv doesn't come with any tools because they don't want you doing anything to it, so we had to call the emergency assistance number. (Trust this to happen on one of only a few public holidays here). Eventually the man came and changed the tyre and we headed off. We had planned to get all the way to Roswell but it was too far so we stopped at a town called Lubbock. Seeing that we had missed a Cajun meal in Lafayette, and that we were nearly out of Texas we thought that we would like to have some steak before we cross the border. The man at the rv park suggested a place and off we headed but they were closed because it was New Years Day. We then spent the next 45 mins or so looking for somewhere to have dinner. The whole town was spread out so widely that it took ages to get anywhere. (Reminds me of towns like Dubbo where there is plenty of land so everything is spread out rather than building up the way). We ended up at Applebees again and had a great meal. Had our second time of forgetting which side of the road we should be on – but all was well – fortunately.
Day 25 Sunday
Today Lubbock to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Today is just a day of travel other than stopping in Roswell. Roswell is famous because it is near the site of an alleged alien flying saucer crash and Government conspiracy to cover it up in the 1950's. We stopped and gathered all the information we could, we saw the museum and visited the shops, even McDonalds (wifi) which has a space ship playground in it. However, we came away unscathed from any alien sightings and we are not believers, despite all the merchandise trying to persuade us otherwise. Remarkably there were a lot of people visiting the alien museum. Probably good for the town.
While we were at the tourist info at Roswell the lady there suggested a rv park near Albuquerque that we could stay at and so we headed off. It was another long day of driving and we were nearing the recommended rv park only to find that it had closed or disappeared (?) and so we continued our journey in the dark at great speed on a congested freeway (I hate night time driving) to another one that we saw a sign for. We turned off the freeway and headed towards it and started up a hill only to start sliding on the ice/snow under our wheels (aahhhhh). It turned out that this one was closed for the winter (I wonder why) and so we had to reverse (!!! ) a short distance back onto the road and begin another search. This time we programmed into Lola the address of another rv park that we have a book for and she led us there. Hooray. We did a late check in and then went in search of dinner. Tonight we ate at a restaurant called IHOP (stands for International House of Pancakes) and it was great. We had seen lots of these restaurants but hadn't gone in because they looked to expensive, but we found it to be very reasonably priced and we had a great meal.
When we got up the next morning Wes went to find the man from Cruise America (the people we have rented the rv from) in the office located in the rv park and he came to help us with a few things concerning the rv. One of these being the fact that the door on the side of the rv won't stay shut and has swung open a few times when we have been travelling – the closest we came to hitting a passing car with it was in Washington when we had just left Arlington cemetery and were turning the corner. That experience certainly caused the children a lot of stress (wonder why?). Murray gave us an octopus strap to ensure that it stays shut. However the door seems to be bent (?!) and so has a propensity to open even when it is locked. The kind man was also able to help Wes understand about 'winterising' the trailer for when we get to areas where the temperature drops below zero (as if we would ever be somewhere where this would happen) and there is water in the pipes and the water freezes and the pipes burst! We saw the whole event of not staying in the original rv park and coming to this one as God's provision for us as it gave Wes great peace of mind as to how to look after the trailer if we are using water on board. When we were in Washington and everything was frozen we didn't use any water on board so it wasn't an issue.
Day 26 Monday
Today we are traveling from Albuquerque through scenic New Mexico to a place where there is a famous Meteor Crater, not far from Flagstaff. Today we really began a very scenic part of our journey and we enjoyed every moment of it. We drove through many areas where native American people live and the scenery is just spectacular. We stumbled across the Petrified Forest National Park and, with very limited time left before they closed the Park, we ran (yes, ran) and drove through the park with its magnificent scenery and petrified trees/logs. When we left there we started our journey to the Meteor Crater (they have so many visitors to the crater each year that they have an rv park, petrol station, visitor centre and museum etc) We were told that they didn't have anywhere for us to buy dinner so we headed for the town before the crater. On our way into the small town Thomas (great young man that he is) spotted an A&W fast food place. We had been looking for one of these since we started our trip and this was the first one that we had found. The reason that this place is so important is that when I was growing up in my early years in Malaysia A&W was the equivalent of McDonald's and we used to go there sometimes. I have good memories of having chicken and chips in a basket (which they no longer do) and having root beer. So when we saw this place Wes stopped and we went in for dinner. Wes and I got a root beer float and I think that Wes has put a picture of this on his blog. It was heavenly and so incredibly delicious, what a treat. The only problem was that I managed to chill myself to the core and it took quite a few hours to thaw out! Anyway, moving on ... we headed off for the Meteor Crater, checked in an watched Transformers 1 (Thomas brought a few dvd's with him and we have enjoyed watching them).
Day 27 Tuesday
Up and out again – this time to see the meteor crater and see the museum etc. All great and very interesting except for the billions of years etc etc. We were there for hours and hours. Then we started heading off for the Grand Canyon. On the way we discovered a place called the Walnut Canyon and we popped in there for a look. Wonderful! And we went for a walk down (and then up again!) many stairs to look at the sights. Then off to the Grand Canyon. We weren't sure whether to stay at Flagstaff, William (both towns about an hour's drive from the Grand Canyon) or at the Grand Canyon. We decided to keep traveling and stay at the Grand Canyon because we would be there first thing in the morning and could get on with the day instead of having to travel there and then start (this had worked well at the Meteor Crater). The drive up to the Canyon was spectacularly scenic and we enjoyed every bit of it. We arrived at the Canyon around dusk and thought we would check out the two rv parks. The first one we went to was deep in snow and had a few sites ploughed. It was just outside of the Grand Canyon National Park. We were put off a bit by the fact that the restrooms were 'closed for the winter' (great?) (the problem being that we are only allowed to do number 1's in the rv – too much information shown in the movie RV!!) so restrooms that are 'closed for the winter' are no use to anyone!! So we headed off into the National Park to check out their park. I have no idea what state their restrooms were in because they had graded their roads so well (???) that we got stuck on the road with the snow up the side of the rv. I had visions of jumping out (??) and using the dustpan to clear away the snow from the rv so Wes could get it out of there. But no need, super Wes to the rescue... (when all this was over Wes confessed to me that he was actually very worried about how we were going to get out of this) and after some very skillful driving Wes was able to reverse the rv down the road and then out of there. That was enough for us to decide to go with the first rv park with or without facilities. Besides there was a McDonald's down the road!!. So after a quick stop at Maccas we headed into the rv and parked ourselves in a moderately graded spot. I think that's enough for one day!
Day 28 Wednesday
We decided that we would treat the children to breakfast at Maccas today – partly because of the cold and also because they have 'facilities'. We noticed that it was cold when we woke up (although we are getting used to this) and when Wes checked the weather it said that it was -22 degrees celcius. So that is my justification to anyone that might think that I am 'mentioning' the cold often!! You should have seen us trying to pull out from the rv park with the front windscreen frozen with ice. We tried putting the heater on it but the rv was so cold that it wasn't thawing quickly. We took off with my head out the window spotting for vehicles.
Note from editor: I still haven't got used to the fact that Americans drive on the opposite side of the road to us. I am actually a danger to myself and everyone else when it comes to crossing the road and I stand at the roadside and look to the left and to the right and then to the right and to the left and only when cars are coming can I tell where I am and by then it is too late to cross. (Quite ridiculous really and probably just as well I am not doing the driving!)
After breakfast we headed up to the Canyon and spent the next few hours taking in the glorious sights of God's wonderful creation. The snow covering many of the rocks and parts of the tops of the Canyon made it all look even more beautiful. While we were there looking at this part of God's wonderful creation it made me even more thankful that we know God and are able to enjoy His creation from his point of view. We heard people saying 'wow, how was this made?'. We do have the privileged position of having our eyes , ears, hearts, and spirits open to see the world from God's perspective.
After feasting on the sights we left the Grand Canyon and headed off for Las Vegas . We passed the Hoover Dam but were too late to do a tour so decided that we would do come back in the next couple of days. We were fortunate enough to be arriving in Vegas before it was dark (hooray) and we had a good view of the city. Very flat and spread out. We programmed Lola to take us to the rv park which was located right next to Circus Circus and she did well in getting us there. We checked in and then decided we'd had enough for one day. So we made some dinner, did a huge amount of washing (we had 5 machines going!) and sat down and watched half of Transformers 2.'
Day 29 Thursday
Today is our explore Vegas day and so off we set (on foot again!). There is a main street called 'The Strip' which has all of the main casinos and sights on it. Circus Circus is located at one end of it and we were staying just next to Circus Circus. We started off at some shops and bought Bethany some clothes which she was delighted about. Then we spent the rest of the day looking at sights. There are many things advertised to look at. The things are all 'provided' by the casinos, so you have to walk to the casino and then through it (a long way through it) to the sights at the other end. Everything is done by the casinos to ensure that you walk through all the poker machine and other gambling areas just in case you want to stop for a quick gamble. The children are allowed through these areas as long as they are with you and you don't stop. We were able to see the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty and many other things. No expense spared by any of the hotels/casinos. We were aware of a lot of tourists here and it is the only place that we have seen an abundance of smoking. It was an eye opener for the children particularly when we walked past one woman who was sitting operating three poker machines at once and she was still there doing the same thing when we came back and passed her a couple of hours later.
In Las Vegas they are proud to call themselves 'The Sin City' and yes there was an abundance of this. In my naivety I presumed that this had to do with all the pokies and gambling etc but that was hardly anything compared to all the sexual stuff there. It was not possible to be anywhere outside without some visual information about women and how to get them and use them. As night time approached it became even more difficult with men (and women) giving out cards to entice men to visit strip clubs etc. Wes was approached many times, even though he had his whole family with him, and was even holding hands with Bethany. I don't think any of us have a desire to visit there again. By time we got back to the rv it was late and we had walked approx 13 kms. Off to bed exhausted.
Day 30 Friday
Another day in Vegas. We set off in the morning and dropped Bethany and Simon at the Circus Circus adventure dome theme park while Wes and Thomas visited the Atomic testing museum and I went to the shops. Later in the day we dropped Thomas at the theme park as well and he enjoyed some of the rides there. (In case you are wondering about leaving the children there by themselves –all is well because it is all set up for parents to be able to leave there children there to enjoy the rides while the parents go to the Casino – they were completely safe and sound). We also met a family from the wonderful city of Canberra (:)) who had three boys and they went on many of the rides with Bethany and Simon. Wes and I did some grocery shopping and we picked up our exhausted children who had had unlimited rides on roller coasters etc (and had the time of their lives) and we had dinner and watched part 2 of Transformers 2). I was surprised to find that I really enjoyed the Transformers movies so much. Today, doing what we did in going to the theme park etc we were able to stay away from most of the rubbish that Vegas has. So we finished our time in Vegas okay and not overly bombarded with filth.
Day 31 Saturday
Leaving Vegas today via the Hoover Dam that we saw on the way in (which is in the opposite direction to where we are going today). We arrived there and booked in for a tour. The children and I opted to take the shorter tour (much cheaper) and we sent Wes off to do the full tour. The whole thing was very interesting and an engineering marvel of the industrial age (built in 1931 – art deco style). Wes had a marvellous time and we managed to tear him away from there around lunchtime. We then drove for hours cutting across country towards the western coast towards a place called Hearst Castle. By around 9.30 we had had enough and pulled into a town called Paso Robles and slept the night in a car park. The last stretch of road was particularly hairy as we were travelling through a mountainous area and it was foggy (help!!) We nearly had tears from the navigator (i.e. me)
Day 32 Sunday
Up and out early (easy to do when you are just parked in a car park) and off to Hearst Castle. This castle was built in the 1920's (actually over a period of 18 years) by a man William Randolph Hearst who was a famous media magnate. He enjoyed inviting famous movie stars to his Castle and the whole place is huge and very lavish. It was an extraordinary sight. We did enjoy doing a tour of it all and it was well worth the visit.
After we finished there we headed off towards Los Angeles for the final part of our trip. It was wonderful to see the coast again (even though we rarely go to the beach) and we enjoyed all the scenery on the way up to LA. The roads were even a bit quieter on the way up there until we got closer to LA (hooray) Fortunately Wes had found a rv park on the internet and we headed for that. The rv park is located in Malibu and we are perched on the side of a hill with wonderful ocean views. The weather is even a little milder here and my favourite coat has not been out of the rv since being here. :)
Day 33 Monday
LA here we come! So off we go with our trusty home to explore the sights. We have decided to explore the Hollywood, Beverly Hills area, and what better a way to do it than in a 30ft motor home (nearly beats walking). It was a bit tight in places but since Santa Monica Boulevard is so long it was great to see it from a moving vehicle. We also drove down Sunset Boulevard and Hollywood Boulevard and managed to find a car park to park the rv for the day. We set off on foot and began exploring Hollywood Boulevard. As soon as we started off we were accosted by the first of many sales people trying to sell us a tour of Hollywood and the Stars Homes. Wow was it bad. We gathered all the info and even managed to barter some good prices and eventually we went on a driving tour around Hollywood star spotting. Needless to say no one famous was out and about however we saw many places and even some homes (through thick bushes and high walls) of famous stars. The best part of the tour was the guide and he made it all very funny. The children enjoyed it and I guess I did too – but it's all very shallow. But then the Bible says that many people are living in the dark and haven't had their eyes opened – so I guess they are just trying to do their best in what they know. Remarkably the streets of Hollywood look rather run down and old and tired. There are also a lot more 'homeless' and 'unusual' people wandering around the streets. You can really see the difference between what you have in front of you and what the camera manages to do with it. There really is a lot of 'magic' that happens.
During the day we found out that there was going to be the Premier of the movie 'The green hornet' and so we decided to stay and watch it all unfold. We stood in the crowd for 2 hours watching it all happen and saw the actors Seth Rogen, Jay Chou (whoever they are?) and of course our all time favourite Cameron Diaz (although she didn't see us). We were also particularly delighted to see Kari Byron, Grant Imahara, Tori Belleci and Adam Savage from the Mythbusters (although they also didn't see us). It was fun and we were glad to have been there are the right time. I wonder whether we'll just have to see the movie now? Off we went to find the rv (which was still there fortunately) and back to the rv park through the LA motorways (oh dear). We have decided that the drivers in LA are the rudest we have come across in all our time here.
Day 34 Tuesday
Our last day of sightseeing. We got up late and had a slow start to the day, in fact I typed up more of this part 3 so that we can send it home before we leave tomorrow because we all know that I won't get it finished if I don't do it now.
Deciding which one thing to do today was a difficult task because there is so much to see in LA. We decided to spend the afternoon at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum (as you do while you are in LA with all the other things it has to offer). We decided to do this because of our interest in US Presidents (Wes) and in US history etc (Wes) and because it wasn't in crowded downtown and therefore difficult to drive to and of course to park the rv (Wes and my nerves!) The reason I give you all this background is because to our great surprise we had a wonderful time and it was a terrific place to go to. We learned a lot about Ronald Reagan and his part in the bringing down of the Berlin Wall and the cold war etc. The Museum is really a great testimony to him and the things that he achieved. He was a great bloke. They also had at the museum the Air Force One aeroplane that he, and some other presidents, travelled on that has now been retired. We also saw a replica of the Oval Office which was great since we weren't able to get into the Whitehouse. They also had a miniature replica of the White House. Most of the staff there are volunteers and they were so friendly and helpful, beyond what would normally happen when you visit somewhere. They were just lovely. So all in all we had a good time.
Then, back to the rv and another drive on a freeway or two (or three) and we picked up some fish and chips for dinner since we are staying next to the beach. Now I am trying to finish writing this so we can send it off tonight.
Tomorrow we pack up and hopefully manage to fit everything in our bags :) and clean the rv and return it to the depot by 2pm(wonder how many freeways we will have to take to get there?). Then to the airport and we wait there until our flight leaves at 10.30pm. We are booked to fly home on an A380 and we are really hoping that they are still flying, we arrive home on Friday morning. And that's the end of that – sadly.
We have really had the best time. We have seen so much, experienced so much and had a most wonderful time as a family. It's really great hanging out together.
I have just asked the rest of the family what they will miss about America when we go home, this is what they said:
Eating out – Bethany, Being together – Bethany, the hilarious conversations between Mum, Dad and Lola – Thomas, all being together and Dad and Tom's impersonations and jokes – Simon, the American people – Thomas, the people and the places that we have gone to – Bethany, Seeing wonderful places but it is the American people themselves who have really been the highlight for me they have been so warm and welcoming – Wes, I agree with Wes wholeheartedly – Belinda, also I have really enjoyed having a much less full and busy life than usual – Belinda, root beer and root beer floats (you can buy 12 cans for $3.95 here but they cost $2.50 a can at home, if you can find them) – Belinda, the icecream (mmmm), a rocket/spaceshuttle launch (which they keep delaying)-Wes.
What we won't miss about America:
The 'flicky flicky men' and occasionally women – Simon (what he means by this is the people in Vegas who were trying to inundate Wes with cards to entice him to go to strip clubs), Having to park the rv – Wes, the annoying drivers honking at us – Bethany, spending so much time trying to work out how to use all the different types of taps everywhere (faucets) - Thomas, Freeways (guess who said that)-Belinda, the bread and the cereals – all of us, working out this whole tipping thing , its very confusing and we have struggled to try to minimise offence - Wes
What we are looking forward to about going home:
Seeing my friends – Simon, hearing Australian accents everywhere- Thomas, seeing my friends – Thomas, seeing my friends – Bethany, going to our home – everyone, seeing Buzzy and Saucer – everyone (except Wes about Buzzy), sleeping in my own bed – Wes (which he won't be doing if his attitude to the precious Buzzy doesn't improve), seeing family and friends – Wes and Belinda. Watching my tv – Wes, bread and cereal – everyone, home cooked meals – everyone (except the cook) – bittersweet really because then I have to cook but I canna take much more of the take away!) my birthday – Simon, going to Newday – Thomas, driving on the 'right' side of the road – Thomas, the warmer weather (how long will that last?), going back to Church – all of us, having an expanded wardrobe – all of us.
What we are not looking forward to about going home:
Having to cook, wash, clean etc etc – Belinda, being able to throw out disposable cups and plates when they are dirty – Wes, going back to work – Wes, dad going back to work and not being with us – Simon, not being on 'holidays' – Belinda, having to do the bathrooms on Saturdays – Bethany, having to do the vacuuming at the weekends - Simon, going back to work – Thomas.
Well that's all folks. Thanks for reading this, hope you enjoyed it.
Love to you all and looking forward to seeing each and every one of you soon.
All of us (and editor, Belinda) xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Tuesday 11 January 2011
One of the stars of 'The Green Hornet' - Seth Rogen
We were also delighted to see four of the stars of one of our favorite family shows Mythbusters.
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