The Road Trip Continues- Spring Break Part II

So you learn a lot about people when you spend 7 hours a day with them in the car. I thin all together we drove for about 22+ during the week. One thing I learned about Meghan while on this trip was that she becomes a very different person when she drives. She is develops what is commonly known as road rage, which I will admit is quite funny at times but in the case of being lost and her yelling at you it can be scary.

Two days after our run-in with the tornado it was time to venture to the sunnier skies of Cocoa Beach, Florida. After a quick stop at the Whistle Stop Cafe, home of the movie Fried Green Tomatoes, we headed for our next destination. At about 8 pm we are in Florida and the directions instruct us to get on to a highway which as it turns out is a toll road. I am a 21st century college student and am not prepared with any cash, luckily Meghan the responsible one is. So we are driving and the more tolls we hit the more Meghan gets frustrated. Finally we are getting close to the place we are staying and we are looking for our exit. Well we exit and of course have to pay another toll but now there are no longer people to take your money you just drop in a quarter and away you go. We well get off to soon but now we are stuck on this road for ten miles before we can turn around. So we go back the other way and we can only get on the highway going west and we need to go east. We pay the toll again and go west. After driving another ten miles in the wrong direction we get off pay a quarter and pay another quarter to get on going east. Then we get off at the right exit and pay another toll. Then the directions tell us to get off at a certain exit so we do and it puts us back on the road we just came from going in the wrong direction. So we get off and have to pay another toll, drive ten miles before we can get back on going east and of course we have to pay the toll again. Well we are out of quarters. So we use the only spare change that we have left and come up with .25. We drive back east and have to get off again and now we don't have any quarters and no change. So we sit at the toll, searching the car and our bags and purses for anything. Meanwhile this car comes up behind us with rap music blaring, and is yelling out the window that we have got to be joking as we slowly are dropping in penny's and what ever we can find. Meghan yells out the window "nope, don't have a quarter!"

Some how we came up with the money and managed not to get raped or shot by the angry car behind us. We figure out the directions, which were wrong by the way, and get to the house we are staying at. All this to say that one what would have happened if we had to get off again and didn't have anymore change? Two, thank you Lord for providing and protecting us. And three, if you really want to get to know someone go on a road trip with them and see if you are still friends afterwards. Meghan and I spent 10 days together and I am happy to say that I think we are even better friends than when we left.

Love From Liberty,

Peggy

P.S. Meghan if you read this I love ya!

Spring Break Part I

I love spring break. I think it was one of the best things ever invented. It is very sad to say that next year will be my last one and then I will enter the world of only a weeks vacation all year. This I believe will be one of the hardest adjustments to entering the work force. So to savor the tradition my friend Meghan and I decided to do an good old fashioned road trip for our 10 day get away. And what is more traditional than heading south to good old sunny Florida? But as we would soon discover our road trip was to be no more ordinary than we were.

Beginning by making a stop in Atlanta our first night we found our selves in the middle of a tornado. You may think that I am exaggerating but I assure you I am not. We were in search of parking at a coffee shop when Meghan's mom called and said there was really bad weather coming our way, we did not take this very seriously as it wasn't even raining outside. But as we continued to circle the block we noticed some lighting and in frustration of no parking spots we decided to head back to the place we were staying. No sooner did we get on the interstate than the wind picked up and it began to pour golf ball sized water drops. In a matter of about two min. the sky turned completely dark and as I looked up it looked like the Wizard of OZ. Things were just floating in the sky as if they were feathers. The clouds were funneling. Dirt and debree were hitting our car. We saw a green interstate sign whiz past us as if it were weightless. Now traveling very slowly almost at a stop we went under an over pass and as we did the electricity went out.

Now being from Iowa I am familiar with tornadoes. Ideally you should stop the car, get out and lay flat in a ditch. Well what do you do if you are on an over pass and there is no place to get out or off? Our answer pray, out loud, over and over.

Almost as suddenly as it came it seem to leave with only normal amounts of rain the traffic again picked up and we continued to the house where we were staying. A few miles down the road we noticed a hole in Meghan's back windshield. Something during the storm shattered the glass and every time we opened or closed a door or went over a bump the hole got bigger and bigger. By the next day when the "Glass Doctor" came to replace it was about a foot tall and about 2 feet long. Luckily we were able to get it fixed the next day and it didn't delay our travel plans.

We have much to be thankful for as in watching news coverage we were only about 2-4 blocks away from where the tornado touched down causing damage at the CNN building, the Georgia Dome, and the Centennial Park.

This is just the first of many stories to come. Stay tuned for more exciting road trip adventures!

Love from Liberty,

Peggy

An End to World Hunger

So I have a plan to end world hunger and it doesn't involve any huge personal sacrifices of individuals or a revelation in the Church. Now please do not misunderstand me I think both need to happen especially the second. But since we are selfish human beings and the church seems to be more concerned with the color of the carpet than the commandments of God I have come up with an alternate plan.

On Monday I was sitting in my creation studies class and we were watching a movie on if the earth is unique and if it is plausible for their to be life on other planets. During the film they started talking about these huge satellites that are constantly tracking transmissions in space for signals that extra terrestrials might be sending out. My first thought was what a waste of money. And as I continued to sit there I began to think about how much money would would save in electricity if we shut off these satellites and the machines that are used to record the data they produce. And on top of this the money we could save on the huge salaries that I am sure the scientists are making to interpret this data only to tell us that they haven't found anything. Not to mention the upkeep and repair of these huge machines.

This is just one example that I can think of that we waste money on unnecessary things. Another example is Washington D.C. I love D.C. I think it is the perfect college student vacation because almost everything is free. I also think that the monuments are beautiful especially at night BUT how much money might we save if we stopped lighting the monuments all night long. What if say we shut them off between 2am and 4am? Two hours a night may not seem like much but two times 365 days a year and we could have quite the chunk of change to aid third world countries.

I am not saying these ideas are perfect or don't need more information or consideration but it is just a thought. I think the thing I find the most incomprehensible is that in a world of technology and high speed we can't find and implement a solution to the hundreds of thousands of people dying daily from malnutrition and starvation. I have heard that if everyone stopped drinking bottled water for a year? and we funneled that money to those who truly need it we could solve world hunger. Just a thought.

With Love from Liberty,
Peggy

The Ideal Make-Out Spot

So last night I went to the dollar movie theater with a friend and as we were getting in the car after the movie my friend looked over and in the car beside us and noticed a couple making out. Now when I say making out I don't mean that they were casually kissing these two were on their way to making a baby. After recovering from shock, appal and laughing hysterically I went to put my seat belt on only to see that in the car on the other side of us was also sucking face. It was better than any comedy I have ever seen. I mean we weren't parked in the back of the theater in the shadows we were out front under a lamp post at the dollar theater.

To those girls I would like to say that you should be a more expensive date. A dollar movie? Really? I mean I know that I watch too many chick flicks but after replaying the situation over in my head several times I am still failing to see the romance in the dollar movie theater parking lot. Granted it gave my friend and I a really good laugh and a memory that I will remember for a long time but ladies please raise your standards.

I wonder if kissing boothes were that intese for only a dollar it would be a more effective fundraiser? Just a thought.

Love from Liberty,
Peggy

The Profile Picture

So as you may have guessed the girl in the profile picture is not me. This summer I had the privilege to work at East Iowa Bible Camp. This is the same camp I spent every summer from sixth grade through high school. Camp is like an addiction for me, the more time I spend there the more I want to go back. Anyway, the head of maintenance Ben and his wife Sarah have five amazing children, four girls and a boy. On my last day this summer I thought it would be fun to combine my love for photography, camp, and these children and do a photo shoot with them. While this sounds like a fairly simple idea may I inform you that the oldest girl is seven and that it was about 104 outside that day. Getting four hot, and cranky girls to sit still, smile, and all look at the camera at the same time proved to be quite the challenge. I managed to get a couple of good shots before we finally resorted to individual pictures of the girls. This seemed to work much better except for Ruby who refused to hold still. As they say if you can't beat them join them, so I did. As Ruby walked around I followed her the result is my profile picture. It is one of my favorite pictures that I have ever taken and so I have choosen to use it for my profile. I think that she is probably cuter than I am anyway so better to show her off.

Below are some of the other pictures that I took that day. Thanks Sarah for helping me set them up and keep things in order, I couldn't have done it with out your help.

Love From Liberty,

Peggy

Ideas from the Roommate

So my roommate is getting married in June. She is also a huge blog fan. She doesn't have one but she reads them constantly. It's funny because she will say "I can't wait to be married and have a blog". I pointed out to her that she doesn't have to be married to start a blog but she feels like she currently has nothing of significance to write about. I don't see how being married will suddenly make life of a huge interest to others. Anyway, in light of her thoughts and ideas about blogs I have decided to create one to show her that there is plenty to say to others with out being married. Now weather or not I will say anything of significance I don't know but I hope that for those who read this it will make you think, or smile, or remember that I am thinking of you. I hope I can prove her wrong!

Love from Liberty,

Peggy