The last of it

Alright, here we go again.

Tuesday April 17th. Alyssa and I got up in the morning and did the whole tea and pie on the deck thing again. It was warmer out and not windy anymore, which was really nice. I sat in the sun and tanned... between 9 and 10 in the morning... in April!!! We both got ready to head out to the concert and got Murray started and Money Penny going. Then Money Penny wouldn't work. This wasn't good. Jacksonville is about 3 hours from Tampa Bay and while we had directions from Map Quest we were really counting on Money Penny working. We stopped Murray and sat in the car for a bit trying to figure out what to do. We decided the best thing to do would be to call the car rental place and find out what they had to say. As Alyssa was dialing the number, Money Penny started up again and we were on our way once more!

We were listening to some good tunes, enjoying good conversation and waving at other people on the free-way because that's what two grown women should be doing when they are on a road trip while on a holiday! We had a lot of people smile and wave back, so that was pretty cool. We saw a few cars from Quebec, or Ontario - I don't really remember anymore other than they were from Canada and to the east of us! We got out to Jacksonville safely and found the church where the concert was being held and then went to Subway to have some supper.

We got back to the church, parked Murray, packed Money Penny away because we didn't want anyone stealing her, and went and stood in line. We got there early, which was good cause the line got pretty long behind us. It was hot and humid, well, it was humid to me anyway because I'm used to summer in Winnipeg! We sat on the ground, which was also hot because it was black; why'd they go and do a thing like make a parking lot black somewhere sunny?! If you couldn't tell, I was a little irritable cause I was in jeans and way to warm for my own good!

This is me sitting in the line up. I didn't know that Alyssa was taking a picture cause she's sneaky like that! She tends to have the camera to her eye for a good shot at all times!



There were a group of young ladies in front of us and asked us to take pictures of them on their cameras and then they offered to take one of Alyssa and I, so here it is!



So we went inside, once we were allowed to, and stood inside for a while before the concert started. It was a really good concert, though the girl behind me had a really loud voice and insisted upon singing every song and while she had a powerful voice it wasn't the greatest ever. I was distracted by that and so I was upset that I was distracted by that and so then I was distracted with trying to not be distracted by her. I got over it eventually, though I didn't get over her elbow in my head more than once, just because I'm shorter then you doesn't mean you can hit me!

At any rate, we enjoyed the concert. We didn't enjoy the comment that the church will save the world though... we looked at each other when that was said and talked about it later. We both had the same thought go through our minds, JESUS already saved the whole world!!! For a while we gave Joel Houston the benefit of the doubt and thought maybe he meant that as the hands and feet of the church we would go out and tell people about the saving power of Jesus, but no. It was made clear later on by a statement that Pastor Phil made that they were talking about the church actually saving people, there was no mention of Jesus in that statement either. I'm all for people going out and providing justice in a world where it is sorely lacking - feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, providing shelter for the homeless and either training and/or jobs for the unemployed, and while doing so show people the love of Christ through our actions and our very nature and have them come to know Christ that way - but they meant that the Church, big 'C,' would save the world and all that without the mention of Jesus once. I wasn't impressed with that, nor was I impressed with people around me saying hearty 'Amens.' I only say amen when I agree with what is being said, I didn't say amen to those comments.

We drove back to Tampa Bay that night. I tried to take a picture of Jacksonville all lit up from a bridge we were crossing but I couldn't get my camera out fast enough and the window down. I was taking a picture through the window anyway but the flash didn't go off, so I pointed the camera down to look at what was going on and then the flash went off taking a really awesome picture of my feet! Hahaha! Oh, and I was being sarcastic about the picture being really awesome, feet are yucky if you ask me!

Wednesday morning consisted of sitting on the deck and tanning and then getting ready to fly home. I was pretty much packed so I was able to get in an optimal time of tanning which was pretty sweet! We took the Murano back to the rental place and then took their shuttle to the air port. We had some lunch there and then I went through security which took for stinkin' ever and I almost missed my flight though I wasn't the last one on so I didn't feel too bad about being later then I would have otherwise liked.

I flew to Memphis and waited for a little while there and then on to Minneapolis where I met up with Alyssa again who had a direct flight from Tampa to Minneapolis. We got back to Winnipeg and my awesome friend Camillia was there with a smile to pick me up!

So, that was my trip. I had a really awesome time and I wouldn't have been able to do it if I didn't have such an awesome friend as Alyssa, so, thank you again Alyssa!

I can't wait for my next trip now though! If anyone wants to go for a road trip this summer, let me know!