Ok, so world traveler may be stretching it, but I have returned. ;)
Plans changed so quickly right before the trip that I wasn't able to update ya'll. We had planned to drive back from Pennsylvania and get back (maybe) this Wednesday, but we found out last Wednesday that our plans had fallen through. Within a few hours, God worked things out, and I had a flight back as well as a flight to the wedding. It was an incredible journey of traveling not only out of state, but for me, out of comfort zones. So many things happened within three days that I'd like to share them here not only to share with ya'll, but to record this paragraph of my life.
(none of these pictures are edited. Yes, I know, bad me. ^_- They're also all from my iPhone)
This was my first photo from our second flight. Our first flight was at 5:30 am, so we really couldn't see much. On my first flight we started out on a small express plane, and had a very nice stewardess and pilot. The security, thankfully, could see my nervousness and was very patient and kind to me. That could've had something to do with Mrs. Charlotte growling at them that this was my first flight, and for them to be nice to me, but, nevertheless. ;) The turbulence was horrible, and I almost got sick, but thankfully didn't. Mrs. Charlotte, who flies a lot, said that it was the second worst flight she had ever been on, so I know it was pretty bad. Unfortunately, it gave me terrible anxiety for every flight after that, which I think was a big part of my problems for the other flights.
The sights from the air were amazingly beautiful. Our first flight was only 45 minutes to Houston, then we had to run from one end of the airport to the other to get to our second flight, which took us to Philadelphia. Mrs. Wanda (my pastor's wife) had done some research on the best restaurants in "Philly" and found out about a place called Pat's. However, on the plane a native Philly guy said that Jim's was much better, which was reaffirmed by the guy at the car rental place. So, winding our way through the crazy roads and traffic with a much confused Siri, we found Jim's.
It had a cute, old fashion style, and 50's decorations inside.
I was telling my parents that I either appeared really nervous in all these new places, or very young and naive, because so many places, including Jim's, the worker would be snapping at the person in front of me, then look at me, and say, "What do you want, baby?" It was sort of odd, but I guess it worked. ;)
Everyone in my group enjoyed their Philly cheese-steak sandwiches. I enjoyed eating food after having a turbulent stomach, and was grateful for the filling food, but I'm afraid I was a little disappointed. I felt that their should've been some seasoning on the meat, but I guess that's because I'm just so used to Cajun food. We don't cook anything without some kind of seasoning. After my meal, Mrs. Charlotte pulled out the salt and pepper shakers from behind the napkin holder I had been looking for before. It was pretty funny. ;)
I loved the street scene from the second floor of Jim's, especially the cute little blue mini cooper. :)
This is Mrs. Charlotte with the sweet Saint Bernard we met on the street. It was the first time I had ever seen a Saint Bernard in person. She was so huge!
We went into the historical section of Philadelphia and I couldn't get over how tall the buildings were! This one wasn't even near the tallest building there.
I took a picture before this of this horse, but right after that, he put up his leg like this and posed! I asked the guy holding the reins, "Did he really just pose?" The guy nodded, and said, "Yep."
We went to see the Liberty Bell, but the line was extremely long. As we walked around the building housing the Bell, I looked up and thought this building looked familiar. I asked Bro. Heard, and he said it was Independence Hall! I think I was more excited about this building then the Bell. Sadly, we didn't have the time to walk two blocks in the opposite direction to get a ticket then walk back, but at least we got pictures of the building.
A lady who lived in Philly showed us a side window where we could still see the Liberty Bell. It was so neat to see, after reading most of my life on the Revolutionary War, and those times.
And here is my wings! I'm so thankful for Mrs. Charlotte telling the stewardess that it was my first flight. I didn't even know about these things!
Well, we have revival this week, so I'll give you a short summary of the rest of our three days. After leaving Philly we drove three hours to Williamsport and to the hotel. God blessed us with an upgrade for our room, and we enjoyed the extra space and lovely accommodations. We went to the rehearsal that night, figured out where Mrs. Charlotte and I needed to be as the photographers, and showed everyone where they needed to stop for pictures. We got to see old friends and made new ones, and I was so glad that I was blessed with friendly people to work with. I won't be sharing any pics of the wedding for a while until I sort, edit, and send all the pictures to the bride, but you can believe me, that it was one of the most beautiful weddings I've ever been to.
After the wedding we went to the store to get to the necessities, and hung out in our hotel room with some friends to watch a movie and catch up on everything. There was a lot of giggling and outright laughter as we fondly teased each other and acted goofy in our tired, delirious states. It was ended short by me leaving with the Heards at 12:15 AM to drive back to Philadelphia. We had a flat after hitting a pothole, cold weather, and winding, confusing roads, but through it all I was blessed to get 2 hours of sleep. I was nervous again when we went through security at the Philadelphia airport, but except for getting patted down, everything went smoothly. (Let me explain. I was wearing a skirt, so I guess there was a chance I could be hiding something. I was just surprised, but it still went fine.) The first flight was ok, and I got to sleep a couple more hours, sitting between two very nice people. Our flight was late, so we missed our connecting flight to Lafayette. But in a way, even though we were too late to get to church, I was thankful for that extra time between flights to relax, eat, and calm down before my last flight. I think between that and the low turbulence, my last flight was so much more enjoyable.
I'm so thankful for the Heards for traveling with me and taking care of me in situations I wouldn't have known what to do, and Mrs. Charlotte for showing me the ropes and explaining to me what to expect before they happened. They made these new experiences so much easier for me. I'm thankful for the sweet friends we got to see at the wedding and spend time with, and the new friends I got to meet. I'm especially thankful for Carolyn asking me to shoot her wedding, and being patient with all my questions. But most of all, I'm thankful to my Heavenly Father for taking care of me, sending the people I needed into my life, and giving me wisdom in times I wasn't sure what to do. Also, for keeping my mouth shut when it needed to be. ;) And for giving me the peace I asked for when I was anxious on the plane, and allowing the Benadryl to knock me out even when I struggled against falling asleep because I was afraid of my head falling on one of my seatmate's shoulder. He took care of me through it all, and for that, I'm so thankful. :)
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