Back to Hartford

The Pendleton summer adventures have concluded and we are home in Hartford -- delayed by a day by a cancelled flight. We are happy to be home and quite amazed at what we have seen and done since July 1st. I will post soon some further reflections. Right now: sleep.

Choir Residency Concludes

The Cathedral choir departed from Ely today and fly back to Hartford. Leslie, Will and Lydia and I are remaining in London for four more days to eek out this exceptional summer of travel and adventure. The week was very meaningful for our choir and I hope the people who experienced their singing in this great Cathedral also thought so.

Ely has really an ideal town for our choir to experience for a week.

We are thankful for all those in the Cathedral community who were supportive of this trip.

Pilgrimage to Canterbury

Six of us have broken away from the choir group and spent the last two days in Canterbury, the site of pilgrimages since the 12th century when it was believed that praying at the tomb of St. Thomas Becket brought about healings and miracles. The Cathedral is the Mother Church of the Anglican Communion. Visiting this charming English village reminds one of the ancient practice of pilgrimage. Today the town is flooded with tourists from all over the world, especially Europe. But it has long been thus.

Jake Harney, a verger at the Cathedral in Hartford, got a special treat when I had made plans for him to meet with the vergers of the Cathedral. We both learned some things and will take a few pointers back to Hartford.

Our days have been spent wondering the streets, visiting the Cathedral, reading, eating and even napping. Not a bad stay. Tomorrow back to Ely to join the group.

Choir Tour of Ely, England

44 members of Christ Church Cathedral are touring England this week. Our choir is in residence at Ely Cathedral, near Cambridge. The weather is glorious and the choir had their first Evensong last night. We were honored to sing in the Lady Chapel for the renowned English composer John Rutter, a friend of Kevin Jones, our Canon Precentor.

Home at Last! For a week anyway

Yes, the trip has ended by the journey has only begun. We arrived to Hartford safe and sound on July 31, not sad but content and satisfied and thankful for all that we did and saw as a family. The "trip of a lifetime" was just that. Lush and rainy Connecticut felt like entering a rain forest compared to the dry Southwest and California. We have this week to rest up before our choir and youth held off to England on August 8 to sing in residence at Ely Cathedral -- and one evensong in St. Paul's Cathedral in London. I will take five non-singers to Canterbury for 3 days. Look for blog entries along the way. We'll be gone for two weeks.

Wild Montana: Glacier National Park

Many have told us along the way that we’ve probably saved the best for last. Glacier National Park, in northwest Montana adjacent the Canadian border, does not disappoint. While Grand Canyon and Yosemite were glorious and unique, one also shares the natural beauty with hordes of tourists from around the world. Because of its remoteness, Glacier is more wild and untouched by the masses. It is only open four months of the year because the brutal winter weather.

We have spent three nights at Many Glacier Hotel, built in 1915 by the National Park service. This rambling old beauty sits on a crystal clear lake surrounded by mountains: glaciers and bears can been seen from the restaurant deck. Leslie and I were fortunate to see a female moose swimming in the lake within a few hours of our arrival.

On our big activity day, Leslie and Lydia went on all-day horseback ride to a glacier lake (the flakes from the glaciers turn the water to an otherworld turquoise) and Will and I went on an hike up the Grinnell Glacier. It was by far the biggest hike I have ever walked (I’m not a hiker). It was an eight mile hike there a back and we climbed 1600’ within an hour and a half (a lot of huffing and puffing) by the view was worth it. I’m glad that Will and Lydia have seen these glaciers in their lifetime because they are receding at an alarming rate. Grinnell Glacier has been losing ice since the 1920’s, so the debate continues as how much global warming is accelerating the melting.

July 24th and Heading East

Heading East: The Amtrak Empire Builder.

We head east out of Portland with one week to go on our travels. The Empire Builder departs both from Portland and Seattle, meeting up in the middle of the night in Spokane and joining trains. The trip from Portland moved up the Columbia river gorge and basin for four hours in some of the most spectacular scenery from the window of the train for the entire trip. For hundreds of miles the train skirts the river lined by cliffs, the water often filled in places with wind surfers and sailboats. As the sun sets, I can say that the view exceeds that of the California coast.

The train has been almost problem-free throughout this month. The trains have left on time and have kept to schedule. We were fortunate to have missed a forest fire in northern California that causes the train just two days previously to have been detoured and the passengers shuttled by bus. We saw the embers and fires still burning, which was eerie. When you pay extra for a sleeper car, the meals are included, so we just show up in the dining car and get our meals very quickly. The meals are certainly a step up from airline food (when there was airline food). By in large, the staff and the service on the trains have been very helpful and welcoming – knowing that many passengers are new to long-distance train travel.