I am clumping my visits to New Jersey and to Connecticut in one post, because of 2 reasons.

1. they were visited on the same trip.
2. i have few photos.

These visits were from back in the day when road trips seemed to happen at a regular basis in my life. We also went to PA on this trip (as most of our road trips included PA) but I’m saving all of those times for another day!

Ive only been to New Jersey on 2 occasions. Once, was on a PA trip when we went to a small town where we were able to just walk across a bridge and what do you know, we were in New Jersey! The other time was to help a church there for a VBS and we just traveled in each day from PA. So I don’t have very many opinions of New Jersey, I didn’t really see a lot of it or experience much of it or the people there. But I have no complaints!

Connecticut was on the same trip that NJ happened, and was one of our last stops. This was the first and only time I have been to Connecticut, and I rather enjoyed it. We first went to Hartford the capitol, and stayed with a friend at the time near the downtown area and visited some gardens for a day and a night. That was a really good time! Then we went elsewhere in Connecticut to visit another friend who was in YWAM there! So we just stayed with her, met her friends, explored the down town area and where all they worked in and of course went to the beach! That was a memorable and fun time for sure! The thing I remember most was that one of her housemates had a pet snake and a pet tarantula which the tarantula i believe had gotten loose (correct me if I am wrong friends)….and they were downstairs. So beki and I, made Tina sleep downstairs with our friend (Tasha) because we were (and still are) the scaredy cats…nobody slept well that I don’t believe. I still have the heebie jeebies typing it all out!
But clearly we all survived and we have fun memories!

I would love to go back to Connecticut someday to explore more. It was very new englandy (don’t think that’s a word), and I like that!

Also, these photos are from around 2010. Just an FYI. 🙂

As a secretary, I rely a lot on the internet, my computer, and my phone. To receive all the information that I need, and to communicate the information I need, those are the top 3 things that constantly need to be working for me do my job promptly and well. (And probably my car, to get me from A to B)

To tell you how many times these things don’t work for me is probably too many to count. It throws me off when those 3 things don’t work…and it happens quite often. Especially in the last week, my phone has been giving me the most recent problem.

I usually don’t have good luck with phones or cars. Technology just does not seem to like it. And if it isn’t my car that is acting up, it is my phone, or it is the internet or my computer….it is a never ending cycle. You would think by now that I would be able to handle these things not working with grace and poise…but unfortunately I am not full of poise and rarely full of grace.

I don’t say these things to complain (ok, well maybe just a little), or to be like woe is me. That’s not the reason in sharing this constant struggle of mine. The reason I share is because today I finally thought, ‘okay God, what is it that You are wanting me to learn from this…” because clearly I have been going about it all wrong. And maybe, just maybe, the lesson here is to be reminded and to re-learn what I rely on most.

I would be lying if I said that I am great at relying on God. I probably do rely on technology and people way to often. Probably at an ungodly rate, which is probably why things don’t always work for me technology, and why relationships aren’t always what I expect them to be. I need to change and this is a process…a process I (and God) am working on, whether it looks like it or not.

So I ask a few things of you…
1. What are you relying on? or better yet, WHO are you relying on for your everyday tasks, for the big things, to get you through the day (because let’s be real, some days just don’t feel worth getting out of bed for #adulting)

2. Will you pray for me to rely on God? To be full of grace and poise when things aren’t working for me (especially the way I would like them to). And I will pray for you.

3. If you know how to fix my iPhone 6s (and no I do not have insurance on it), which is shutting itself off at random times and tells me it needs charged, even it if is fully charged now. Before it was at least past 50%…but now its doing it when it is fully charged also, please let me know! 🙂

If things aren’t going your way, or you also have bad luck with technology or just random things…practice grace, take deep breaths and pray without ceasing. Ask God for more grace, and joy when things aren’t working. The best gift He has given us, is Himself, His presence…so grace and poise and joy are fully attainable if we can control our anger, our woe is me mentality, our negativity…
He Is With Us.

That your trust may be in the Lord, I have made them known to you today, even to you. Proverbs 22:19

Road trips are the best. I’ve been on quite a few in my lifetime, and only hope to go on more! Kentucky, is a great road trip place for Ohioans. It’s not far, and it is beautiful! I’ve been on 2 different road trips to Kentucky, mostly sticking to the Eastern side. But Tennessee and western NC are also showcased on the photos because of the 1 trip!

It was in September of 2009, for my bestie’s Bday partially. Tina, Myself and our friend Jahvona (who now is a missionary on the Amazon with her Brazilian hubby!) in Tina’s trusty camry!  Kentucky and Tennessee and western NC are  just where we went! You will have to forgive me, because I don’t remember the name’s of most of the places we went. I do know we saw part of the Red River Gorge. I know we hiked some, we picnic’d, crashed a Cherokee Indian Festival, saw a few waterfalls, some cliffs, drove the Dragon’s Tail and stopped at a lot of beautiful places and we slept in the car at a rest stop.

This trip was full of laughter, map reading (this was before GPS was a big deal), maybe some tension (let’s be real, this is bound to happen), but all i remember is the fun and the laugh’s!

It started out with Jahvona showing up late because she got in a car accident and had quite the burn on her hand. SO that’s how it started, but it gradually got much better!! When we crashed the Cherokee Indian festival, they did some native dances and chants, and well they needed some partners. We did not volunteer…but Jahvona and I got picked…so I somewhere have video of us doing a few dances that were quite odd to us, but a hoot for tina who was watching us and laughing the whole time! It was truly an experience, and hilarious looking back! Sleeping in the car was probably not the safest route of doing things, but we were cheap and young and thought it would be a fun story, and it is! Don’t think I would do that now. On our way home, at the Dragon’s Tail at one of the stops, there were butterflies…so jahvona and tina acted out the butterfly friendship and we made a video of it..which is nowhere to be found unfortunately. Jahvona ended up falling over at the end of it, needless to say we were well entertained and laughed a ton! I also fell by one of the waterfalls. That’s just the story of my life!

In October, 2010 was the other Kentucky road trip! I have a friend that went to College in Kentucky close to Lexington. So for my birthday one year, Tina, myself and my friend Ashley went to visit her for a weekend. We went to a Leeland and Sanctus Real concert which was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! And we just took in the sights and the fall weather! It’s nice to take a photographer with you on a road trip…just a tip! Take advantage of knowing people in different places. Go visit, go explore, go enjoy, go catch up. It is well worth it!

There are TONS of photos for you to enjoy. Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee and western NC are beautiful along the Smoky Mountains and if you ever get the chance to just go and hike and sight see, there are so many things to see and do in those areas! Get out, enjoy, and make memories!

Niagara Falls. Just some facts…

• Niagara Falls State Park is the oldest state park in the U.S.A., established in 1885 as the Niagara Reservation, the first of several such reservations that eventually became the cornerstones to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
• Frederick Law Olmsted, landscape architect of Niagara Falls State Park, also designed Central Park in New York City.
• In 1969, an earthen dam was built across the head of the American Rapids, dewatering the American Falls. For six months, geologists and engineers studied the rock face and the effects of erosion. It was determined that it would be too costly to remove rock at the base of the American Falls, and that nature should take its course.
• 3,160 tons of water flows over Niagara Falls every second. This accounts for 75,750 gallons of water per second over the American and Bridal Veil Falls and 681,750 gallons per second over the Horseshoe Falls.
• The water falls at 32 feet per second over the falls, hitting the base of the falls with 280 tons of force at the American and Bridal Veil Falls and 2,509 tons of force at the Horseshoe Falls.
• Niagara Falls are capable of producing over 4 million kilowatts of electricity, which is shared by the United States and Canada.
• Four of the five Great Lakes drain into the Niagara River, (Superior, Michigan, Huron and Erie) before emptying into Lake Ontario. These five Great Lakes make up almost one-fifth of the world’s fresh water supply.
  (http://www.niagarafallsstatepark.com/Amazing-Facts.aspx)

I have been twice 3 times to Niagara falls. Twice on the New York side and once to the Canadian side. Once when I was very little to NY, once to meet up with some friends some Northern Ireland on the Canadian side (which my parents tagged along too because it happened to be my Dad’s birthday), and once with a group of Off The Wall friends in the winter time to NY again just a couple of years ago.

If you have never been, go. I prefer the Canadian side when the weather is warm. But, to see the falls in the winter time, is a must as well! To go behind the falls as well is amazing! It is so loud! There is so much power and force in the falls. It is so majestic as well. I could literally just stand and stare at them for hours.

The little towns nearby too are also adorable and fun to explore. On the NY side we found a cute little coffee shop (as most millennials do). Niagara is a great weekend trip! So if your from Ohio and need a weekend away, head to Niagara. NY or Canada! Both are only about 5-6 hours away!

Both trips are included in these photos. I couldn’t find more photos, my apologies! When I went with friends to the NY side, we also went to the aquarium which was awesome! Many photo creds go to Tyler Miller & Denton Troyer! Thanks guys! 🙂