Miss Ann Says

Tag: travel

• bucket list

  Posted at 10:34 pm by missannsays, on June 24, 2014

  We had been watching the World Cup soccer game between USA and Ghana in the bar where my son-in-law is a bartender. The added excitement was that members of the Reign soccer team were also in the bar. I enjoyed my tonic water with lime and watching my son-in-law interact with the customers. I am grateful that soccer is easy to understand, easy to watch and the USA won.

  As my daughter and I were leaving, I commented “that was the first time I ever watched a sporting event in a bar. It was really fun.” My daughter responded “you will have to check it off your bucket list.” I stated “I don’t have a bucket list but a lot of things I have done would be bucket list worthy”. She said “well start a bucket list of stuff you have already done and you can just check them off.”

  Tomorrow I am driving from MN to KS with my niece and her 5 small children. Well, it is actually my late husband’s nephew’s wife and children or my sister-in-law’s grandchildren and daughter-in-law. Anyway you say it, it is people who I count as family and love very much. And I am sure driving from MN to KS with a newborn, 2-year-old, 4-year-old, 5-year-old and almost 8-year-old would have never been on my bucket list but it is going to be adventure. You may ask why? My nephew is in the Army/National Guard Reserves and his annual active duty time is in Leavenworth, KS – his hometown. He will be finished on Friday so “we” are all driving to meet him at his folks, my sister-in-law’s house. I am pretty sure the stories from this journey will be bucket list worthy.

  Your prayers for safe travel, patience and keeping a sense of humor are greatly appreciated. 🙂

  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged family, randomness, travel

• random thoughts from 60 years of life:

  Posted at 9:39 pm by missannsays, on February 11, 2014

  when I was kid:

  1. there were 9 planets.

  2. adults were called Mr. or Mrs.

  3. television when off the air and started each morning with a photo of the  American flag and the playing of the National Anthem.

  4. the president was assassinated .

  5. we practiced for nuclear attacks.

   

  when I was a teen:

  1. MLK and RFK were assassinated.

  2. men walked on the moon.

  3. I believed  “to live is to dance, to dance is to live”

  4. my male classmates had draft numbers

  5. POWs came home from Vietnam

   

  when I was in my 20’s

  1. I studied dance, voice and acting in NYC and auditioned for Broadway shows

  2. I went to college part-time.

  3. I started a business with my best friend

  4. I meet my hubby and got married

  5. drove across country with my sister and sister-in-law. I went to England and France with my bff.

   

  when I was in my 30’s

  1. I had 1 miscarriage and gave birth to 2 daughters

  2. “have dance will travel” taught  dance in many places to many people

  3. was Sunday School Superintendent in my local church

  4. my hubby became a FDNY firefighter

  5. the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded

   

   when I was in my 40’s

  1. Life had a more balanced rhythm.

  2. we got a dog.

  3. vacations –  England, Prince Edward Island, National Park Tour, Houseboat rental, camping…

  4. Oklahoma City bombing and September 11 happened.

  5. I became a widow.

   

  when I was in my 50’s

  1. my daughters got married.

  2. my brother and  my dad died.

  3. I spoke in NJ, NY, PA, CA, NH, TN, KS, Northern Ireland and Japan.

  4. I had breast cancer and I am now five years cancer free.

  5. I retired from my dancing school.

   

  on February 13, I will turn 60 and I can say:

  “Scars and struggles on the way

  But with joy our hearts can say

  Never once did we ever walk alone

  Carried by Your constant grace

  Held within Your perfect peace

  Never once, no, we never walk alone.

  Never once did we ever walk alone

  Never once did You leave us on our own

  You are faithful, God, You are faithful

  You are faithful, God, You are faithful”

   Never Once by Matt Redman

   

  Posted in daily life, memories, September 11 | 3 Comments | Tagged following Jesus, friendship, kid stuff, randomness, September 11, telling the next generation, travel

• What I think about the National September 11 Museum fees…

  Posted at 8:54 pm by missannsays, on January 24, 2014

  This morning on Facebook I posted the statement by 9/11 memorial President Joe Daniels on Museum Admission. (included below) A friend of mine wrote “What do YOU think?” So here goes:

  1. I think people have the mistaken impression that the National September 11 Memorial and Museum receives federal funds. It does not.

  2. I think people don’t realize that the National September 11 Memorial and Museum is not part of the National Park system as Pearl Harbor is. By the way the USS Arizona Memorial is free but other parts of the Pearl Harbor site are not. FYI: Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum is not part of the National Park System either. The Memorial is free and the Museum costs $12.

  3. I think it costs money to maintain a museum, or your home.

  4. I think people don’t realize that the $24 is for the museum not for the memorial. There is currently a $2 processing fee for the memorial. To the best of my understanding the entrance to the museum will be off of Greenwich Street not off of the memorial.

  5. As an educator, I think that everyone should have access to museums, historical sites and all forms of educational experiences.

  6. As a ballerina, I think everyone should have access to the arts. I also think children and young people should be able to experience big sporting events and the great outdoors.

  5. I think people spend money on what is important to them. To visit the main deck and top of the Empire State Building is $44 for an adult. It costs $29 per adult to visit the Intrepid museum including the Space Shuttle Pavilion. The Newseum in Washington DC is $22.95 for an adult but that does include return visit the next day. It costs at least $10 for admission to the movies. Amusement park admissions are easily twice price of most museums.

  6. I think the National September 11 Memorial is well done. See blog post Travel Tuesdays S1E21 – National September 11 Memorial and Museum. I hope the National September 11 Museum will also be well done. In May of 2012, I had opportunity tour the National September 11 Museum. Even though it was nowhere near done it was very impressive. “We” were allowed to take photos but were not allowed to share the photos from the May 2012 visit but I figure since the Museum has been featured on 60 Minutes I can now share one photo.

  7. I think I will continue to volunteer at the 9/11 Tribute Center because telling the story of September 11 is too important not to. 🙂

  Statement by 9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels on Museum Admission

  “September 11, 2001 stands as one of the most devastating events in this nation’s history. However, it is also a historic testament to our collective resilience, a time when the bonds between strangers and loved ones strengthened in unimaginable ways. Ordinary men and women demonstrated limitless compassion and our first responders, so many who perished saving thousands, set an unmatched standard of heroism.

  The 9/11 Memorial Museum at the World Trade Center will be the global focal point for telling future generations this vital American history.
  The stories and the lives of the nearly 3,000 innocent people lost that day will be forever honored at the Museum through artifacts, exhibitions and first-person accounts.

  Following a decision made by the Board in April to ensure the organization’s financial health, the 9/11 Memorial will charge an admission to the Museum to help fund the necessary operational costs. The 9/11 Memorial does not yet receive government support for ongoing operations as many other important museums of our national history do. 9/11 family members are free and there will be discounts for various groups, including seniors, youth and NYC schools. Each week there will also be hours set aside for the general public to enter for free.

  A general admission ticket of $24 will help fulfill our obligation to commemorate and preserve the history of 9/11. It will also enable educational programming that will teach the nature of and responsibility for the special freedoms we have. Importantly, a Museum admissions will also ensure the Memorial, which has had more than 11.5 million visitors since opening two years ago, will be free and open to everyone.”

  Posted in September 11 | 0 Comments | Tagged September 11, telling the next generation, travel

• Christmas stories

  Posted at 8:30 pm by missannsays, on December 17, 2013

  The one of the many things I enjoy about decorating for Christmas is unwrapping and displaying the different items and remembering the stories associated with them.

  1. Some have funny stories like my handmade wooden reindeer, a gift from a student, that has burnt antlers because years ago Bruce accidentally threw the antlers into the fireplace. I walked in the room and said “what happened to his antlers” and there was a strange look, a fireproof glove and a hand reaching into the fire to retrieve it. Or there is the slightly gnawed on wooden tree, a gift my brother-in-law had made, that the dog decided to eat. Others have sentimental stories like the adorable clothes pin nativity scene Emily made in elementary school. Yes, mommies save and cherish those projects.

  
  

  2. Some have travel/adventure stories like my travel ornaments. I personally think that ornaments are the best kind of souvenirs so my Christmas tree is decorated with a fuzzy bear from Alaska, a buffalo from Mount Rushmore, a pretty hand painted ball ornament with a scuba diver from St Thomas and an official Plaza Hotel ornament.
  

  

  

  3. My daughters learned early on that books were the one thing mom would buy them so we have many books and many Christmas books full of wonderful stories. Golden books, pop up books, classics, poetry and gift books – A Cup of Christmas Tree, God with Us, The legend of the Christmas Prayer, What does Christmas Sound Like?, A Family Christmas, and The Legend of The Three Trees to name a few. A few years ago I didn’t put the little kid books out and Meghan commented “what happened to the kiddie books? I still like to look through them.” Thus why the kiddie Christmas books are still displayed.

  4. By far the best Christmas decorations are those made with paper, glue and a photo of those you love. For those decorations come with a lifetime of stories.
  

  Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment | Tagged Christmas, family, kid stuff, little things, randomness, travel

• Travel Tuesdays – S1E28 – Home for the Holidays

  Posted at 7:10 pm by missannsays, on November 26, 2013

  The holidays are upon us. Thanksgiving is “late” and Hanukkah seems early. Thanksgiving is Thursday and Hanukkah starts tomorrow and before you know it Christmas will be here with New Year’s Eve following close behind. The commercials on the television, the internet and radio talk about “being home for the holidays”. I have been pondering that concept. I grew up with very little extended family around. The holidays were always in my home with my mom, dad, brother and two sisters. My grandparents were in Oklahoma and England so we didn’t see them on the holidays. When I was very young we lived in Oklahoma but I have no memories of grandparents. We then lived in Utah and Arizona before moving to New Jersey when I was in the third grade. My mother’s brother and his family would eventually move to New Jersey from England via Canada and the holidays would then involve extended family and I have very fond memories of those times.

  When Bruce and I married we started the every other year tradition at Thanksgiving – one year (even) was my family and the next year (odd) was his family. We started that because when we were dating we ate two meals each thanksgiving and that is ridiculous. I still do every other year and for that reason I have never cooked a turkey. 🙂 I have hosted Thanksgiving on an even year either at home or the Barn but I am grateful that my brother-in-law cooks the turkey. This Thanksgiving I will share lunch with my 95-year-old mother in law in her new assisted living residence. Then travel to PA to have Thanksgiving with Meghan, Kyle and Kyle’s parents. Not two full meals but a light lunch (hopefully) and then the main meal. Yummy!

  As far as Christmas celebrations that we tweaked through the years. Van Hine celebrations usually were Christmas Eve and Clark were more Christmas Day & Boxing Day. Christmas mornings however were always just the two of us at home and then the three of us when Emily was born and then the four of us when Meghan was born. Last year was the first time in my entire life that I didn’t sleep in my own bed on Christmas Eve and it was delightful to be with my sister and her family. This year like last year Christmas will take place in a new way and that is okay.

  I love the holidays. I love everything about the holidays. I love traditions but I am also open to new traditions and new ways of celebrating. I want the holidays to be filled with the people I love, great conversations, yummy food, a little laughter, lots of hugs and hopefully at least one board game. So in thinking on this “home for the holidays” concept and I think home is more about the people you are with than the place you are in and the holidays is more about time spent with those people than a date on the calendar.

  Be safe as you travel this holiday season and don’t forget to enjoy the journey!!

  On a totally different note, do people really buy cars as gifts for Christmas? There seem to be a lot of car commercials.

  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged friendship, little things, travel

• Travel Tuesdays S1E27

  Posted at 11:29 am by missannsays, on November 10, 2013

  Years ago when I was scheduled to fly home from CA on the “red eye” my dad commented “everyone should fly the red eye at least once.” “Why?” “So you know never to do it again!” Well, I have flown the red eye a few times through the years and it is “interesting experience.” Today I choose “the red eye” so I would have entire day with my daughter and her hubby. And as long as I can go home and sleep for a couple of hours, it will definitely be worth it. I have my good book, my snacks, my music and my headphones – I am good to go.

  I came across the following article on airplane etiquette. Worth reading. Hope I don’t have a shoeless, sock less, armrest hogging person next to me. 🙂

  http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CAwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2013%2F11%2F03%2Ftravel%2Fwhose-feet-are-those-negotiating-air-travel-etiquette.html&ei=8-6CUtSTOOakiQLFz4DoCQ&usg=AFQjCNF9iPL8JwTEb0rKk8Bjhkky5s9jsw

  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged little things, travel

• Journey of 3,000 miles

  Posted at 8:00 am by missannsays, on November 9, 2013

  My journey of 3,000 miles begins at Newark airport with a pleasant surprise. I am TSA Prechecked! I guess flying multiple times over the last 11 months has given me the privilege of not having to remove my shoes and a shorter line. I did chuckle when the TSA agent announced “you have been randomly selected for further screening.” To which I replied, “I am always randomly selected.” Seriously every time I fly they randomly screen me. So if it is every time either my timing is impeccable or it isn’t that random.

  Usually when I am “randomly screened”, I want to make a rude comment or two about the lack of proper screening on September 11, 2001. Each time the Lord instantly checks my attitude so I haven’t.
  But today my attitude was different. I was aware that a TSA agent was killed this week and that gave me pause and made me a little more pleasant and patient. They are just doing their job, a job that on any given day probably includes verbal abuse from a lot of haggard or inpatient or confused people but they shouldn’t have to worry about being killed. Actually they shouldn’t be subject to abuse either. 🙂

  “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged travel

• Travel Tuesdays- S1E25- New York Botanical Gardens

  Posted at 11:31 am by missannsays, on October 29, 2013

  .

  Recently I spent a delightful day with friends at the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx. As I was traveling over the George Washington Bridge with one of my friends she commented “Tony said he thought the botanical gardens were in Brooklyn”. I chuckled because the night before I had thought wait, are we going to the Bronx or Brooklyn? So to clarify the New York Botanical Gardens are in the Bronx and the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens are in Brooklyn. I haven’t visited the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens that is a trip for another day.

  According to NYBG website “In the late 19th century an eminent Columbia University botanist named Nathaniel Lord Britton and his wife, Elizabeth, also a botanist, were so inspired by their visit to England’s Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, that they and other members of the Torrey Botanical Club determined New York should possess a great botanical garden as well. A magnificent site was selected in the northern section of the Bronx, part of which had belonged to the vast estate of tobacco merchant Pierre Lorillard. On April 18, 1891, the land was set aside by the New York State Legislature for the creation of “a public botanic garden of the highest class” for the City of New York. Prominent civic leaders and financiers, including Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and J. Pierpont Morgan, agreed to match the City’s commitment to finance the buildings and improvements, initiating a public-private partnership that continues today.”

  I know nothing about botany or gardening but I can tell you the gardens were magnificent. My friends and I did a guided tour of the “KIKU:The Art of Japanese Gardening” Exhibition. We also rode the trolley around the 250 acres and strolled through the Halloween Pumpkin Patch. Since a picture is worth a thousand years I have posted a couple of photos and there are a few more at http://randomsightings.wordpress.com. Enjoy, I know I did.

  

  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged friendship, Japan, travel

• Japan – the journey begins

  Posted at 9:01 pm by missannsays, on August 14, 2013

  The flight to Japan is long. 14 hours to be exact. The flight actually wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. Partly because I had a bulkhead seat and had leg room so my attitude was better than average going into it. Also partly because traveling at night I did sleep a bit. The good news is they do “feed you” unlike on domestic flights or even when I flew to Scotland via Iceland in July. They actually “feed you” multiple times – dinner, random sandwich and then dinner again. That is the strange part of flying to Japan, you skip a day. We flew out of JFK at 7pm on Wednesday evening and arrived in Tokyo at 9:00pm on Thursday night so I didn’t really have Thursday daytime. Going into the trip I decided to sleep when it was dark and eat when I was hungry so I just went with it. 🙂

  The first night in Japan was at the Hotel Metropolitan Marunouchi. The hotel lobby is on the 27th floor of an office building. The next morning a buffet breakfast was available. You had the choice of Western breakfast – cereal, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, toast, croissants or Japanese breakfast – rice, fish, fruit, omelets (looked more like quiche), soup or salad. And thus the exploring new food combinations began.

  After breakfast we ventured next door to catch the bullet train to Sendai. We had been warned that the train stops for 1 minute – 30 seconds for people to get off and 30 seconds for people to get on. No pressure!?! There is no confusion as to where to stand as there are markings on the platform as to where to line up for which car – very orderly. Getting on and off trains with luggage (or even without luggage) is a challenge for me. I get really nervous if there is a “gap” between the train and the platform. I am sure I am going to fall through and become a “movie of the week”. The subway in NYC makes me nervous. When I was in Oxford last month, there was a space so big I really could have fallen through. Thankfully my son-in-law grabbed my bag for me. Luckily there wasn’t a gap in Japan and we all got on the train in a timely, orderly fashion. 🙂

  

  From Sendai we boarded a charter bus and traveled to the temporary housing units in Gankoya, Soma, Fukushima. We shared our stories, Christmas in summer treats for the children and adults and a meal with the residents. The families at this housing unit are here because of the nuclear radiation spill caused by the earthquake. Most of their homes were not damaged by the earthquake or tsunami but they were within the evacuation area for the radiation. It is not safe for them to live in their homes and they don’t know if they will ever be able to return home. Some people have relocated to totally different areas of the country. Many people’s jobs have also been impacted. An elderly woman’s daughter had owned a farm but has had to find work elsewhere leaving her mother behind at the relocation housing center. She commented “I see her once a week”. So sad.

  

  I spoke with a young woman whose husband has to travel much further to work because the hospital he worked at has been closed due to the radiation. So she is alone with three small children much of the time. Her youngest daughter was born after the earthquake. And the young woman commented that “she has never seen her home.” 😦

  A quick visit to see the mental health center and then a bus ride to Koriyama our home for the next two days. more to come…

  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged Japan, little things, travel

• Travel Tuesdays – S1E17 Japan

  Posted at 9:31 pm by missannsays, on August 13, 2013

  Japan wasn’t on my list of countries I wanted to visit. But after my recent trip to Japan, I would definitely go again (with a guide/interpreter) and would encourage you to go as well. My trip to Japan wasn’t vacation. It was conferences, meetings, photo ops, making connections by telling “our 9-11 stories”. Through my connection with the Tribute Center I was invited to be part of a “9-11 meets 3-11” trip. The trip was an amazing journey. It is a journey I am still processing.

  A few things I observed/learned from my 9 days in Japan.

  1. Japan is a beautiful country – clean modern cities and lush farm lands.

  2. Japan is a proud country – modern conveniences steeped with ancient traditions.

  3. Japan is a country that is still recovering from a devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear spill.

  4. I listen better when I don’t understand the language. I don’t speak or understand Japanese. But I found myself really tuning into the person who was speaking. Trying to read their body language, trying to read their heart, trying to see what their eyes were saying. And listening carefully to the translation. At the school for the deaf it was double translation Japanese and sign language.

  5. A “mom hug” can help. At one of the mental health centers, we meet a young American who has been teaching English as part of the JET program. He has been in Japan for two years. He arrived two months after the earthquake and has been teaching in one of the badly hit areas. As he was telling us what he has been doing and how he will be leaving soon, there was something that “wasn’t right”, something not being said. I was listening and chatting with him suddenly I said to him “Could I give you a mom hug?” At which point, he said “Yes, it has been a long time.” And then he burst into tears. I also started crying. It was a humbling experience that lead to conversation with not just a “mom” but he also spoke with a few “dads” in the group.

  6. I can read about an event. I can watch videos and see it on the news but being there makes it real. It was like ground zero or the devastation from Super Storm Sandy until I saw it with my own eyes I couldn’t believe it. In all three cases, it was worst than I could imagine. And how quickly we forget that people are still recovering, struggling and trying to establish a “new normal”.

  7. Lastly, God doesn’t waste anything. All of my experiences can be used to help someone else. I don’t have the answers. Most of the time I don’t even know the question but I have my story. And if my story can help someone else on this journey called life then I have to share it. I believe that is true for each and every one of us. And when in doubt of what it is the right thing to say, your presence, your smile or hug can say it all.

  Posted in daily life, faith, relationships, respect in the real world, Uncategorized | 2 Comments | Tagged little things, respect, September 11, travel

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