Final Tour Day

I'm siting here in our hotel room, close to the Toronto airport, almost packed up, with some time to look back on yesterday.

It was a full and rewarding final day! Kathy, from the Canadian Publishing Warehouse, took us on a mini tour of the surrounding towns . . . one of them being St. Jacobs. We passed beautiful homes and farms along the way.

and, once again, saw a way of life that we do not normally observe where we live.

We visited several touristy shops. One of them being The Village Silos. I could have spent a whole lot more time in there! It is just as it sounds . . . a number of old feed silos converted into little shops. It had the feel of an old castle with it's rounded shops and shelves tucked into little nooks.

I was told there were more than 50 local artisans in this place selling their wares . . . one of them being The Village Potter, where we could observe the artist at work at the potters wheel.

We also visited the local farmer's market . . . a busy place on a Saturday . . . showing off its beautiful local produce, honey, maple syrup, homemade sausage etc.

Lovella picked some gladiola stems to take to the dinner we were invited to for the evening. Lunch was served in a similar fashion as at our local MCC Relief Sale. I had perogies . . . Lovella had cabbage rolls and perogies . . . Kathy had a large hotdog.

In the afternoon we had book signings at Ten Thousand Villages and at Wordsworth Books in Waterloo. . .

just so grateful for the positive response and people who are joining us on this venture.

Once again, it was to special to meet bloggers in person, especially when we recognized the name!

This still looks surreal to me . . . does every one of these authors feel like this? We left with signed books on the shelf. This too was something new to me.

Late in the afternoon Kathy took us to the Publishing Warehouse . . .

 

just to see where she works. This is the friendly voice that takes the orders for the books ordered in Canada. We had a tour of the warehouse.
For dinner we were invited to the home of Ron and Kaye, the president of Herald Press . . . who just retired, but still wanted to host a dinner. We met a large number of their friends, shared our story and signed more books. Late in the evening we drove to Toronto, our hearts filled to overflowing with all that we have experienced these past two weeks.

New York City

After a quick breakfast we got on the subway . . . an experience that can be quite entertaining on it's own!

At the end of the line . . . at Ground Zero, we saw the construction going on in full force. It is hard to fathom what happened here ten years ago . . . and how it has changed all of our lives to some extent.

We took a ferry tour around Manhattan . . . past Ellis Island. . . . once known as The Gateway to America! A reminder of what it was like when immigrants came to this country with hope of new opportunities and dreams to follow.

For lunch we stopped by a hot dog stand

and enjoyed it on a large patio area, alongside a busy street, under the trees . . . where a uniformed person appeared out of nowhere to tell me to get off a low ledge I was using to take photos of birds. I had no idea.

We looked for the tallest building . . . and found it. Then stood in line for over an hour to take the elevator . . .

to take photos of the view from the top . . .

and two crazy girls . . . with security always close at hand!

From the Pod in the Big Apple

Our first views of New York were quite hazy

as we drove into the city in the pouring rain.

We had quite the tour as we looked for our hotel. Note to self... be sure the address in the GPS is loaded correctly. We checked in. I thought the tenth floor would give us a good view.

But I was mistaken.

The Pod is the perfect little space to call home while we are here. A double bed against the wall . . .

an airplane type sink on the other wall with a shower and toilet behind a glass sliding door not much bigger than a coat closet. Much like a cruise ship cabin.

The rains stopped and we took a walk down the street.

It was hard not stop every few steps . . .

and take photos of beautiful architecture

framed by trees.

We walked to Central Park

which would not be Central Park without the pigeons skittering about.

It is a beautiful park!

After dinner we took a walk about Times Square and checked out a few favorite stores. The rest had to wait for another day. 
So that's all she wrote.

Scenes we Let Behind Yesterday

 

Words that come to mind . . . hard work . . . simple joys . . . genuine friendships . . innocence . . . consistency . . . beauty . . . contentment . . . trust . . . commitment and faith. There is probably a whole lot more . . . but I have not had the chance to do anything but observe. There is a peaceful feel about this place . . . and I want to say thank you for letting us pass through.

From Lancaster with Love

I realize this may get tiring to listen to . . . but again, my heart is filled to overflowing!

The view from our window is a peaceful setting . . . so descriptive of the place and people we see around here.

I've enjoyed watching the farmer make his way around the alfalfa field . . . not feeling the need to do it quicker via more modern methods. So different from the way we are used to doing life.

 By contrast . . . we are here because of the people we have met as a result of blogging.

Last night we set up for our final book signing in the US. We have had five pre-planned book signings and two impromptu (or surprise to us) signings so far. This one was at the Berean Christian Bookstore in Lancaster.

It was an hour plus of sheer bliss . . . meeting friends . . . or friends of friends . . . and making new acquaintances with whom we could share our story. By eight o'clock all of the books the store had ordered were signed and sold.

A special thank you to the store manager and two sales girls . . . also to Judy, Sharon, Joy, the two Jeane's, Joanne, Becky, and Ruthi who put us in contact with some long lost friends whom we are meeting for breakfast today.