Thin Places

This past weekend was our annual All-Church Retreat. It's always a wonderful time of worship, fellowship, and craziness. This year's theme was Thin Places...which I'll talk about later. For now, here are the highlights:


Where we always stay - Assembly Inn. It's old. It's cranky. I love every inch of it.




On of the things I tend to have assigned to me on the planning committee is to come up with some kind of group activity or craft. Last year, we did the quilt. This year, I needed to come up with something a bit easier on me. So, to go along with our Celtic theme and Thin Places, I (we, actually because I think it was a group brilliant moment between me and our minister) decided that everyone should make their own Cairn. I just happen to have a box of rocks. Ad a few glue guns, some tiles and a handful of Sharpies, and voila...



On Saturday afternoon, we had free time and this year, we took full advantage of it by driving up the Blue Ridge Parkway a bit to Craggy Gardens. In the parking lot, I saw this little guy making his way across the asphalt. I couldn't stand the thought of him getting smushed so I picked him up (with a couple of leaves...these things can sting you) and moved him over the rock wall to the trees. I looked him up when I got home. He's a Hickory Tussock Moth Caterpillar. Cute, huh?




So, after the bug rescue, we headed to the trail head. It's a short hike and not too steep. It's a bit rocky and with all the rain we had this week, a lot muddy...worth it though.





See why it's called "craggy" gardens? Everything is gnarled. The trees grow every which way and remind me of the cranky trees in The Wizard of Oz...just friendlier.




Short hike...big views.

I'm giddy over the leaves changing. I know it happens every year but it's very exciting.

So, after our little adventure, we returned to Montreat for the evening festivities which included a Variety Show. There was lots of variety and even some talent. Here's Mr. P working his violin. He's been taking lessons since August and did pretty darn good...better than I could for sure. Later, he and his two brothers ended the show with an old Irish song. Mr. P was the bagpipes...whining one note for the whole song. It was so funny, everyone was rolling on the ground.

Here we have The Mad Professor (who really is a physics and astronomy professor at Wake Forest University) singing Monty Python's planet song. He's accompanied by one of the sweetest little dancers ever.

And of course, we have an all girl rap group. I have no idea what the song was but they made it up and it was hysterical.

There were lots of other acts but if I shared all the hilarity, we'd be here for a while.

That same physics & astronomy professor brought a great big telescope and set it up on the porch of the inn for a little stargazing Friday night and Sunday morning. On Friday night, we could see Jupiter and its four moons. He didn't have the telescope connected to track with the rotation of the earth so he kept having to adjust it to get Jupiter back in sight. Let me tell you, when you're looking at Jupiter and can see it whiz right out of the sight, it gives you a weird feeling. We're really moving pretty fast. Incredible, really.

On Sunday morning, he had it trained on the moon...which is, of course a lot closer than Jupiter. It took my breath away. On nights when the moon is big in the sky and you can make out craters and such is nothing like the dimension and depth I could see through that telescope.

What a wonderful world.