This past week, our family enjoyed a few days of time away (a much needed vacation after a pretty stressful month).  We headed down to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg in TN - what a great time!
We enjoyed Pigeon Forge - (though "customer service" seemed to have been a forgotten term after a long summer of tourists...) but we LOVED Gatlinburg (where they definitely hadn't forgotten...).

On our last full day we took a zipline tour through the Smoky Mountains courtesy of Climbworks Canopy Tours (http://www.climbworkscanopy.com).  What a fantastic 2.5 hours!  We all couldn't say enough about how much we enjoyed it.  It wasn't "scary" - though the jeep ride to the top of the mountain definitely had its moments :)

If you're ever in the area - I would highly recommend these guys.  Professional, safe, courteous, and really nice people... a great experience through and through.

The funeral was over 90 minutes long - but no-one seemed to mind.  The city of Toronto sent a 10 person honor guard - Dad was involved with the Toronto Transit Commission as a volunteer for over a decade.  He was the driving force behind audible pedestrian crossing signals and Wheel Trans - transportation for disabled people. 

At the funeral, I spoke from the son's perspective.  A former detective for the Toronto Police filled in the gaps for the last 10 years, and then 2 people from the TTC spoke.  Sue Gerrard, one of dad's close friends sang (wow), Dave Williams led the worship and then there was a 23 minute video - mostly of dad's 80th birthday. Warwick Cooper, a Pastor from People's Church in Toronto preached an incredibly clear message.

On Friday, June 19, 2009 I rode my '84 Goldwing down to Atlanta for a meeting with Steve Burge from OSTraining.com.  I did Joomla training with them in Cincinnati, Denver, New York and Toronto last fall.

I decided, more at the last minute, to take Hwy 129 down from Knoxville on my way to Atlanta.  It adds a bunch of time, but I was hoping it would be fun.  What I didn't realize, was that the route I chose was the world famous Dragon's Tail (http://www.tailofthedragon.com/ - retailer nearby).  318 curves in 11 miles... insane!!!

Here's the video I shot - about 2/3 of it... lots of fun...  only one close call :)

quick update:   Dad is not well.  The cancer is spread throughout his stomach and thoracic cavity. We have a doc appt. tomorrow to talk about radiation options - but basically - he's decided  that if they can't guarantee it will help, he's going to reject the treatment (which is pretty brutal on the body).  I can't say I blame him.

Mom and I had a really good heart to heart this morning - as moms and sons do at moments like these. 

thank you for your prayers...

Nevertheless... The Lord who has walked with him through every season of his life will walk with him through the valley of the shadow of death and then to the place where he will, in the Bible's words, "dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
I've never been so proud of my dad... to talk to him now and see his faith - even in this dark hour...

thank you for your prayers...

I was meeting with a new client the other day... rode the bike to Hebron, KY for the meeting.  An hour into our time together, it started raining.  I did that momentary checklist in my mind... and no - nothing to worry about - I had my computer bag with me - so ... "let it rain" - or so I thought.

I have been taking pictures for a new project with my daughter's Nikon - its a Coolpix P80 - not top of the line by any means - but it was her grad present and I "borrowed" it for a couple of days.

Trip there:  1375 miles

While there: 100 miles (trips to the Swiss Chalet in St. John etc...)

Trip home: 1351 miles.

Total:  2826 miles - 4,550 km

States/Provinces:  Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Conneticut, Maine,West Virginia and New Brunswick.

In the past 24 months, I've ridden the bike through 18 states and 2 provinces...

All in all - a fantastic trip!  And... on a motorcycle that is older than all my students (except one).  It amazes me that a 26 year old bike with over 100,000 miles could still do a 3,000 mile trip like that and not even miss a beat... no issues... just purring right along - pretty comfortably for the rider too... Totally impressed with the goldwing... (as one of my friends said - try doing THAT on a Harley)...

One of my passions for the course at BBC is to open up students to new skills and software.  This year, Apple sent four macbooks for us to use during class.  Below are the videos the students produced... less than six hours from getting the assignment to presenting it in class.  I LOVE Mac... These students had never done digital video before...

Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!

Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!

Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!

Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!

They did a fantastic job!

I'm on my way home from New Brunswick.  Yesterday was 8 out of 12 hours in the rain - today is 30-40 mph wind gusts... I DO love riding the bike LOL.

Seriously - it was a great week at Bethany - I'll post some thoughts later.  I'm sitting at Panera Bread on the NJ / PA border.  On this leg of the trip, I decided to let google maps determine my course... what fun!  I ended up taking Route 15 - the parkway from Hartford Conn right down into NYC - amazing drive... and the really huge trees sheltered me from the wind for most of it. 

This is a video feed from my bike on 15 - streamed to ustream.tv.

More later... enjoy the video - I'll try and survive being pushed all over the road... :)

Its my 23rd anniversary today.  Over the years, I've been away for more of them than I've been home for... I have a fantastic and patient wife.  I love you Teresa - Happy Anniversary (don't worry - I called too...)

What a gorgeous day!

I had to wash the bike this morning - seriously covered in bugs... the entire bike!  Enjoyed a Tim's coffee... (hmmm miss those) and then tonight... SWISS CHALET!  (I couldn't find it on the ride through St. Johns yesterday).

I spent the rest of the day prepping for the week.  My "roommate" (I'm in a 3 bedroom townhouse) is a prof I met 2 years ago.  Tony Hedrick (http://www.adventive.ca) teaches a course "Preaching in a Post-Modern World" - he's a fascinating guy - we tend the think A LOT alike.  One of my frustrations is that in some places, we're still doing church like its 1950.  As Tony said today - Chicken can be cooked in a variety of ways for different people - but its still chicken... The gospel is still the gospel - but how you present it - needs to be culturally relevant - after all - isn't that what missionaries do every day?  Find ways to present the gospel in a different culture.  Time to wake up church... we don't live in the 50's, 60's or even 90's any more.  SO REFRESHING.

The same sentiment could be applied to the course I'm teaching - Computer Applications in Education.  The goals of education are the same that they have been for thousands of years.  Preparing the next generation to be successful in the world they live in (if that's not the goal - then teachers should be fired).

Apple sent 4 macbooks - on Wednesday we're doing the iMovie thing - its always a lot of fun.

It's going to be a fun week!

Well... I made it :)

• Through a bug infestation that would rival one of the 10 plagues of Egypt
• Through a ride on one of the worst roads in the US (Route 191)
• Through Canadian customs

I'm here on campus - enjoyed Pizza for dinner - and I'm ready to crash.

I'll post pics and an update tomorrow when I'm actually awake :)