Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Unexpected Indiana
I have a friend, Sue, from Indiana, and we have determined that we were sisters in another life. We look quite a bit alike and when we first described ourselves to each other, we both said we were tall and loud. Then as we talked farther, we discovered we liked many of the same things.
I had the good fortune of facilitating a retreat for her region in late July, and we were able to spend some time together—which was great fun. She gave me a book entitled “Unexpected Indiana” which is full of wonderful photos of the scenery around Indiana. I was surprised at how beautiful it was—my first experience was seeing Gary, IN which is a little industrial.
We’ll start with information on the Retreat Center—which was wonderful. It was Wooded Glen Retreat and Conference Center www.woodedglen.com and it was beautiful. Lots of rolling hills covered with trees, ponds, and meadows. There was even a covered bridge that you drove through to get to the center. The décor was all woodsy, fishing, and canoeing—with large wooden beds and furniture. They had a couple of carved canoes as table stands—really cool.
On their big deck that looked over a pond (where there were deer and other wildlife) they had these comfortable hand-made rocking chairs. It was so fun to sit there and relax--really a wonderful retreat center.
Also the food was to die for…they have hired several women who love to cook to do their meals and bake—so there were fresh rolls, wonderful desserts, and other yummy treats—as well as delicious entrees.
After the retreat was over, Sue needed to talk with her officers, so I just sat and rocked and relaxed in the shade. Even though it was 100 degrees—it felt so good and I really unwound after the retreat—I’m always just exhausted after a retreat and this helped me recharge my batteries. Then we toured a college and went to dinner with another friend in Louisville.
As we were driving to the restaurant—the sky was getting really black, with huge rolling clouds. I told Sue that I love violent thunderstorms—and she said “so do I”—another thing in common. When we got into the restaurant—the sky really opened up and it just poured.
This restaurant was only two years old, but they have a big problem with their roof—it leaks! Water was pouring down the wall in the corner and there was a huge drip not too far from our table. It splashed on us a little bit, so we picked up the table and moved it a little ways away from the drip. It was actually a lot of fun—loud crashes of thunder and lightening, rain so thick outside—we couldn’t see the river right out the windows, and water running all over the place!
That evening, we went back to Sue’s and went for a walk, after dark. The thunder started rumbling again, so we sat out on the porch and watched the lightening and rain pouring off her roof. It was really neat.
The next day, we went for a walk and ended up down by a lake, just sitting on the dock—dangling our feet in the water and relaxing. Enjoying God’s great creation with a special friend is the greatest place to be.
I had the good fortune of facilitating a retreat for her region in late July, and we were able to spend some time together—which was great fun. She gave me a book entitled “Unexpected Indiana” which is full of wonderful photos of the scenery around Indiana. I was surprised at how beautiful it was—my first experience was seeing Gary, IN which is a little industrial.
We’ll start with information on the Retreat Center—which was wonderful. It was Wooded Glen Retreat and Conference Center www.woodedglen.com and it was beautiful. Lots of rolling hills covered with trees, ponds, and meadows. There was even a covered bridge that you drove through to get to the center. The décor was all woodsy, fishing, and canoeing—with large wooden beds and furniture. They had a couple of carved canoes as table stands—really cool.On their big deck that looked over a pond (where there were deer and other wildlife) they had these comfortable hand-made rocking chairs. It was so fun to sit there and relax--really a wonderful retreat center.
Also the food was to die for…they have hired several women who love to cook to do their meals and bake—so there were fresh rolls, wonderful desserts, and other yummy treats—as well as delicious entrees.
After the retreat was over, Sue needed to talk with her officers, so I just sat and rocked and relaxed in the shade. Even though it was 100 degrees—it felt so good and I really unwound after the retreat—I’m always just exhausted after a retreat and this helped me recharge my batteries. Then we toured a college and went to dinner with another friend in Louisville.
As we were driving to the restaurant—the sky was getting really black, with huge rolling clouds. I told Sue that I love violent thunderstorms—and she said “so do I”—another thing in common. When we got into the restaurant—the sky really opened up and it just poured.
This restaurant was only two years old, but they have a big problem with their roof—it leaks! Water was pouring down the wall in the corner and there was a huge drip not too far from our table. It splashed on us a little bit, so we picked up the table and moved it a little ways away from the drip. It was actually a lot of fun—loud crashes of thunder and lightening, rain so thick outside—we couldn’t see the river right out the windows, and water running all over the place!That evening, we went back to Sue’s and went for a walk, after dark. The thunder started rumbling again, so we sat out on the porch and watched the lightening and rain pouring off her roof. It was really neat.
The next day, we went for a walk and ended up down by a lake, just sitting on the dock—dangling our feet in the water and relaxing. Enjoying God’s great creation with a special friend is the greatest place to be.
