More photos of our holidays

ConnecticutI’ve just posted some more photos of our visit to Pete & Christiane in Connecticut. On our first morning there, a family of deer wandered into the garden to feed. The two kids (the deer ;-)) started playing and running around, which was fun to watch. I managed to get a few photos.

We’re back!

3600Those are my boarding cards for this trip! Zürich -> Boston -> Denver -> Atlanta/Greenville -> New York -> Boston -> Zürich! We’re now back home, tired and suffering from temperature shock: it’s only 3°C in Switzerland, and we’ve been enjoying around 25°C for the past three weeks.

Our friends Hans and Hanni collected us from the airport this morning, which was a real blessing.

On Donna’s back porch

After almost three weeks in the USA, we’re getting ready to return home. Our last stop was at Donna’s place at Chickasaw Point in South Carolina. Sitting on her back porch is an impressive experience for us Europeans: it overlooks a wooded hollow which is a home for all sorts of wildlife; during the day, it can sound like a jungle with all the birds calling, and at night, the Cicadas chirp and sing beautifully. It’s wonderful to sit there in the dark, listening to them, and very easy to hear their song as worship to God.
We met Sam and Dad there, which was great, and I played with Cam (who changes the rules all the time so that he wins). Having spent some time on the driving range with Mike in Colorado Springs, I was looking forward to a round of golf. I was not disappointed, but very frustrated!
It rained on the way to the airport. I sense a pattern…

Sunny Colorado

Following warmer than expected weather in Connecticut, Colorado surprised us even more with temperatures in the mid-to-high 20s (Celcius!), and blue skies every day. It was great to visit Mike and Chris Steele again, where I stayed for several weeks in 2005. We had (more) good talks, great meals, and fun together. Mike took me out on the driving range to teach me the basics of golf, which I found surprisingly enjoyable. My shoulders ached the next day, though!
The drought ended on our way to the airport, again. No accident this time, thankfully.

Just missed the Fall Colours

Arriving in Connecticut to visit the Burkhards was quite a surprise; I was expecting cooler weather. It was warm during the day, but quite cool at night. We met Daniel for the first time, who was born in 2005, soon after our previous visit. He’s an active 2-year-old, and has quite remarkable climbing talents!
We had good talks, met a surprising number of new people at a house church in their area, caught up with the Gordons again, and I went whale watching on a beautiful day. We saw five whales, but all relatively docile humpbacks. I’ll have to go again next time, in the hope of seeing some other types too, and perhaps see them breach as well as just float around and dive.
We were again just a little early to see the height of the Fall Colours, but caught the start, which was pretty enough.
The drought ended on our way to the airport – unfortunately, because the wet, slippery road contributed to a minor car accident which was (mostly) my fault. Still, we got to meet a nice lady that way, even if the circumstances were not so great.