Day 3: Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania

Day 3 can be described as a of day of  tolls and traffic, of memories and meetings.  As I drove through the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel(which I can hardly believe I was doing), my mind flash backed to my 6th grade field trip  to the Aquarium at Baltimore Inner Harbor and then  not too far beyond the tunnel I came to a Service Area called Maryland House which sounded vaguely familiar.  Sure enough even though the building was different now, Maryland House was the rest stop I had visited on my way to Baltimore in the 6th grade.  As I paid more tolls thinking about my Maryland experiences(Elk Neck State Park, Cecil County Fair, Ocean City, MD) and entered Delaware my mind shifted to other memories of childhood.  I thought about visiting Wilmington, Rehoboth Beach, Dover Air force Base, and the many DuPont contributions so much in a state of 3 counties with no sales tax on anything.  Now I needed to pay close attention so I wouldn't miss the church where I was meeting my first new person of the trip. Meeting her is part of moving forward and embracing my new ministry/vocation as a Spiritual Director.  I asked Rev. Karen Moore if she would be willing to meet with me because as a retired ordained United Methodist elder and Spiritual Director who also now supervises spiritual directors;  I felt I could benefit from talking to her.  It turned out to be  a real blessing to spend an hour with her not only gaining wisdom but also expanding my connection with fellow United Methodist Spiritual Directors.  After meeting with Karen, I drove back roads into Pennsylvania  heading to the King of Prussia Shopping area.  I needed to stretch my legs and take a break from driving.  The Plaza and Court at King of Prussia look very different than they did during my growing up; they are completely remodeled and more upscale.  After the joy of walking and taking in new sights and sounds, it was time for me to meet a high school friend who I had not seen for almost 20 years.  We had a delightful dinner at a restaurant called, "Bahama Breeze" and while it is a chain, the atmosphere was fun and casual.  I would highly recommend the tropical fruit salad with shrimp.  So much fun laughing and catching up, then on to spend the night with an old friend's mother.  Again God's providence of providing me with hospitality through this wonderful woman who not only shared my faith and was interested in my ministry but also remembered working with me in the Resource class over 30 years ago.   Another long but blessed day.

To find out more about Hearts on Fire, which Rev. Karen Moore serves as chair of,
visit: http://fumsdrl.org/

To visit some of my favorite places in MD, DE and PA, visit:

http://www.winterthur.org/ - Winterthur Museum and Gardens Wilmington

http://www.simon.com/mall/king-of-prussia-mall/about - Because yet its change but it is still my original shopping place where I bought school shoes, dresses for high school formals, ate at TGIFridays for the first time and shopped at Macys for the first time.

http://baltimore.org/see-do/inner-harbor-attractions - Baltimore Inner Harbor