Road Trips and Summer Camps

 

 

 Ever since Max went to the wonderful FSSP camp, I've been searching for something similar for Dagny. And that answer came through the Monfort Retreat Center and traditional Benedictine sisters: Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. There's daily Mass, rosary, sports, lectures and time to rest and reflect in these beautiful woods/lake in NH. Dagny enjoyed it so very much, she wants to return next year! Here is the Sisters' FB page and they are posting some photos. And this little video is about who they are and what their apostolate is so very beautiful. Have a look!

Dagny flew up to Boston by herself from Charlotte, NC and Michael and Max had an opportunity to visit Belmont Abbey. Later in the week they drove up to NH to pick her up because on the way back they'd drop off Max at Christendom College. He had a taste of college life there (thanks to a generous scholarship) and he loved it because they studied all his favorite classes -- Literature, Theology, History and Philosophy. No math!!! LOL. After classes, they went to daily Mass,  had lunch, and then had some fun activities. He enjoyed his time very much there and it's going to be tough deciding between Ave Maria, Belmont Abbey, Christendom. We ask for your prayers as he discerns. It's sooooo good to have everybody home safe and sound. Thanks be to God for all these wonderful opportunities. Michael is exhausted but we're staying put in July.

 

 

 

More photos at Christendom's FB page

Missing Flannery: A Road Trip

 

A lovely friend from Church offered to stay with our pets, so we all took a road trip to Memphis to visit my brother. We didn't have a whole lot of time for sightseeing but we know the places we'll stop in the future. So the biggest job was deciding where to eat ... and boy did we eat. We were piggies!  

 

 

 Alabama has got to be the most beautiful state ... so green and lush! We got a chance to attend Mass at EWTN. What a beautiful little chapel. I should've taken a picture when we first arrived and it was very brightly lit. But still you can see some of the beauty as the pilgrims pray the rosary. The outdoor shrine was also lovely. I bawled throughout Mass... it was the Feast of St. Martha and you can see why here.

 

In Memphis, finally, with my brother. We shared a lot of laughs and memories and it was good to see him polish off a Big Leonard!

 

 

 

We headed off to Nashville and even though we had all good intentions to get up early to attend Mass with the Dominican nuns of St. Cecilia, there were no heroic moments. We stayed up too late visiting with good friends of Michael's parents. So lovely to be taken care of so completely and to meet various members of the family. Their two little great-grandkids kept Max and Dagny fully occupied.

 

And then it was time to head on home. Max got quite a bit of high-speed driving experience which he loved. But I still prefer being able to hold hands with my sweetie. Half the fun of taking a road trip is the journey itself and seeing this beautiful country.

 

 

I could have titled this post: the places I didn't get to visit this summer. Andalusia, the farm where Flannery O'Connor wrote her stories and raised her peacocks, was a bit too out of the way and Michael knew if we stopped there, I wouldn't be satisfied just to look at her typewriter ... so we'll make a special trip just for that. Today is the 50th anniversary of her death so I offered a few prayers for her soul and asked for her prayers as well. Here is a beautiful article about her ... but better yet, read her stories, essays and letters. And if you are a writer, you must check out Mystery and Manners.

We also didn't go hiking or rafting in the Smokies. By the time we got there, we were exhausted and just wanted to get home. And it is always good to be home to our incredibly loving pets.