Fireworks of July!

Fireworks over Winona Lake in Warsaw on 4 July, and fireworks on Lake Wawasee with our friend on his uncle's boat on 5 July. In between, we shot off a bunch of fireworks around the house that we bought at Crazy Joe's Fireworks out on 30, past Atwood.

Safe at sea!

Happy Fireworks Day!

Midsummer Eve, 2014

We spent this special Swedish holiday with a friend in a cabin by a pond, in the middle of the woods in southern Indiana. No running water, no electricity, no internet and barely phone coverage. The bathroom consisted of a shovel and a short walk into the woods, meals were cooked over an open fire, and when it got dark, it was *DARK* as in, thousands of fireflies against a pitch dark forest and an open sky, with more constellations than I could count. Absolutely gorgeous! Such bliss!

Road trip, day 1: from northern Indiana to Oxford, OH

We packed up the van the night before. Not only did we have the five suitcases of clothes and things we had brought from Beirut, but since we had already spent well over a month in the US, we had accumulated quite a bit of additional stuff. We stuck it anywhere we could. When we pulled out of the drive way on a bright Sunday morning, waving good bye to grandma and grandpa, the bottom of the van hit the curb. As we kept driving a bit, the van got higher, and we decided a full tank was probably out of the question for the remainder of our drive.

We drove about 165 miles that first day, to Oxford, OH, where good friends from our Cairo days live.

We stopped several times on the way, mainly to nurse. We had brought sandwiches and drinks that we ate in Berne, a very cute little town, apparently quite proud of their Swiss heritage. There were a lot of Amish settlements along the way as well and several times, we ended up behind a buggy. We had not seen our friends for a couple of years, and the reunion, although brief, was happy: good dinner, lots of catching up, kids play, a good sleep and a shower, and we were on our way again, the next day, quickly leaving Ohio behind.

From Indiana to Georgia: getting ready to move

I love Indiana. Of all the states I have visited and lived in, it’s my absolute favorite. OK, every time I’ve been there, I’ve been on holiday, and our family is there, which makes it a wonderful place, but even disregarding this, northern Indiana is pretty great:

• There are lakes everywhere, with nice little beaches and docks, and swimming is free!
• Things are - in general - a little cheaper, people are more down to earth and relaxed, very friendly, less pretentious, and care more about comfort than appearance.
• Although it’s pretty flat, it’s quite beautiful with fields and little forests. One night we were on our way back from South Bend and the sky was clear. We pulled into a country road in the middle of nowhere, drove through a huge corn field and parked the car. Oh, the silence! Or rather, the sound of nature at night. It was so still and crisp, and absolutely pitch dark. Looking up, we could see the Milky Way more clearly than I have ever seen it, and the sky was absolutely beautiful, completely surrounding us. We saw several shooting stars, and stood just still and quite, admiring the sky, until our necks hurt and the mosquitoes had eaten our legs.

As much as we love Indiana though, and as much as we love spending time with family, we were quite excited to start our drive from northern Indiana to Atlanta: the trip itself, although tiring, was going to be exciting, and we couldn’t wait to move into our own space and stop living out of suitcases for a while. Also, we were very curious at the prospect of discovering a new place, new work, new food and meet new people.

Because we have a nursing five month old, and I, the nursing mother, is the only one who can drive, we decided that four hours a day was all that we would be able to handle. We also decided that we didn’t mind driving a few extra miles if it entailed something fun or special, like a site or a visit, and that our trip would take four days.