Stonehurst Inn Bed and Breakfast Emmitsburg

... I'm committed to going to China. There is absolutely no backing out now! I also booked my hotel room in Hong Kong. I was originally going to try to stay at the Peninsula or the JW Marriott. I also looked into the InterContinental. All of them were a bit outside of what I'm able to save for the trip. Then I looked into the two Langham hotels: the Langham and the Langham Place. The Langham is in Tsim ...

... and embarrassed, aside from the headache... but what Arn said afterward made me feel better: "Hey, Mike, I really appreciate how you played so enthusaistically. It really means a lot to these guys. Seeing you have fun helps them to have fun. Because these guys don't get to play with people like you. Usually they're just on their own, mindlessly shooting the ball one after the other. So playing around with a guy who plays with energy and enthusiasm is refreshing. So, thanks."

Cool ...

Just some more updates about our week with YFC in Maryland. Just so you know, I'm writing this a week out, so the details will be minimal. Kind of just a glance.

The schools today were a little out of the ordinary. In the morning, we did a show for an alternative education school. These kids are all kids who have been kicked out of mainstream school. Some of them are pretty tough--all of them with pretty tough ...

... relationships. Like real people :) It's been refreshing.

We received a nice comment today. A female custodian came up to us after one of the shows, and said "Hey, this is a Christian video isn't it?" We're like, "Uhh... well what makes you say that?" [Is this a trap?] "Yeah this is Christian." "How do you know?" "Because I am one. That stuff in there is all like what's in the Bible."
Frederick, MD, Maryland, United States mikeandkelsey

... Frederick. There, we passed the evening by playing Scrabble, playing cards, and sipping drinks amidst the ambiance of open mic performances.

It was so nice to hang out with some people our own age--they were very similar to us, socially, which made the the time very enjoyable. We laughed, we chatted, we had a great time!

And we get to sleep in a bedroom in a house :) We've been spoiled

... different. However, we actually had the opposite reaction. We found everything in the U.S. to simply be easier. The service mentality is much stronger there and also we are just used to how things work there. It's all familiar, all in our native language, and almost all available 24x7. We were really happy to learn that we really do like the U.S. just as much as we like Europe - although we like each for very different reasons. OUR ITINERARY: 1) We flew to Baltimore ...

... Last night I made a list of all of the things I still need to buy for the trip. My travel doc recommended www.travmed.com for some items. He said it would be a good idea to take along a Blister Kit, as they can be a real problem in a foreign country with new shoes and terrain. So I got one of those. CCS said we needed special socks that wick away the moisture and keep your feet warm ...

... today. Also surfed the net looking at Tanzanian sites. I was puzzled by the rule that volunteers couldn't wear flip-flops, so I emailed my coordinator for the explanation. They just aren't sturdy enough. Also, because of the terrain, you will have filthy feet (not attractive). Probably not good to get the germs from the soil either. She mentioned buying some shoes called Tevas, so I will check into them ...

... d had such bad luck with traffic travelling to Gettysburg a couple of days earlier, I decided to take a different route. I had hoped that taking Route 442 to I-15 would be a faster way to get to Gettysburg. However, the same narrow roads and congestion that I found on our other route was also on this alternate route. I never thought I'd find myself thinking this thought, but I actually found myself missing California's roads and highways.

While I was less than ...

... than the two lane path that they originally were. However, I’m sure they were adequate when there wasn’t as much traffic in the state. Unfortunately, the population is now too large for the current road system. Put together too many cars and very narrow roads located through the center of cities and you get frequent traffic jams. We endured an especially thick traffic jam trying to get through York. Eventually, we did find some good four lane ...