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Friends and Family,

Last year I celebrated 10 years at the company I work for. A decade. 120 months. 3,650 days. 29,200 hours on the clock. (1,752,000 seconds, in case you’re wondering about the math on that one.)

I’m thankful to say that I love my job. In addition to a paycheck, personal satisfaction, fulfilling working relationships, and professional challenges, after 10 years of service I gained an extra week of paid vacation. Sweet. An extra week at the beach? Sign me up.

But God poked my heart a bit—asking me to think about reserving part or all of this extra week for service to Him. He may not call me every year, but I felt His Spirit asking me to be willing and open to the possibility. So I started praying for an opportunity.

And then in early 2017, Deb got up in front of church and I knew He was speaking through her, directly to me. She and her husband, Adam, would lead a group to Mexico in July to offer help with a week of church camp put on by Vida Nueva (“New Life” in Spanish) Ministries in Piedras Negras, Mexico. It’s an organization and a place that our church has sent many teams over the years, and my heart beat faster as Deb gave a 30-second spiel about the trip.

I couldn’t wait till after the service to sign up. I walked out of the auditorium to the Welcome Center as Deb prayed before the offering and sermon and scrawled my name and email address on the top line of the sheet.

And now, 48 hours after returning from the trip, I am still in awe of the experience that God gave me. He went before me. He stood beside me. He returned with me. And I believe He allowed me to experience a tiny taste of what eternity with Him will be some day. I am changed for the better in so many ways.

First, I want to thank you. For your financial support. For your interest in the trip. For your prayers. For your specific prayers on specific days. I felt them. We as a mission team felt them. The camp staff and campers felt them:

·         Your prayers kept us safe in a country where safety isn’t guaranteed.

·         Your prayers kept us united in mind and in spirit.

·         Your prayers helped us form deep bonds that never would’ve formed otherwise.

·         Your prayers kept our planes on time, our connections made, our van trucking down the highway.

·         Your prayers helped us cross the border (both ways) without incident.

·         Your prayers kept us in good health.

·         Your prayers kept us encouraged and upbeat.

·         Your prayers helped us rest (or thrive on little rest).

·         Your prayers helped us connect with people who spoke little or no English.

·         Your prayers brought us back rejuvenated in body, mind, and spirit.

·         Your prayers helped us be a light in a world different than our own.

 We are humbled by your prayers, and I am so thankful to consider you part of my mission team.

The team from First Christian Church included 10 people—the oldest at 74, the youngest at 13, and the rest of us at varying decades between. Other than the teammates who are related to each other, the rest of us weren’t much more than acquaintances. You know who I mean. . .the people at church that you know by name and can say hi on a Sunday morning but haven’t had a real conversation with.

It took a mere 24 hours of travel and living with my team to realize that they were my people. God gave us a spirit of love and camaraderie unlike any that I’ve ever experienced.

Don’t get me wrong. We are all very different people. Varying ages, stages in life, personalities… Dover vs. New Phila (all in good fun)…but God blessed us with unity. With understanding. With an uncanny love of just being together and hanging out. I laughed more last week than I have laughed in the past year. (And that’s a lot of laughing, because I tend to find humor in everyday life.)

We worked together. We played together. We played with campers together. We ate together. We laughed. . .and laughed. . .and laughed. We studied scripture together. We prayed together. We slept in very tight quarters and took turns in a single shower. And we loved every minute of it.

We arrived at Vida Nueva on Saturday evening, and we got to experience church Sunday morning at the church next door. A good 90% of the service was in Spanish. The thing I loved most was the singing and seeing the lyrics on the screen. I took 3 years of Spanish in high school, so there were several words and phrases that I could translate. Although none of the songs were familiar to me, I sang about the freedom I have through the blood of Christ. I sang the promise that God takes away my fear. I sang for God to be glorified. I celebrated His promise of eternal life. In Spanish.

Camp started on Monday morning when 60 kids ages 5-12 arrived at the camp. The theme of the week was “Jesús es mi superheroé” (Jesus is my superhero), and the verse of the week was Juan (John) 3:16.

Part of my week was spent prepping and painting classrooms for the semester that will start at the school in a few weeks. There were 4 of us—all who happened to be 30-somethings—who became the painting crew. All-in-all we completed 4 large classrooms during the week. And we had a blast doing it. Maybe it was the paint fumes or the old-school Christian music (think Supertones and Audio Adrenaline) or the worship music that we sang at the top of our lungs. But it was also the hours of conversation in the midst of hard work—kneeling and climbing ladders and rolling and sweating and trying to stay hydrated—that bonded me to Renée, Jason, and Kris.

The other part of the week I got to work with kids in a couple of the camp classes—woodworking and crafts. Renée and I experienced a day and a half in a large, echo-ey classroom filled with about 20 kids hammering nails into boards. It was like a Mexican Santa’s Workshop with more sweat and fewer candy canes and cocoa. In my normal life, I legitimately may have put one of the hammers through my own skull just to make the noise stop, but there was something calming (and ridiculous—Renée and I laughed through the chaos) about the whole thing. We found joy in every task and in every moment we could.

Wednesday Deb asked us to lead her class for the day—crafts. So the 4 of us on the painting crew (with the help of the teenage Mexican leaders to translate) worked with kids to use fabric markers to color superhero-themed headbands and tiny superhero figures out of clothespins. The kids had a blast, and we did, too.

The food we ate at camp was mostly amazing and sometimes a little weird. I tried cactus for the first time, and I’d always choose the picante (spicy) option if we were given an option by the cooks. Some on our team were EXTREME lightweights in the spicy department, but I found the spice to be really delicious. Although, to be fair, they do tone it down a bit since they’re feeding kids. One lunch that was particularly strange included a side of pasta that was a mix of Chef-Boyardee ravioli, Spaghetti-os, and other types of similar noodles in sauce. I was hungry and it was good.

We got to meet and interact with so many of the kids and adult staff, and it was a blessing to be with them and help in whatever way we could. John used his skills and talent as an electrician to install new lighting in the campus’s outdoor gym. Adam helped manage and orchestrate detailed woodworking projects that the kids loved making and will hang on their walls at home for years. Deb and Donna helped the campers create fun and interesting crafts that they will cherish. Bailey (13) helped with childcare, was Adam’s shadow and helped him with lots of odd jobs, and her dry/deadpan sense of humor kept us laughing all week. We gave Ty (15) a hard time, saying that he didn’t work all week, but he did. He made connections with the kids and other teenage leaders that none of us adults could have. Jason was the big, fun, and goofy Americano that all the kids loved. Kris’s quiet, hardworking, patient, kind demeanor, and ever-present smile encouraged everyone around him. And Renée’s warm hugs and infectious laugh were freely given to campers throughout the week.

I am so blessed to call them friends.

I have a notebook full of my memories that I recorded throughout camp, and I will be happy to tell you more when I see you. But for now and for the end of this update, I want to leave you with something that God revealed to me mid-week:

We live in a fallen world. There is darkness, poverty, sin, pain, sadness, and despair all around. As believers, we know the end game—God will redeem this world when Jesus comes again, and we look forward to that day. But for a moment—for a week in the middle of July—God, in His great love for me, allowed me to glimpse a shadow of heaven. Of joyfully working for Him. Of unity with believers with white skin and darker skin. Of living in, radiating, and reflecting His love.

What a privilege. What an honor that He gives us opportunities to see that glimpse of eternity.

If you have served on a short-term mission—in the US, at a church camp, outside our borders, overseas—you understand what I’m talking about. If you have never taken the step out of your comfort zone to serve, I urge you to listen for God’s call. Don’t wait for heaven. Get the taste on your tongue and in your spirit now.

Tú hermana en Cristo (Your sister in Christ),

Annie

Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.  Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Philippians 1:3–6 NLT

P.S. If you’d like to see more pictures and videos from the trip, you can find one at: https://youtu.be/i46s64GQzLY

 Follow Vida Nueva on Facebook and find even more pictures and videos from the week: https://www.facebook.com/vidanuevaministries/

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"You're way deep in my bogus bag and it I ziplocked shut." -Gil

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I read for work and for pleasure but after I'm done I always seem to end up visiting my old friends again. And again. ⚡️

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What a cool day! I'm debt freeeeeee! (at Financial Peace Plaza - The Dave Ramsey Show)

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Morning fun!

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Imperfect Christmas

Holly, mistletoe, red berries, ivy, turkeys, geese, game, poultry, brawn, meat, pigs, sausages, oysters, pies, puddings, fruit, and punch, all vanished instantly. So did the room, the fire, the ruddy glow, the hour of the night, and they stood in the city streets on Christmas morning, where (for the weather was severe) the people made a rough, but brisk and not unpleasant kind of music in scraping the snow from the pavement in front of their dwellings and from the tops of their houses, whence it was mad delight to the boys to see it come plumping down into the road below, and splitting into artificial little snowstorms.

The house fronts looked black enough, and the windows blacker, contrasting with the smooth white sheet of snow upon the roofs, and with the dirtier snow upon the ground; which last deposit had been plowed up in deep furrows by the heavy wheels of carts and wagons, furrows that crossed and recrossed each other hundreds of times where the great streets branched off, and made intricate channels, hard to trace in the thick yellow mud and icy water. The sky was gloomy, and the shortest streets were choked up with a dingy mist, half thawed, half frozen, whose heavier particles descended in a shower of sooty atoms, as if all the chimneys in Great Britain had, by one consent, caught fire, and were blazing away to their dear hearts’ content. There was nothing very cheerful in the climate or the town, and yet there was an air of cheerfulness abroad that the clearest summer air and brightest summer sun might have endeavored to diffuse in vain.

For the people who were shoveling away on the housetops were jovial and full of glee, calling out to one another from the parapets, and now and then exchanging a facetious snowball—better-natured missile far than many a wordy jest—laughing heartily if it went right, and not less heartily if it went wrong.

–Excerpted from Stave III, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

The Ghost of Christmas Present wastes no time before ushering Scrooge outside to a typical London street, where the weather is less than ideal. Yes, it snowed overnight, but the beauty of the untouched blanket of white is long gone now, replaced with deep pathways and crevasses where shovels and brooms have uncovered the city’s soot, grime, and muddy water underneath. The ever-present fog hangs in the air, not willing to give Londoners a clear sky even on Christmas. Despite all this, the joyous spirit of Christmas survives, and men, women, and children make games of the snow removal and laughter fills the streets like the melody of a beloved holiday carol.

           Do you long for the perfect Christmas? From magazines and blogs to Kay Jewelers commercials and Food Network specials, there are a million voices shouting the five simple tips to a picture-perfect family Christmas. Like a Norman Rockwell painting, we envision tasteful yet whimsical decorations, a delectable feast, festively dressed and behaved family members, angelic children who are patient when opening presents and show no other emotion than pure ecstasy at every surprise they unwrap. And of course, the holy reading of the Luke 2 account of Jesus birth—where all in attendance are enraptured by the eternal significance of the story and take each word to heart with joyful gratitude.

           Even with the best of intentions, our Christmas may end up looking more like a soot-filled London street than a freshly snow-blanketed country estate. Christmastime is often so filled with expectations that it’s no wonder that we find ourselves disappointed. There’s nothing wrong with making plans, although it’s important to realize that we don’t have control—even at Christmas—but that doesn’t mean the season can’t be the most joyous time of year!

           Just like the people in London, make the most of the bad weather in your holiday. Does the fifty-degree Christmas day shatter your expectation for a white Christmas? Take your family to the park, complete with Christmas cookie picnic, and enjoy the nice weather. Does the bumper-to-bumper holiday traffic raise your blood pressure? Take a breath and admire the beauty of the Christmas lights that you’d normally speed by. Are the children uncooperative for the Christmas photo? Take the picture anyway and look forward to the years of laughs the family will get at the ridiculous faces they’re making.

           When we’re obsessed with perfection—Christmas or otherwise—we’re guaranteed to face disappointment. The Bible tells us that perfection can only be found in Jesus Christ:

“Let us keep looking to Jesus. Our faith comes from Him and He is the One Who makes it perfect. He did not give up when He had to suffer shame and die on a cross. He knew of the joy that would be His later. Now He is sitting at the right side of God” (Hebrews 12:2 NLV).

           This Christmas, choose to focus on joy rather than perfection. You won’t be disappointed.

When my worry is great within me, Your comfort brings joy to my soul. Psalm 94:19 NLV

(From God Bless Us Every One! by Annie Tipton coming September 2016)

[annietipton]

The Humble Bob Cratchit

Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerk’s fire was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal. But he couldn’t replenish it, for Scrooge kept the coal box in his own room; and so surely as the clerk came in with the shovel, the master predicted that it would be necessary for them to part. Wherefore the clerk put on his white comforter and tried to warm himself at the candle; in which effort, not being a man of strong imagination, he failed. . . .

At length the hour of shutting up the countinghouse arrived. With an ill will, Scrooge dismounted from his stool and tacitly admitted the fact to the expectant clerk in the tank, who instantly snuffed his candle out and put on his hat.
“You’ll want all day tomorrow, I suppose?” said Scrooge.
“If quite convenient, sir.”
“It’s not convenient,” said Scrooge, “and it’s not fair. If I was to stop half a crown for it, you’d think yourself ill used, I’ll be bound?”

The clerk smiled faintly.

“And yet,” said Scrooge, “you don’t think me ill used when I pay a day’s wages for no work.”

The clerk observed that it was only once a year.

“A poor excuse for picking a man’s pocket every twenty-fifth of December!” said Scrooge, buttoning his greatcoat to the chin. “But I suppose you must have the whole day. Be here all the earlier next morning.”

The clerk promised that he would; and Scrooge walked out with a growl.

–Excerpted from Stave I, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Bob Cratchit’s mother taught him the value of hard work. And she also taught him to never complain. So even when he can’t feel his fingertips, nose, and toes as he diligently completes his work at the firm of Scrooge & Marley, he rubs his palms together above the candle at his desk and pulls his threadbare jacket a little more snuggly around his chest. He’s thankful for his job. He can provide for his wife and children, and they have a joyful life. Of course, there’s nothing extra for frivolity, but the Cratchits always make up for it with love.

           Except. . .it would help to have a bit extra for doctors bills for the little one. He’s looked paler lately, and despite the tiny crutch that Bob fashioned (quite expertly) with a limb they found at the park, the boy’s limp seems to be getting worse.

           Still, there are others much worse off than the Cratchits, so Bob will press on, doing his best for Mr. Scrooge.

           As we first meet Bob Cratchit, it’s easy to look at him through our twenty-first-century eyes and wonder why he doesn’t stand up for himself. He should demand a warmer work environment! Higher pay! Paid holiday, healthcare, and a 401k! But Bob’s circumstances are different than many of ours, and it may be that his position as Scrooge’s clerk is the best job he can get. With little or no education, Bob likely worked his way up from a lower-paying job that had even worse or dangerous conditions. A nine-to-five job with steady work and pay that allows him to be home for Mrs. Cratchit’s evening meal every night may be Bob’s definition of perfect employment.

           Scrooge’s clerk is a gentle spirit. Unassuming, kind, peaceable, and meek, he returns Fred’s Christmas greetings when Scrooge’s nephew visits the office.  And Bob gently convinces Scrooge to close the office on Christmas Day when the grouchy boss nearly ruins the entire holiday by insinuating that he expects Bob to work the next day.

           Jesus praised and blessed many of Bob Cratchit’s characteristics in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:5, 8-10 where He says:

“God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. . . . God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs” (NLT).

           Humility flies in the face of the Scrooges of the world, and if we’re honest with ourselves, we may see that our attitude (self-centeredness) may look more like Ebenezer’s than Bob’s. But humbling ourselves and propping others up to be better than ourselves—to have a heart that is pure for others—is a life that pleases God. It’s easy to make Christmas a time all about ourselves, but this Christmas, take the time to look outward. It may be as simple as letting a frazzled holiday shopper step in line ahead of you at the check-out or offering a smile and a heartfelt “Can I help you with something?” to a coworker, classmate, or family member who looks like they could use an extra hand. Humble yourself and watch God work through you!

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Colossians 3:12 NLT

(From God Bless Us Every One! by Annie Tipton coming September 2016)

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Too Busy for Christmas

“Once upon a time—of all the good days in the year, on Christmas Eve—old Scrooge sat busy in his countinghouse. It was cold, bleak, biting weather, foggy withal, and he could hear the people in the court outside go wheezing up and down, beating their hands upon their breasts, and stamping their feet upon the pavement stones to warm them. The city clocks had only just gone three, but it was quite dark already—it had not been light all day—and candles were flaring in the windows of the neighboring offices, like ruddy smears upon the palpable brown air. The fog came pouring in at every chink and keyhole, and was so dense without, that, although the court was of the narrowest, the houses opposite were mere phantoms. To see the dingy cloud come drooping down, obscuring everything, one might have thought that Nature lived hard by, and was brewing on a large scale.”

--Excerpted from Stave I, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Scrooge is a busy man. Busy getting on with his cold, hard, solitary life. He’s an exceptional worker—has been his whole life—and silly things like Christmas are nothing but a distraction from getting on with the importance of his work.

           Christmas Eve is the same as any other day to Ebenezer, and the dank, dark London winter is no cause for a festive mood. If anything, the weather is affirming Scrooge’s state of mind. So he continues counting his money, tallying the profits in an accounting ledger with a tiny stub of a pencil as wispy fingers of fog creep through the keyhole on his office door. It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters but the task in front of him.

           It’s easy to pity Scrooge in this scene. Although we don’t read any description of holiday festivities or merrymaking, we do know that it’s Christmas Eve. Perhaps a street or two away, tiny shops are already filled with last-minute errand-runners. A bell choir may be ringing in the joy of the holiday, and a group of grubby street children may be singing a slightly off-tune rendition of “Good King Wenceslas” with the hopes of a shilling in their caps. And Scrooge is oblivious to the possibility of it all—shoulders slumped over his desk, head down, squinting at the column of numbers that don’t quite add up.

           What does your daily life look like? Are you and your family suffering from jam-packed schedules, and are those schedules even tighter November through January? Between work, school, sports, clubs, hobbies, special performances, volunteering, caroling, baking, shopping, wrapping, Elf-on-the-Shelfing, cleaning, decorating, and partying, your to-do list may seem like the never-gets-done list.

           Although we probably don’t want to identify ourselves as Scrooges, we may find that we have more in common with him than we think. Scrooge is so caught up in his own work that the joy of Christmas is passing him by. Granted, Scrooge has no interest in celebrating Christmas (and you and I may love Christmas), but the result is the same: If our time and attention are so divided between every event and task, the true holiness and meaning of the holiday will pass us by, too.

           During Jesus’ time on earth, He taught his follower the importance of rest, and He even modeled a life of rest to his apostles:

“Then Jesus said, ‘Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.’ He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat” (Mark 6:31 NLT).

           Did you catch that? “…There were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat.” We’ve all had times when we’ve been this busy—and Jesus knows exactly what that feels like!

           Christmas can be a time of peace and refreshment, but only if we are willing to make rest a priority. That might mean saying no to some of the unimportant voices shouting for your attention. This year, make decisions as a family about the most important activities and events and then agree to not add any more to your schedules once the plan is in place. You might be surprised to find that the most meaningful events of the season are often the simplest ones.

 Truly my soul finds rest in God;  my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. Psalm 62:1-2 NIV

(From God Bless Us Every One! by Annie Tipton coming September 2016)

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The light today, tho! ☀️❤️👍🏻 (at Hocking Hills State Park)

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Some days are perfect days. #wehikedhalfamarathon (at Hocking Hills State Park)

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Jolly ol' cupcakes.

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A Loverly Sunday in London pt. 1

Our airport shuttle dropped us off at our hotel late morning -- the DoubleTree in Islington (aka Jury’s Inn, but it had gotten purchased by Hilton just a few months before our trip... thankfully we had done our research and knew the real name of the hotel). Islington is a northern part of London, and we found out while we were there that a lot of development had come into the area because of the 2012 London Olympics. Although Islington may have a reputation of being a bit dodgy, we actually found it to be pretty nice, and we felt very safe walking to the bus stop and even the handful of blocks down to Kings Cross and St. Pancras. The area had a little bit of a young vibe with student housing and hipster-y kinds of things like an upcycle art studio/craft/wares shop just about a block away. Next door to our hotel was a nice little pub, and just a couple of blocks away there were a lot of stores and restaurants, as well as the closest Underground station.

We were able to check into our rooms when we got there, and we had been told that our Trafalgar travel representative would be coming between 1-3 to meet with us, give us our vouchers and tickets that came with our package, and answer any questions we had. 

K, Carrie, and I had a room with a double bed (for the sisters) and a single bed (for me), and it really was a nice room. I’d read that hotel rooms in Europe are generally smaller than hotel rooms in the US, but that didn’t seem to be the case at this hotel. The beds were comfy, and they definitely were calling our name when we got there...none of us had slept much on the plane. But they say the best way to avoid jet lag is to muscle through that first day and don’t sleep till night, so that’s what we planned to do. 

We had a couple hours to kill till our travel rep was due to arrive, so we hit the mean streets of Islington to explore...

One of the really nice things about London is that public wifi was available almost everywhere we went. And with my mobile hot spot, we really were able to look up maps and information anytime we needed it. Before we walked out the front door of the hotel, we checked someone’s phone to know which way to walk to get to Kings Cross/St. Pancras, and off we went. We stopped at a Starbucks on the way to get a bit of lunch, and our eating schedules were all a little off at that point. I was probably a bit dehydrated at that point from traveling, if I’m honest with myself. But when we sat down we all knew we needed the caffeine in our cups because fatigue was starting to set in. Starbucks was a good people watching place. We sat at a table next to the big plate glass exterior walls and enjoyed watching people on the street. 

The weather was beautiful. Temperatures in the low 70s and partly sunny skies. We had absolutely gorgeous weather for most of our time in London -- gorgeous by any standards, not just London. 

St. Pancras Station was really beautiful. It wasn’t like anything I expected. One of the really neat things about Kings Cross/St. Pancras is how the developers/architects married old and new. There was nothing about these stations that felt old or outdated, but the beautiful integrity of the original stations remained. 

Old doors near the new entrance to St. Pancras.

New entrance to St. Pancras -- the old doors in the previous picture are just to the left of this glass entrance. St. Pancras Station and Kings Cross are right next to each other. St. Pancras is where we got on the Eurostar to Paris and Kings Cross is where we caught our National Railway train to Edinburgh.

I remember being so excited to see one of these signs for the Tube in person. It still gives me a bit of thrill to see it. This sign was outside of Kings Cross/St. Pancras Station, which are both train and a Tube stations. (Tube=Subway=Underground)

I don’t think I ever did get a very good picture of the amazing thoroughfare/terminal in Kings Cross. You can see the basketball net-like architecture that starts in a small area on the floor and then the web expands up and across the ceiling. Directly to the right and above K’s head are rows and rows of arrival/departure boards that announce train schedules. To the left you can see on the first floor some shops--coffee, sandwiches, as well as some other kinds of shops that you’d see in airports. On the second floor there are restaurants and some seating area. We sat here to watch the departure boards before our train ride to Edinburgh. Both Kings Cross and St. Pancras are great places to people watch. But of course, Kings Cross holds a special place in our hearts...

(This picture was actually taken after we got back from Paris--the line was significantly shorter later at night.) In front of Platform 9 3/4, there was a permanent queue (imagine the line mazes at Cedar Point), and two Kings Cross employees whose sole jobs were to pose people for this picture and to take pictures. They had scarves from each of the four Hogwarts houses, so they’d ask which house you belong to and wrap you in the scarf. Then one would hold the end, count down from 3 and the other would snap the picture as the first one tossed the end of the scarf in the air, giving the appearance that you’re running through the brick wall to get to the Hogwarts Express, waiting and hissing steam on Platform 9 3/4. It was so lovely and so fun! The young (probably college-age) kids running the line were so genuinely happy, and they made each person feel like it was the first time staging the photo. And the best part of it was that they didn’t mind us taking our own pictures--they actually encouraged it! Of course, you could go to the gift shop and order prints that they took, but you didn’t have to buy anything by any means.

Platform 9 3/4 isn’t technically between platforms 9 and 10. If it were, the only people who’d be able to see it would be people who had train tickets to get them through a particular set of turnstyles. So Platform 9 3/4, for all us Muggles, exists in the main terminal at Kings Cross, along with a brilliant HP store with lots of fantastic merch that can only be had at Kings Cross. 

I ended up buying a few things at the gift shop, but I contained myself. Mostly gifts for other people, but I did buy a UK edition paperback of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone for myself. 

After we’d explored both stations, we walked back to the hotel to get there in time to meet with our travel rep. Except 1 o’clock came and nobody showed. 1:30 came and nobody from Trafalgar was anywhere in the lobby. Lis, Ash, and Carrie hobnobbed with the bartender at the hotel bar and K and I tried to stay awake on the lobby couches.

K and I ended up going out for another walk when we finally got the news that our travel rep wouldn’t be there till after 3:00 (because we knew if we didn’t get up and move, we legit were going to fall asleep), and we walked toward Islington and got to see some pretty streets and some nice shopping area. 

I also took a picture of this garbage truck because I loved how British it sounded... “A LOAD OF RUBBISH. We don’t talk it, we take it.”

Eventually we got back to the hotel and got to meet with the Trafalgar dude, a fast-talking Frenchie who didn’t seem too impressed with my silly questions. He was also a little hard to understand. I know. I’m an American. I’m sorry. Anyway, he gave us our Oyster Cards (each with 30 pounds preloaded on them) as well as vouchers for the 1/2 day bus tour and hop on hop off bus tour tickets that came with our travel package. With our public transit cards in hand, we were ready to travel outside our walking distance perimeter...

Next time: First time on a double-decker, The Sherlock Holmes Museum, Regent’s Park, and our first Pub experience.

[annietipton]

Our adventures began...

We left from my house on a sunny Saturday morning, Mom and Dad’s Explorer packed to the brim, and headed toward the Pittsburgh airport. After a night of packing and checklisting and double checking and triple checking to make sure I knew where important things were like my passport and Monster Cookies (individually wrapped in Press n Seal and stacked in Pringles cans), I should’ve been able to sleep in till at least 7:30 or 8:00, right? Wrong. Excitement woke me up before 6:00, and with a few hours to kill before the girls would arrive, I decided to take a bike ride. It was probably the best use of my time and energy, and I got to see a pretty cool sunrise.

Once we drove to the airport (uneventful, although there was a spirited discussion on the way about the fact that one of our friends ever-so-kindly texted a couple of us the night before to alert us that the terror level had been raised in the United Kingdom, and especially London...DON’T CARE, we all agreed, and next time keep your stupid news to your stupid self.) we parked and checked in. Again, all pretty uneventful. I remember the security line being uncharacteristically long and it took a little time to get through, but we were there in plenty of time, so we were fine. After going through security, we stopped and grabbed lunch at the food court before heading to our gate--the first leg of our flight was from PIT to DET. Less than an hour in the air.

On our way to our gate we had our first big excitement. Well, Carrie had her first big excitement. Walking toward us was a woman with a ball cap and dark sunglasses on, two big black dudes walking on either side. She definitely looked like she was trying to hide her identity, and if I had been alone, I don’t think I would’ve though any more of it. Carrie, however, craned her neck and looked back at the woman as we passed, and when she was about 10 yards past us, Carrie pretty confidently told us that it was Sarah Silverman. I don’t think any of us really cared that much, but Carrie immediately got on Twitter to confirm that Sarah Silverman had just made an appearance in Pittsburgh the night before. A brush with fame to be sure.

The other thing Carrie did to keep things interesting at the Pittsburgh airport was signing up for a airline credit card right there in the terminal while we were waiting to board our plane. Krista sat there, shaking her head with a “what is she DOING?” I can only hope that Carrie has scored all kinds of airline miles with that card in the past year and is planning lots of exotic trips.

I don’t remember anything specific about our flight from PIT to DET, but our layover in Detroit was one of the best layovers I’ve ever had. The Detroit airport is really lovely and nice to walk around in. We had almost 4 hours to kill there, and it went by pretty quickly.

Coloring and candy helped.

Coffee and ice cream helped. We played cards, we rested, we put slippers on. We pretty much camped out. I road the tram the length of the terminal (just for fun) and walked back and window shopped and people watched. All good things to do in an airport.

A couple of hours before our flight was scheduled to leave, our transatlantic plane arrived.

I watched them load in our airplane food. Prior to this flight, I’d had in-flight meals before--but it’d only been things like sandwiches and chips, not actual hot food.

I have to say that the food wasn’t that bad. I’ve had a lot worse. I also found that there’s some weird phenomena where I am at least 67% more hungry on airplanes than I am on the ground. This was especially true on the flight back home. They fed us several times, and every time they brought a meal or a snack, it was like I hadn’t eaten in days. Weird.

Finally in the early evening we got on the plane. 7 seats across (2, 3, 2). Me, Lis, and Ash were in a middle and Carrie and K were in a twofer on our left. The seats had screens in the back of them, and before the plane taxied we were all in awe of the selection of entertainment at our fingertips. It was like Netflix and Hulu and On Demand and Redbox except better. TV, movies, music. Old, new. Pretty much you name it, you can watch it. I still had hopes of being able to sleep on the plane. I think the other girls all decided at that point that the stuff on the screen was way better than even thinking about sleeping.

Here are the things I remember about the flight:

1. Wild temperature fluctuations. I’d be roasting one second and freezing the next, and I couldn’t figure out a way to regulate it for myself. One thing I hadn’t counted on was how warm my travel pillow would make me, so whatever comfort the pillow gave me was pretty much voided by the fact that I’d start to overheat if I kept it around my neck.

2. Beef Stroganoff. The beef stroganoff dinner option really did a number of the digestive system of someone sitting in my general vicinity, and by the third round of terrible smells, I came pretty close to calling the person out. It was horrendous. And I swear there was one point where I was right on the verge of falling asleep and BLAMMO. It hit my nose like a freight train. Beef stroganoff!!

3. Sheer boredom. I really never gave up hope that I was just a minute or two from falling asleep, so I just tried willing myself to find some kind of comfortable situation. But that was the problem. Nothing was comfortable. And I really was still very excited. It was a bad combination that resulted in MAYBE 45 minutes of snoozing total. I should’ve just given in and watched more free HBO.

When we got of the plane, we made our way to baggage claim and thankfully, mercifully, everybody’s bags showed up. I wish I remembered more about Heathrow, but I don’t remember much, so it must’ve been pretty nondescript. I do remember the baggage claim area and how once we stopped and waited, that was when I first felt the niggling of fatigue. 

We had a little bit of confusion in finding our shuttle service, and once we figured that all out, we had to wait a while--maybe 30 minutes--till the shuttle came to pick us up. That’s when I set up my mobile hot spot and was able to connect with my phone. I was pretty happy that I got it working so quickly. That little thing was really nice to have when we were out and about.

Once we got onto the shuttle (along with mostly older travelers), the driver headed toward the city, and we were all in awe of the craziness of the traffic. Drivers were nutty, but the whole driving on the left side thing made it even more insane. And intersections in the UK aren’t perpendicular, so we had no idea what we were looking at when it came to traffic patterns. And truthfully, I don’t think we understood it any better by the end of the week. We saw an almost-wreck on the highway, and I think we all just breathed a sigh of relief that we had no plans or desires to try to navigate any of these streets or roads ourselves. We’re very happy with mass transit, thankyouverymuch.

As we drove into the city, some of the other travelers were dropped off at their hotels first, and the driver pointed out notable things like Abbey Lane as we passed. I wanted to soak it all in. I wanted to remember that it was trash day and there were bins set out and we passed a rubbish truck in a residential area. The green of the trees in the parks and gardens we passed. All so ordinary, but all so seemingly magical. 

What was it about London? I may never understand why this city felt so magical to me. All I know is that from that moment, my senses were heightened and what followed was a week that I’ll never forget.

[annietipton]

I close my eyes and I’m still there...

Next month marks a year since this magically wonderful trip I was lucky enough to take with these four fantastic friends. A year ago, I was nearly giddy with excitement as the weeks turned into days turned into hours till we left for London, with the added bonus of a day in Paris and two in Edinburgh.

Although I tried to keep my expectations in check, I couldn’t help myself. I was so amped for this trip of a lifetime. And it didn’t disappoint.

It might seem odd, but I’m still reaping the benefits of the highs from the trip. New places, new things, new food, new people...all in all, a wonderful experience. And as I’m reflecting on the trip and plan to write some of my memories alongside pictures here on tumblr, it’s amazing to me how fresh it all still feels. Many of the places (even the seemingly mundane) I can close my eyes and in an almost simulator-type way experience it all over again. I’m not exaggerating in the slightest. When I go to bed, I’ve actually been intentionally recalling experiences as I lay my head on the pillow. And it’s resulted in great memories as well as some pretty fantastic dreams.

 I’m looking forward to spending some time reminiscing. Cheers!

[annietipton]

She is he coolest most wonderful sparkly lady ever! - Joe Shrock

[annietipton]

Doris spent all her kitchen decorating budget on this sweeeeet wall clock. Come spend all your budget on a ticket to #ByeByeBirdie today at 2:30! #ClosingNight (at The Little Theatre of Tuscarawas County)

[annietipton]

I found my true calling. Toddler psychology. #NailedIt #TwoYearOlds #AllTheAmys