2018 Christmas Letter

 Can it be? Can it be December once again? But the calendar tells me that Christmas is near, and so I find myself at a familiar place attempting to put together a few words about our year.

Where to begin? 2018 has been a whirlwind in so many ways that I couldn’t go into everything in less than fifteen pages. So allow me to pick and choose a bit to give you the gist of this year’s adventures. Hmmm...OK...well I’ll try to stay in chronological order...mostly.

They are real and spend time on the roof of
Al Johnson's Restaurant, Sister Bay, WI

Door County Sunset

Lake of the Clouds, Porcupine National Park, MI 

January saw the release of my novel, Misty Creek. The years of work came at last together at last. I cannot completely describe my feelings when I first saw a copy of my words in print. January was also the month I began work on revising the sequel, a task that is not yet complete.

 

 

 

We’ll push past winter snows and such and jump to May. That was the month that Nick graduated from Purdue University. Our son graduated on Mother’s Day no less. What a crazy weekend that was for all of us. We spent days wandering around campus taking pictures and meeting up with family to show them around too. Seeing the thousands of young men and women in their caps and gowns gave me optimism in the future. 

May was also the month we moved Nick OUT-OF-STATE...hmmmph. What a day that was, renting a truck, unloading his apartment, rumbling down the interstate between all the construction barrels, and trying to get things unloaded before the thunderstorm hit. I did say trying...not succeeding. Carrying “stuff” and furniture up three floors reminded these bones just how old they are. Too old!

But Nick is settled into a nice apartment on the outskirts of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, just ten minutes from his work.  He’s a design engineer for Altec a manufacturer of bucket trucks. The kind of trucks used by utilities and tree trimmers. They keep him hopping but he is settling into the area.

Things at work prevented Jackie from taking vacation days until July, so our usual spring escape was pushed back. So we headed out just after Independence Day on our first outing.  We went north. What can I say it was summer. We checked out some new territory along Lake Michigan’s western shoreline. Door County Wisconsin came highly recommended, and just between you and me they weren’t foolin’. Spent three days near the tip of the peninsula just “checkin’ things out” and knew when we left that we were coming back.

Lake Superior

Eagle Harbor Lighthoue, MI

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Door County we went north to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I had longed to return to Keweenaw Peninsula. My last visit a whirlwind pass on a motorcycle in 1982, so I was glad to have the opportunity to go back.  We love the UP, the shoreline, the waterfalls, the lighthouses, and the hiking trails. Went to the Porcupine Mountains National Park to see Lake of the Clouds on an overcast day. It was beautiful all the same. On another day we went north to see the lighthouses at Copper Harbor and Eagle Harbor. We took time to hike along the Lake Superior Shoreline to reach Montreal Falls. Went into a copper mine. It’s cold down there...42⁰...and dark too!

Greenfield Village

With vacation stacked up August found us going to Eastern Michigan. Had never gone to Greenfield Village before and was impressed to say the least. A second day at the Ford Innovation Museum filled our time in the Detroit area then north to the Lake Huron shore and finally to Frankenmuth. Enjoyed good weather while we spent time in a part of Michigan we had not visited before.

High upon a lighthouse

 

 

If two trips almost back to back were not enough we went south in September. Oh, we had the most noble of motives, to visit Nick on his Birthday. So we headed down to Elizabethtown, Kentucky for a four day stay. Nick had to work so we visited with him in the evening which left the days for exploring. An    interesting area to say the least. Spent most of a day in Mammoth Cave National Park. The cave itself is amazing, but we also enjoyed the hiking trail. The next day we visited Abraham Lincoln’s birthplace. The monument there is older than the Lincoln Memorial in DC and is impressive, standing atop the hill. Our next stop was the site of the farm Lincoln spent his early childhood years.

We spent the remainder of our time visiting an antique car museum, the Kentucky Railway Museum, Elizabethtown Veteran’s Memorial Park, and the remnants of a Civil War era fort overlooking the Ohio River. We just wanted to touch base and check things out because we are sure to be back there again soon.

Mammoth Cave, KY



 

That pretty well covers the most noteworthy parts of the year. When it comes to work and such, nothing much has changed. Jackie works for Martin’s Super Market’s Pharmacy, and I sit at the keyboard trying to turn keystrokes into another book.

Lincolns' Birthplace , KY

 

 

So as we come to this important time of the year, as we reach out to you, family and friends, we hope you know that you are often in our thoughts. That Christmas carries a meaning deeper than Black Friday discounts and Ho, Ho, Ho.  For Christmas is a reminder of how love came...God’s gift given in the form of a baby. Jesus born for you and me...

Merry Christmas from the Vander Veldens here in the greater Tyner Teegarden area of Northern Indiana.