Travel and Tourism
Footprint for Mother Earth
It’s been an insane season for thunderstorms in the Ohio Valley Region this year. Forget that, I mean thunderstorms, drought and tornadoes the last few years. Oh, wait, the last ten years? Okay, we all have to admit that the earth has been rumbling and turning in her dreams and the blankets above are being tossed upon us in all kinds of fanciful ways. So is this Mother Earth just going through some hot flashes? Or the global warming of scientist’s screams?
As a non-scientist looking in from the outside, and after reviewing the data, watching many documentaries (which one must translate into non-partisan language to absorb), and adding just a touch of good old common sense, I have to go with it’s both!
Based on what I’ve been able to understand, this is a true cycling of the earth. Something that has happened in the past and is happening again. But, also based on what I’ve learned, this process is being pushed, prodded and uber-energized by man-made desecration of our sacred home.
Because of this, I have personally taken to lessening my own impact on the earth’s resources. Living in our small recreational vehicle, our footprint is less in size than most dwellings. While parked at a campground with full hook-ups we do the little things, like using less water by turning off the already regulated shower head when not needed and by only heating the water on-demand. (Even with the mini, and by using my Jeep for local driving, we use less gas when on the road than most workers that commute by car.) We limit our electricity by unplugging items not in use and by keeping our thermostat at about 78 degrees in summer, and when on the road, by limiting our small generator use to 4-5 hours a day maximum. I’ve also planted a mini traveling garden with tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and mint for tea, and even in our tiniest of space, we still make room to separate out our recyclables.
Knowing that I won’t live in my RV forever, I’ve been giving a serious look into tiny houses and our society’s re-look at the viability and resourcefulness of shotgun style homes. I also give merit to large homes where funds and the building resources are sunk and the home either already has intelligent choices towards energy conservation or has easy adaptability to the like.
So think about it. What are you doing today? What simple little thing can you change right now? What are you doing to save our Mother Earth?
via Footprint for Mother Earth
Shared from my opinion blog: www.dustybakeradamson.com
Whiskey, Monsters and Peace: General Assembly
In the late 1990s I was attending college in Belgium and volunteering with the American Red Cross overseas by teaching and working in volunteer leadership. During my stay I was lucky enough to receive a regional award granting me free ferry passage from Calais, France, to Dover, England. So with nothing more than a small Toyota pickup, a cheap $40 tent, and a cooler full of food in the back, my husband and I headed out with a very small wallet and a big dream of a wonderful new experience.
Tent camping our way from the White Cliffs of Dover, to the bustle of London and then north into the heart of a purple hazed heather-covered Scotland, we experienced the countryside as intended. We weren’t burdened by hotel check-ins or event schedules, we just followed the road, living amongst the scenery rather than viewing it from afar. We tasted Scotch Whiskey, searched for traces of Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest, and rambled among the ruins of walls and castles from long ago.
Brave and young, we found ourselves south of Inverness in the beautiful valley of a famous monster. Chancing at a campground on the shore, we pitched our small tent with only a foot or two of space from the front flap to the drop off that became the cold waters of Loch Ness. I remember going to sleep that night as the thick fog slowly enveloped the space before us and around us. So thick was the fog that I dared not even step out in the small spot of land in front of us for fear of slipping into the water that I could no longer see. In that moment, I looked at my husband and jokingly said, “Well, we’ll know if Nessie is real if we wake in the morning alive and not eaten.” While we shared a laugh and settled in, I felt a deep peace as we floated amongst the fog and clouds of an endless sky and land.
This peace returned to me at General Assembly in the fleeting of a thought. I stood amongst Unitarians at a precipice—a place where only things begin and never do they end. In a moment and at a place where Rev. Dr. Peter Morales, UUA President, spoke of the Spirit of Life and Love that we hold true as the catalyst in our personal lives and in our religious practices.
My hope is that at some point in our lives, and our earth’s future, we will all find that Peace.
Peace within. Peace amongst. Peace be with you.
The First State
With a weekend at the First Unitarian Church, Wilmington, Delaware, a tour of the beautiful and history filled campus, and camping at Lums Pond State Park just southwest of the city, Austin and I had a well-rounded and peaceful week spent in this beautiful state.
Followed by the outside, the inside of this sanctuary has a strong architecture with overhanging balcony, pipe organ and strong lines. Yet even these were topped this Easter Sunday with the smell of lilies dedicated to the “love and remembrance from … members and friends” and accompanied by the exquisite sounds of the Wilmington String Ensemble.
On this day, Senior Minister the Rev. Dr. Joshua Snyder led the congregation in a deeper understanding of John 20:19-29 and presented his sermon titled, “Feeling for Nails.” A lesson for one and all with the wisdom of realizing that in this world, if one needs to search for proof then one is not truly acting in faith, but is acting in doubt. Doubt as a longstanding metaphor found in the commonly used nickname, “Doubting Thomas,” referring to the disciple Thomas and his gospels, and rejected by the assemblers of the King James Version of the Bible.
Examining reason vs. faith, Rev. Snyder spoke of those finding their certainty in the validity of science, stating that even found in the journals of Mother Teresa were writings of doubt of the absence of God. However, through her faith and her beliefs, she as many others have, found peace within herself by being action-oriented.
Must you feel the wounds to be Christian? Must you understand creation to have faith in the four points or the wind, the fire, the water or earth? Must you know lives past to find the freedom associated with nirvana? Must you know every man to find the humanism in the world? Instead, with this teaching, find the positive message to all, the message to not doubt, but to believe, have faith and to find your reason for your personal path and actions through God, science and reason, always finding faith even through doubt and uncertainty.
For more information on the First Unitarian Church, Wilmington: http://www.firstuuwilm.org/
To see a performance of the Wilmington String Ensemble: http://wilmingtonstringensemble.com/
Park, camping and fishing at Delaware’s largest State Park, Lums Pond: http://www.destateparks.com/park/lums-pond/
Traveling on
Just a quick note to say thank you to everyone for supporting our journey!
We’ve had to make some changes to our schedule and slow down a bit, but we are continuing with the spirit we began. This week I’ll be catching up on the blog with the two visits made since Maryland and we’ll be working on our planning for May, June and July.
Washington D.C. – Austin’s favorites
The Free State
It was a mixed weekend of sunshine, rain and snow at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick. The youth were running the show while winter was outside fighting its best to hold off the promise of spring.
Although I would have truly loved to have heard the sitting minister, Rev. Dr. Carl Gregg, speak, he had turned over the helm to the teenagers to prove their place within the congregation. With the promise of an intriguing title, “Golf Balls to Water,” the youth easily delivered a presentation worthy of their teachers and mentors.
With a mixture of topics on prayer, meditations, and personal musings, the youth took turns talking about faith and about their personal paths to discovering their own truths and experiences with devotion, and with finding faith in life and in self. Without a doubt, the truly enlightening stories and experiences spoken by these young adults reflected the powerful community and faith of the UUC of Frederick. We can only hope, that as represented in these youth, the words of their entire generation are full of the hope, truth, and love so important within our faith.
UUC of Frederick is home to a beautifully designed campus full of light and vision, and is certified as a Green Sanctuary Congregation. It was truly a beautiful weekend home in the country for us on our travels.
* Just in case you can’t see the captions for the two pictures above (run mouse over them or click for slide show), this little bird is nesting in the middle of the UUCF parking lot!
For information on attending the UUC of Frederick: http://frederickuu.org/home/index.php
Example of the Golf Ball Philosophy: http://www.pickchur.com/2011/03/golf-balls-in-the-jar-the-philosophy-professor/
To learn more about the Green Sanctuary Program: http://www.uua.org/environment/sanctuary/index.shtml
Snowy morning
Woke up to a beautiful snowy morning in Maryland while parked at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick. As I walked around the campus I couldn’t help but feel the spirits around me–children playing on the slide, couples sitting on the benches, and faeries enjoying the labyrinth. It was spring on the calendar and spring in my mind, bringing me warm, fuzzy feelings as though I were truly not alone.
Maryland museums in photos
Maryland has been a blur of museums and battlefields so I thought I’d post a photo gallery here from some of the locations. We also got to spend a few nights in the campground at Joint Base Andrews (Andrews Air Force Base), home to Air Force One.
If you click on the individual pictures you can see the captions. You can also view any of the galleries on my blog as a slide-show.
Photos taken at the following locations:
Monocacy National Battlefield, Frederick, Maryland
National Electronics Museum, Linthicum, Maryland
National Wildlife Visitor Center, Laurel, Maryland
Patuxent Research Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Laurel, Maryland
Jamestown Settlement in photos
Monday we visited the Colonial National Historic Park, Jamestown, Virginia. The site is home to the first permanent English settlement in North America and was established on May 13, 1607.
To visit this National Park: http://www.nps.gov/jame/index.htm
traveling tUUsome 