Galveston Trip

We returned to Galveston, Texas, for the second year in a row to exhibit at a Christian school convention. Wow, what a difference a year makes! Last September Hurricane Ike hit Galveston Island and did tremendous damage to this Gulf Coast historic strip of land. We were amazed at the devastation that was still evident five months after the storm.

Downtown Galveston was flooded with storm surge from Galveston Bay. Here is the Arts Center with the water line marked at about seven feet.

This boat was in a neighborhood about half way between the Gulf and the Bay. Don't know where it came from, but sites like this were seen all over the area.


A year ago we had dinner at what used to be this restaurant. It "was" called The Captain's Table, but it is doubtful that it will ever open again. The entire front of the building had been completely torn off.

On Saturday we spent four hours at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. It is a fascinating place. I am examining the Saturn Five rocket that is taller than the Statue of Liberty.

The most outstanding feature of visiting the Space Center is the tram tour of the real working areas of the Center. Visitors are able to see the actual control room where all space missions are directed. Then the tour goes to a large building where the astronauts are trained on all of the equipment and procedures that they encounter in flight. Note the large blue trap on the ceiling. This tarp, along with many others that were draped on other pieces of equipment, are necessary protection due to ceiling leaks. Even NASA was effected by Hurricane Ike.

This robotic arm is used to train the astronauts for outer space maneuvers. Every condition and activity expected to be encountered in space is simulated in this building. It is an amazing place!

After Christmas Trip to Florida

As soon as Christmas was over our family split to the four-winds. Chad & Jen headed for Mexico and Guatemala, Kristy & Brian for western Carolina and then home to Tennessee, and Kirk flew back to cold country (and his dear kitty "Roxy") in Wisconsin. So -- Connie and I headed for Florida. Here is Chad and Jen at some ruins in Mexico.

Actually, we headed for a planned vacation (time left over from 2008) at Maranatha Village in Sebring, Florida. Maranatha Village is a beautiful retirement community in south-central Florida, about 75 miles southwest of Orlando. The drive into the village introduces visitors to a picturesque lake and the well maintained grounds.

We had visited there briefly in 2005, but we wanted to come back with our trailer for a relaxing vacation. Well, we enjoyed ten days of "staying put" in the great RV Park. Our camping spot looked out on the golf course and provided a fun place to live for awhile.

We had a great time visiting Minnesota friends who now live at Maranatha Village. (See http://pillsburymemories.blogspot.com/.) Our days included bike riding, investigation of the area for future reference, and sanctified partying with our friends. We really liked the Village and found that the residents were very friendly -- human and otherwise.

We also had the opportunity to connect with friends from Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. Larry and Reta Shoup are full-time RVers who are working for the winter at a KOA located about 50 miles south of Sebring. The Shoups were our helpful tour guides on a day trip to Sanibel Island near Ft. Myers.

We also had the opportunity to visit a place where Connie's folks took us 25 years ago. This time we road our bikes to Highlands Hammock State Park, which is just a few miles west of Sebring.

Highlands Hammock is a nature preserve that exhibits the historic "hammock forest" of early Florida. The vegetation is thick and semi-tropical, with huge oaks and a cypress swamp. Back in the 80's, Connie's dad wanted our family to see what an early Florida forest looks like. It was a special thrill to go back after many years to ride through this historic state park.

We are back to the cold north now -- North Carolina that is. Next month we are off to a convention again on Galveston Island in Texas. We hope to visit the NASA Johnson Space Center outside of Houston after our convention is completed.

More Christmas Activity

Christmas is over and we are now on to the next adventure! The last few days have been great, but everyone is moving on today for the New Year. Kristy and Brian are headed home via Blowing Rock, NC -- one of their favorite destinations. Kirk flies home later today, and Chad and Jen are on the bus heading from Mexico City to Guatemala. (P.S. Just got email from Chad. He says, "The city is in full holiday spirit. The weather is spectacular.")
We had plenty of good Christmas celebration time; encouraged by Connie's extensive decorating and preparation. Here Jen and Kristy enjoy Connie's "little tree" in the dinning room.
We had plenty, plenty to eat. Consulting Chef Chad expertly carves the turkey for his Chief Chef, Mom. Chad is actually the gourmet cook in our family and he always brings a professional touch to the kitchen chores. It was good!!!We spent several hours on Christmas Day at our Positive Action office facility in Whitakers. Our ministry conducts seminars and youth activities and so we have an excellent game room that is equipped with a Wii set-up. Here Jen and Chad try out the virtual tennis courts.
The grand finale for the day was lighting sparklers on our deck (left over from the 4th of July) and that ceremony produced this interesting photo of Kristy and Kirk.

Warm Christmas

The Carlson family sends "warm" Christmas greetings from 60 degree North Carolina! Our gang arrived on the 23rd -- well, actually Kirk, Chad and Jen didn't get to our house until 3:30 a.m. on the 24th. Kirk had a difficult time getting out of Detroit and then his luggage did not make it to Raleigh with his flight. But after a good night sleep, we were all revived and thankful to be together again.
We started out with a Taco Salad lunch and moved on to a "Chad" project in the afternoon. Chad fabricated a custom bike rack for the back of our 5th Wheel. He did a great job!
Then our neighbor's son, Jett Bunn, came over at Connie's urging to show our kids his Green Bay Packer helmet and scrapbook. His dad, a native of Rocky Mount, who has been a life long Packer fan took him to Green Bay for a game this fall. Jett won the helmet as a door prize at a VIP reception at Lambeau Field.

Later we had our traditional Christmas Eve dinner of Beef Stroganoff and all the other goodies.
Christmas morning we had our 2-hour gift opening ceremony. As always it was a great time, with some interesting gifts. Kirk got some ECU (his alma mater) gear, including a beautiful pictorial history of the university.
Fisherman Chad's prized gift was an Abu Garcia fishing reel (made in Sweden -- go figure) to support his Wisconsin hobby. Kristy has more pictures on her site Life's A Stage at http://www.tnwalker62.blogspot.com/.
This morning at 3:00 a.m., Chad and Jen left the house to catch a flight for Mexico City. From there they will take a 12 hour bus ride to Guatemala for a two week adventure. Oh, to be young! But, we leave this weekend for Sebring, Florida for two weeks in our 5th wheel.

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Merry Christmas from North Carolina

We want to extend a Christmas greeting from our home to you and your family. In the next few days our family will be arriving for a time of celebration and joy. We wished that we could have sent out a family photo on our Christmas card, but that was not possible prior to our gathering time at Christmas. However, in the coming week we will be able to take some pictures and post them on this site. We trust that you, and your family, will have a blessed time remembering the Savior's birth and fellowshipping together.

We have finished our fall convention travel for the 2008 season. This year we logged over 9,300 miles as we traveled through 19 states and Canada on three different trips. Our first trip took us to the Midwest, and we enjoyed the comfort of our new 5^th wheel trailer.

After a brief two weeks at home we headed out, without the trailer, to Toronto. On the way to Canada and after finishing our convention, we spent time in Niagara Falls. Years ago we spent a short time viewing the Falls during a visit in the rain. This year the weather was clear, although cool, and the view of the Falls was spectacular. We were able to see the Falls from both the US and Canadian vistas. It is truly a marvel of God’s creation.

From Niagara we headed to Kingsport, Tennessee to have a visit with a distribution company that we are endeavoring to work with in the homeschool market. From east Tennessee we headed to Dayton, Oho for another large Christian school convention. Then it was back home for less than a week before we hitched up the trailer to head for Dallas, Texas.

After the first two cold nights we ran into fairly nice weather. This was our third year traveling to Dallas and I had always wanted to visit the site of the John F. Kennedy assassination. But it wasn’t until late in our visit last year that I discovered that the location for that historic event was just a few blocks from our convention venue. This year we planned to slow down after the convention and visit the 6^th Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. We highly recommend this very interesting museum.

The assassination shots were fired from the 6^th floor of what was known in 1963 as the Texas Book Depository. The museum today occupies the entire 6^th floor of that building. There are many photos on display that chronicle and explain the events leading up to, and surrounding, the life and death of President Kennedy. Probably the most fascinating aspect of the museum is that you can stand within a few feet of the window where Lee Harvey Oswald obviously propped his rifle to shoot the president. Also, you can look out the windows on the roadway at Dealey Plaza where the presidential motorcade passed the building.

From Dallas we drove back home at a little slower pace. This year we celebrated Thanksgiving dinner at a Cracker Barrel in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. We are glad to have this opportunity to serve the Lord and see the country.

FALL CONVENTION TRIP -- 2008

On Sept. 23 we set out on our fall convention trip to exhibit at four Christian school conventions. The trip would log 3,992 miles on our truck and take us to ten states. During these conventions we estimate that we talked personally to over 400 Bible teachers and school administrators. Many of these were new contacts for our ministry and they represent possible expansion for Positive Action's outreach. We trust that many of these contacts will turn into new customers for the future. Here is Connie standing by the display and exhibit materials that we set up at each convention venue.
Our first convention was in Gatlinburg, TN, where our son-in-law Brian was one of the organizers. Actually, his dad Dr. Charles Walker (my longtime friend) was the convention chairman, but Brian had responsibilities which brought him frequently to our booth to check on us. We appreciated the personal touch from him and his colleague, Randy Scallions. Connie was able to also visit one of Kristy's workshops at this convention.

After the convention we were able to spend some time with Kristy and Brian in the beautiful Smokey Mountains area. Here we are enjoying a cookout at our campsite where we lived for several days.
After leaving Gatlinburg we headed for Nashville, TN to visit Donelson Christian Academy. This school is using two of our Positive Action studies in their Middle School. The interesting thing about this school is that they are using the books electronically -- on Dell tablet computers, rather than using printed books. We wanted to see firsthand how this program was working. If you are interested in a fuller explanation see my report at: http://carlsontravels.blogspot.com/.

Here is a view of the classroom demonstration that the school conducted for us. It was enlightening.
Then we turned north and headed to Indianapolis, IN. On a Tuesday night, before heading to South Bend for our next convention, we had a wonderful pasta dinner at Merrit & Donna Rector's house. Merrit was my close friend from college and seminary, and he cooked the marvelous dinner for us. Both Connie and I enjoyed visiting Merrit & Donna in their lovely home.
We exhibited at two convenitons in Indiana -- South Bend and Indianapolis. Between the two we spent a weekend in the Elkhart, IN area. Our purpose was to try to find a "soft" cover for our truck that could be used to protect display materials for transit when we are not towing the 5th wheel trailer.

The Lord led us to a truck supply dealer who was able to install the perfect cover for us. While at that truck store we met a man by the name of John Lenehan, from Woodstock, New Brunswick. John hauls RV trailers between the US and Canada for various dealers. He wanted to talk with us and told us that he was a recovering alcoholic. We were able to give him some good things to read and to pray with him. Pray for John!
After leaving Indiana we were able to see family in Illinois and Wisconsin. We stopped for a great lunch with my sister Cheryl Turbett, and her husband Dwight, in Rockford, IL. We were joined by niece Kari Tackeberry, and her delightful three kids. They suggested the Machine Shed, and we recommed it to you very highly. Great place to gather and eat.
From there we went on Madison for a weekend with Kirk, Chad and Jen. The weather was just beautiful and we took the opportunity to have a big cookout with brats and burgers in true Wisconsin style.
Following our time in Wisconsin the weather turned a little cooler as we headed north for our final convention in the Twin Cities. We spent an afternoon at the Stillwater (MN) Ford dealership getting our truck mirror repaired, and those folks were outstanding with their customer service. Then we were able to have dinner at Connie's brother's home. Greg and Becky hosted us, plus Judy and Wes Brask, for a delicious dinner at their warm and beautiful home in the northwoods.
The evening started with hors d'oeuvres around the "fire pit". It was a great evening.
During the time we were in the Cities we camped at 4th Baptist in Plymouth. Here is our trailer parked behind their Christian school building. This was the fourth location during our four week trip where we parked at a church or school. It makes things convenient, and is very economical.
After our profitable convention ended on Friday, Oct. 17, we dashed back to the trailer to prepare for a youth group reunion that we had planned for that evening to be held at 4th Baptist. You can read more about this historic "gathering" of the old 4th B youth group at: http://www.youbelong.net/theupwardway. Here is part of the group that gathered for the evening.We enjoyed seeing so many friends. Here is Connie with three of her high school youth group friends: Joan Kroehnert, Audrey Wykes and Bonnie Marcilliott. We do love the privilege that we have to minister across the country and to meet so many new friends at conventions, but then also connect with family and old friends along the way.

Happy 98th Birthday Aunt Midge -- Wow!

Cousin Carol Gunzel sent this wonderful picture of our hero -- Aunt Midge -- 98 years young!

Aunt Midge Gunzel, my mom's only sibling, is an amazing person. She is sharp, full of historical information, and has her venerable Norwegian humor. She just celebrated her 98th birthday with her kids (ya'll are still kids to me) and we have this great picture as a testimony to God's grace and Midge's perseverance.

Surrounding her are Joy (Davis), Jim, Marilyn (Anderson) and Carol. Cousin Dave was unable to join the celebration, because he is many miles away down in the southwest. Carol says, "...the little 2 year old licking her finger from the cake's icing. She'd stand there and poke her finger in the cake and look around to see who was watching her! That's Jim's granddaughter!" Looks like the cake was good.

Connie and I had the joy of visiting with Midge in February of 2006 and then a year later in February of 2007. We were very interested in her stories about her early days as a pioneer missionary to Mongolia in the mid 1930s. We have a copy of her interesting autobiography, with fascinating pictures, that tell the story of her trek to the Far East to become the bride of Uncle Stuart. God bless you Aunt Midge! You are an encouragement to all of us.

Labor Day Weekend Camping

Over Labor Day Weekend we took our Laredo to a nice campground right off I-95 at Selma, North Carolina. On Saturday we invited the Mincy family to drive out from their home in Clayton, about 15 miles away, to join us for a cookout. We had a great time hangin out together.

We grilled hot dogs and Wisconsin brats, and enjoyed the cloudy afternoon and the shade of the trailer awning. After the cookout ended the sun came out and the heat drove us inside to the air conditioned comfort of the trailer.

Inside we moved on to the activities of the day that included a rousing "Bingo" contest with priceless prizes. All the kids (including Sara and Dave) won prizes, and a good time was had by all! Then the day was topped off with old fashioned root beer floats. It was a great capstone to summer.
On Sunday Connie and I were able to attend Community Baptist Church in Clayton where Dave serves as Minister of Music. This vibrant church plant is a growing congregation meeting in a beautiful new public school. The church owns land adjacent to I-40 on the southeast edge of the burgeoning sprawl of Raleigh. We were very impressed with the ministry of this exciting church.

Chad & Jen Fishing

Recently Chad and Jen took a weekend camping and fishing trip to Devils Lake near Baraboo, Wisonsin. We loved these pictures that they sent us from that trip.

Three Cousins

At our family reunion last month we took a picture of the "Three Cousins" -- Dana, Kristy, and Alison. After returning home we found two earlier pictures from the preceeding decades.

First, is a wonderful shot of Grandpa Cutlan with his grandaughters from the 1980s. Grandma Cutlan noted on the back of this picture that it was "one of my favorites".

Then from the 1990s we have a wonderful shot of the three young ladies at a special time together.













Finally, it was fun to get this great picture at our Beach House on the Outer Banks, of our now three distinguished young women.