Midwest Meanderings

 

Heading west out of Florida meant that we were entering the land where sunsets throw splashes of brilliant colors across the endless plains. With no particular destination in mind other than ''west'', we decided to capture a few more state capitals as well as our 47th and 48th states ... Oklahoma and Kansas.

But first ... chicory coffee, beignets, and jazz ... New Orleans style!

A Harvest Host stay at Faubourg Brewing in New Orleans gave us a chance to once again enjoy the unique architecture and fun atmosphere that can only be found in the French Quarter.

From castle-like structures, 

... to houses promising not to be haunted,

... to colorful balconies, New Orleans is alive with culture and history.

But it was a visit to the National WWII Museum that made this history lover's day!

Eighty years ago during World War II, the river town of New Orleans became the manufacturing hub for an important landing craft, the Higgins boat. Louisiana workers built 20,000 of these amphibious assault boats that would became key vessels during the D-day invasion and many other decisive battles. As a result, Dwight Eisenhower declared designer Andrew Jackson Higgins ''the man who won the war for us'', and that is how New Orleans became the home of the largest WWII museum.  

When we entered we were given a dog tag of an American soldier. As we walked through the ''Road To Tokyo'' and ''Road To Berlin'' exhibit halls, we were able to hear some of the stories of the collective victories as well as our individual hero's war experiences. 

After another fun time in NOLA, it was time to move on. While the river boat was tempting, Baby Beest was excited to continue on Interstate 10 to our next BIG destination ... the state of Texas.

First stop - a suburb of Houston to visit some dear friends who happily gave up Minnesota winters a few years ago in order to work for NASA and enjoy the Texas heat and humidity. We luckily arrived in time to celebrate a special birthday with them ... Johnson Space Center was hosting a community celebration in honor of its 60th birthday. 

We enjoyed a rare chance to get into the complex and hear stories of the inner workings of NASA's astronauts and scientists ... as well as to toast good times with long-time friends. 

The next day we continued our quest across this huge state and stayed in a random Texas town that turned out to be full of Texas charm

... as well as the headquarters of the Blue Bell Ice Cream!

A visit to the main factory rewarded us with the chance to try many new and unique flavors for the bargain price of $1 a scoop.

Gotta love returning to the Midwest dairy belt!

The Texas state capitol building in Austin alludes me no more. Our visit to the capital of the second largest state showed us that BBQ is big,

... but renewed friendships win the grand prize!

From there we headed north to visit our last two states of the contiguous 48. In order to consider a visit to a state to be ''legit'' we have to:

Spend at least one night there

and

Visit or do something ''unique'' to the state.

A visit to the state capitol building is considered ''bonus''.

Oklahoma is state #48!

First stop ... the capitol building in Oklahoma City.

But it was a visit to the Oklahoma City National Memorial that provided the ''unique'' although solemn Oklahoma experience. 

Here, on April 19, 1995 a massive act of terrorism forever changed the lives of this community and our country.

Where the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building once stood, there are 168 empty chairs that memorialize the lives that were lost that day

... both young and old.

The Survivor Tree, a nearby American oak that witnessed the horror that day, now provides shade as well as hope for those who continue to heal from that senseless act of violence. 

Oklahoma City provided us with another ''true'' Midwest experience that evening when strong storms passed through the town.  We were grateful to take refuge in the 100+ year old brick building that housed that night's Harvest Host brewery. Trivia night with a Star Trek theme did not prove lucky for us, but we had fun getting to know a number of the friendly locals.

A slight change of course brought us up to Kansas the next day. Technically we had spent a night in a Kansas Walmart parking lot five years ago, but I decided that didn't really ''count''. We drove up to the capital of Topeka while we thought about our next travel destination.

It was beautiful to see the budding and flowering trees on the capitol lawn, but the cool, rainy weather reaffirmed in our minds that it was a bit too early to be this far north. We found a nice city campground to get some travel planning and chores done, and we were also able to get a little taste of local (and national) history with a visit to the Brown vs Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka.

One of the five cases presented to the US Supreme court, the Brown vs Board of Education ruling paved the way to desegregation of public schools in 1954.

Separate was not necessarily equal, and this important ruling provided the push for the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964

... and is something that we as a nation still need to work on together in order to ensure a future blooming with promise for all of our citizens.

Our two weeks of Midwest meanderings lead us through America's heartland filled with fun, friendship, and field upon field of hope waiting to spring forth.

Are those snow-capped mountains in the distance??

The Passionate Poise of Ballet Magnificat

''Great dancers are not great because of their technique,

they are great because of their passion!''

Martha Graham

As we headed west across the panhandle of Florida, we made our mandatory stop once again at the home of dear friends in Panama City. What joy to find out that our visit coincided with a very spirit-filled performance! Their daughter's dance company was in town, and we were about to experience the passionate poise of Ballet Magnificat!

Ballet Magnificat is a professional Christian dance company based in Jackson, Mississippi. Their mission is to present the gospel of Jesus Christ through dance, drama, and witness to audiences all around the country. The passionate group of young people arrived ready to share their amazing talent and deliver their message of faith. We were quickly drawn to the enthusiastic energy of Stacy and her dance companions as they transformed Hiland Park Baptist Church into their theatrical stage. 

Their performance of ''Deliver Us'' told the story of God's redemptive love through the freeing of the Israelites from slavery of Egypt,

... and ultimately freeing us all from the slavery of sin through His sacrifice on the cross.

It was pure joy to see these talented young people share this uplifting message of God's love for us.

Ballet Magnificat's trainee program offers a chance for these Gen Zs to pursue, practice and perfect one of their passions ... dance. Many take a ''gap'' year or two after college to grow as a performer and as a Christian. A lucky few will be able to make ballet their career. But for the majority, the Ballet Magnificat experience is a chance to develop new friendships, learn some important life lessons, and glorify God through their talent before they settle into that future career that will better help pay the rent.

One amazing life lesson came the following day when they performed for a very precious audience at a special-needs elementary school in Panama City. Their performance brought the message of God's love and acceptance to the many physically and mentally challenged children in the audience. 

 I don't know if the performers noticed as they were concentrating on their lifts,

their kicks,

... and their twirls,

but the faces of the children reflected the joy of the message that was being presented before them. I heard a number of teachers and assistants comment on how grateful they were to see their students embrace the positive energy that was being shared with them.

But the real ''miracles'' happened after the performance.

As the performers spread out to greet the students, 

shy smiles emerged,

... along with new dance moves.

Joy burst forth,

... as new friendships were formed.

One young girl who very rarely attempts to stand up from her wheelchair was ready to join in the dance ... all because of the spirit-fulled encouragement and acceptance shown to her by the Ballet Magnificat dancers.

Ballet Magnificat's spirit-filled dancers give witness as they spread the message of God's love through their professional performances. We are, once again, so grateful to be in the right place at the right time to experience the reflection of God's love through the smiles, encouragement ... and passionate poise of Ballet Magnificat!