China Hope Live » New Hampshire

Back on the road

Jessica & Joel — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

You know you’re not in Texas when…

We left Dalton, NH around 11pm, and quit driving around 7pm this evening. We should pull in to Jessica’s parent’s in Atlanta, TX (near Texarkana) around 1am Sunday. Chances are our return to Texas could be delayed a few days since an organization in Alabama wants us to come in and share our China plans. We’re setting the date when we get to Atlanta – hopefully we’ll head to Alabama before returning to Texas and save a lot of driving. Anyway, camping was great – we needed to spend this time with Jessica’s family.

A sight for sore eyes….

Jessica & Joel — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

This place is even MORE beautiful than I had remembered. It’s totally green, and has a wild, untamed element about it that I love. Bears and moose abound, though we have yet to find a moose for Joel to antagonize (really, I won’t let him…those things are dangerous!!). We’ll post more about our adventures later, but our internet-for-rent connection that we can get at McDonald’s up here is almost finished. Craving green?

Going…home???

Jessica — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Seven years after being exiled to hot, dusty West Texas, I am finally heading back to the place that I think of as “home.” For those of you that don’t know, I grew up in a remote part of northern New Hampshire, just a little south of the Quebec border…one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. I always knew that the place I lived was beautiful, but I don’t think I fully appreciated it until I moved into the brown, hot, flatness that is West Texas.

While I’ve learned to appreciate the unique and subtle beauty that West Texas possesses (especially the sunsets and sunrises), I am really looking forward to seeing the mountains and billions of trees that I remember from my childhood. We’ll get to visit with extended family, bask in the cool temperatures (it’s supposed to be 70-80 the whole time, compared to last weekend’s 104 in Texas!) and spend a few days in Maine camping at our traditional family camping spot – Hermit Island. I have so many great memories, and I can’t wait to show Joel all of the sites from my stories. I really hope that it’s as beautiful as I remember it, and that I haven’t just built it up to be bigger than life in my head.

Maybe it isn’t “home” anymore, but it’s still a really special place. I’m glad to have the opportunity to go back, with Joel and with my whole family. This may be one of the last times that we get to spend an extended period of time with my family before heading to China, and I hope to relive a lot of our old family stories and memories and make many new ones along the way. I think we’re going to have a blast… check back in a few weeks for pictures and new stories of our New England adventures!