Back together in Edmonton

Many people may be aware that I spent two weeks in Galveston, Texas with The Salvation Army on disaster relief deployment in the wake of Hurricane Ike. I left Edmonton on October 6 and got back home on the 19.

It was an interesting experience for me. It was my first time being away from home since we got married and it was difficult at times, but the work was rewarding (and very tiring). I was able to participate in a variety of duties during my time there including distributing food from canteens, cleaning canteens, cleaning Cambro containers (used to keep the food hot), driving a shuttle van to pick up new volunteers from the airport in Houston, and distributing food hampers and cleaning kits at a social service centre.

I also spent one day in Cyrstal Beach, a community on the Boliver Peninsula - a ferry ride from Galveston. The Boliver Peninsula was hit particularly hard by Ike and the communities are devestated there. It was a very difficult day that I will not forget any time soon. Click here for a USA Today news story from Crystal Beach.

I am glad to be back home now, but will hold on to this experience for a long time. It was a valuable time for me and I learn a lot from it. It affirmed the value of the Emergency Disaster Services ministry of The Salvation Army in me, and I feel privileged to be a part of that ministry.

One month since the big day

It has been a little over one month since we were married in Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland, and a very busy month at that. We have flown back to Alberta, drove down to California, spent a week near Malibu and then drove back to Alberta.

The wedding went extremely well, with an intimate group of family and friends joining with us to celebrate the beginning of our lives as a married couple. My grandmother, Commissioner Margaret Waters, conducted her very first wedding. We were very greatful to her for making the journey out from Ontario for the day. Others from both Susan and my families traveled to be with us, and we are greatful to everyone who could be with us. We have our photos back from the photographer and will be posting them on Facebook shortly.

Our trip to California was lots of fun. We drove south via Idaho, Washington, Oregon and California. We were able to visit with Susan's cousin Tammy and husband Jeremy near Portland on our way down. We also met their two children Maya and Declan. We had a great evening together. We also camped in Humbolt Redwood State Park in northern California amongst the world famous Giant Redwoods which was an amazing experience. If you happen to be passing through Miranda, CA make a stop at the Avenue Cafe. We had an excellent supper there.

During the last day of our drive south we passed through San Francisco, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge on our way into the city. Our GPS then got confused and took us back across the Bay Bridge to Oakland.

We stayed at the Salvation Army's Mt. Crags Conference Centre near Malibu. We were able to go for a nice walk through Malibu State Park (formerly 21st Century Fox's Century Ranch, where classics such as Planet of the Apes was filmed). We swam in the pool (getting pretty bad sunburns in the process). We spent a day at Disneyland where we braved such adventures as Star Tours, Indiana Jones and Splash Mountain (I didn't particularly enjoy the 50 ft. drop). We also rode the SS Mark Twain and I got pulled into a street performance. Susan also enlarged her hat collection at the Mad Hatter. We stayed into the evening and enjoyed the parade at the end of the day.

Our trip north took us through Arazona, Ohio, Idaho and Montana. Our longest day was a decent 1200 km drive from the camp to Ogden, Ohio just north of Salt Lake City. We enjoyed a nice relaxing stay the Great Falls KOA camp ground before coming back to Canada.