Let me digress from - The great Jubilee/Benedictine/48-state (and Canada!) Pilgrimage of 2025!

Bear with me as I take a slight detour. I need to recount something that happened on Day 11 but it deserves its own post. It was a fail for me and especially today, with the reading about Lazarus and the rich man, important to bring to mind. I hope I can remember this lesson and be more prepared in the future.

On the front terrace of the Cathedral, there is a bench. When you move closer, it's actually a powerful reminder.

The statue is covered, except for the feet. Moving closer, you can see the nail marks. This picture is from the website. I didn't take one because there was something about it that made it seem not appropriate to stand and take a picture. I confess, I didn't really see it on the way in but I passed it again, twice, when I left to seek out the bathroom during Mass. 

The Cathedral's bathroom is down the block at the parish center. The church security guards escorted me out and to the corner to point the direction, then watched as I walked in, waiting until I returned. I was grateful for what seemed to be extreme kindness to a visitor. Reflecting on it now, I realize it was more a statement on the area. 

While the homeless population is lower than, say, Seattle, it is growing at a rapid rate in Vancouver. The lack of affordable housing combined with job instability means more people are on the streets. 

When I was walking back into the Cathedral, I stopped to touch the nail mark on the feet. It brought tears. Such a good, visceral, reminder that Jesus is here, among us, in the poor and needy. He is with all of His children who struggle.

Finishing Mass and heading back outside, it was a shock to see that, in addition to Jesus on his bench, there were His actual children in need, lined up to ask for assistance. Because I was unprepared (ug...I wish we had brought about 10 of our homeless bags) and because there were so many people exiting,  I could only catch one of the mothers' eyes and say God bless you. I know it's not what she was looking for but I do hope, at least in a small part, she felt seen by someone.

I suppose God placed this on my heart today, with the readings, and the happenstance appearance of our former pastor at 9:30 AM Mass (he's a regional vicar now so he floats parishes...I miss him and his wisdom and, perhaps less, his loudness and cartoon voices when reading - I was particularly annoyed with his Lazarus today but, I digress). What he said in his homily that was helpful is this...

Jesus told this story of Lazarus and the rich man and Luke recorded it to be read down through history, even reaching us today. Abraham told the rich man, " If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets (referring to the Jews of the time) neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead."

Father reiterated Abraham's question of the rich man to us - why/when will you be persuaded? Now, in our time, someone has risen from the dead (the teller of the story) and STILL we are not persuaded to change our lives. What, exactly, will it take for us to change our belief that wealth and power in this life is more meaningful than living for eternity? When will our decisions reflect exactly what we are chasing?

Father is a bit of a "tie up heavy burdens" sort sometimes because, really, what he's asking is impossible - to be fully persuaded. However, we can do a bit more than we are doing. From today's first reading :

Lying upon beds of ivory,
 stretched comfortably on their couches,
 they eat lambs taken from the flock,
 and calves from the stall!

If this seems a bit like us - if we have more than we need while others lack (goods, food, security, love, self-respect) we can't continue...we must be persuaded. Today.

I looked into support programs for the homeless in Vancouver and I will give something to both of those I found. It won't be a lot but, in giving, I will be moving more towards the sharing side and away from the keeping/storing side. Yes, we need to keep enough to provide for those most immediate to us but, by saving up and storing, we take away the power of God to work big miracles in our lives (even the biggest miracle of forgoing comfort and power). 

Father said we will be judged by the amount we give away. And, who knows? God is all about tying up the ends - perhaps that woman I saw will be served by one of those programs. Perhaps some amends can be made for not helping when I was in front of her. Perhaps, later, I can avoid the discussion with Abraham. Wouldn't that be something.

We are blessed. 

Day 10 - The great Jubilee/Benedictine/48-state Pilgrimage of 2025!

 Blessed Feast of the Assumption! There would be much to give thanks for today, not just because we were nearing the end of our trip.

We woke up early, had some breakfast, packed the car, and said goodbye to our four-legged (and two-legged) friends. You know it's a good time when the city boy gets in (or close to at least) on the action.

That's as close as he gets...

Somewhere between the Hillsboro stadium and the RV, we had crossed the river into Washington state, our 48th state! It doesn't appear that there is any photographic evidence to speak of so, you'll have to take our word for it. Not too long into today, we would be at several notable WA sites.

First things first. We decided to celebrate the Holy Day with the Benedictines (seemed appropriate) so we headed off to St. Martin's Abbey, a unique little space in the middle of St. Martin's University. It took a while to find (GPS failed) but eventually we made our way in and were rewarded with, not only a Blessed Mother feast with the Benedictines, but the Abbot himself presiding. Here are some photos from the website. It was a bit dark for my taste but they chanted and there was a nice variety of people in attendance. 

St. Martin

Not quite that full in the Summer...

The ambo was a flying eagle...that was cool

When we had spoken to the Abbot and headed out, we set off for our next stop. It seems, every trip like this, I try to do something nice for DH and plan a stop just for him. Then, when we actually get there, I act like a baby because it is the last thing I wanted to do. I must work on that. Or, perhaps, move his stops to the beginning of the trip when I'm not completely spent.

Happy or not, we headed through the rain (yes, this is Washington!) to the Museum of Flight. One saving grace...instead of paying almost $30/person to walk around looking at airplanes, we used our Carnegie Museum membership and got reciprocal privileges so we got in FREE. If I'm bored, at least I didn't pay for it. Lol, I wonder how many times/places DH thinks the same thing???

Here are some pictures. I wish I could narrate but, truthfully, other than the Concorde and Air Force One (the old one) I was totally lost. 

I made sure to take enough pictures to count it as history/geography

It was cool to show the kids the way things used to be. Guessing the Trump plane is a bit nicer...

and without so many knobs

Here he is, in his element, passing on the magic to the next generation

so happy...

The Concorde was tighter than I would have imagined.

It wouldn't be the most crowded place we'd be that day...

DH was kind and limited our time to the "must sees" and after about an hour we were back on the road. That was a good decision because we seem to have visited Seattle at the worst possible time- major road construction everywhere. It was ok, though. We were together and there would be lunch at the end of this...along with the most congested (people) two blocks I've ever witnessed. 

Welcome to Pike Place Market.

This was actually at the end, when we had sort of adjusted to the place.

This was the beginning...when we were waiting in line for lunch. Can you guess which child shares in his mother's extreme agoraphobia?

Luckily we persevered and got some yummy chowder to boot.

In the end, it was a pretty interesting place...like the Strip District by the water on a steep hill and about ten times the size. We did get some pretty excellent pastries at Piroshky Piroshky 

If you are a Seinfeld fan...the vibe is totally Soup Nazi. Very long line, very short time to order and make sure you get it right! I was pleased to head out after this adventure. My boy and I had reached our people limit.

Back on the road, full of other people with the same idea. Luckily we were heading North to our home for TWO nights and would have time to rest and recharge once we had arrived. Two stops to go...First, and most important...

When you find out there is a city that shares your name, you need to make the stop...
even if it is pouring rain!

Then, of course, supplies were needed for our two days in Washington. We couldn't very well subsist on pastries. Here are the random photos that came up from the kids' phones on our Safeway visit. Why? No idea. I think they were delirious at this point.

They were impressed that WSU has it's own brand of cheese

It was an interesting store...

Filled up with fuel and food, we headed to our home for the night (and the next night!). It had been a long day of traffic and we were happy to be in our nest. We would close out our (international) Jubilee tour tomorrow with a visit to our Northern Neighbors. We are blessed!

Day 9 - The great Jubilee/Benedictine/48-state Pilgrimage of 2025!

Truth be told, I slept about as well I did at the monastery with none of the extra graces so, when morning came, I was more than ready to go. Cool to sleep on a mountain...happy to descend and keep pushing west. First, however, coffee. We found a cute little place in a strip mall not far down the road (but far enough to be out of "government camp" and their ridiculous prices). We walked to the local grocery store in the strip mall to get some water and, apparently, the journey was full of good things to photograph...all of these pics were from kid phones.

Wish I would have seen this...def interested in the creme soda

This was the source of great amusement

Frog and Toad...Oregon style

The newest album cover

D's breakfast order!

As I've mentioned, we were all kind of over the trip. I could tell from the pictures alone...

Yes, pretty much.

Luckily, right there in the middle of Portland, there is a grotto. An amazingly beautiful respite from the crowded, fairly dirty (the graffiti on the west coast was crazy) city. We were grateful to find it and grateful that it was another Jubilee site!

This is built into the side of a mountain and you can go up to the top but it was a little scary for me...we stayed on the ground

The National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother...very like Our Lady of Sorrows, the Patron of Slovakia...maybe the same but in West Coast lingo? Anyway, the grotto is HUGE (62 acres) and run by the Servants of Mary

I don't think I know this Saint but I should pray to her... St. Juliana Falconieri (1270-1341). a Florentine noblewoman who founded the Servite Third Order of Women and is the patron saint of the sick and those suffering from bodily ills.  

Thought it was St. Rocco but it's St. Peregrine

Beautiful.

Our Lady of Sorrows, Pray for Us!

After our nice walk and with all of our loot from the gift shop, it was time to head home...

Joking...guess there's one in Oregon as well (without the "h" of course)

Next stop - lunch! The trip planner, who leaves no stone unturned, found the coolest little place. It's a permanent lot of food trucks with the most amazing food choices (think West Coast, healthy, with a little Italian thrown in). If you're ever in Oregon City, give Corner 14 a try!

Pretty sure this is where his shawarma fascination began

The falafel salad was sooo good.

No idea

The Pasqules were predictible...pork sliders w/fries and quesadilla

I forget what that was...some noodle dish...looked yum.

Added points for the onsite, clean, spacious restroom with a wall tattoo so notable, three of us took the same photo!

Back on the road, bellies full of International delights, we were in need of a Benedictine boost after all the Grotto Servite info (don't want to lose focus) so, luckily for us, Mt. Angel Monastery was the next stop. It's also a seminary and is on top of a big hill so the grounds are beautiful - reminded me very much of the University of California, Santa Clara.

We left to drive slightly further down the road...passing these groves of some type of tree...not sure if they were apples or pears or something similar...

And across this bridge (I think??)

To arrive at the long awaited brewery - home of Black Habit, St. Raphael, and Hairshirt beers. We weren't able to stay so we picked up a few 6-packs and headed out. Like most of the trip, the big, famous things proved to be the least impressive. Still, it was fun to see.

Back in the car, we headed out to our only baseball outing of the trip. The Hillsboro Hops are the High A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. We were lucky to sneak in far enough before the game to get into the visitor parking (between the current and new stadiums) and in time to hit up the team store. 

Sort of, that is. It seems that we walked in with 10 minutes or so before the shop closed (the door was unlocked) but after the worker had headed off to another task. Eventually, after settling on our purchases, we needed to find someone to check us out. We sent Sil down the hallway to see if anyone was around. Luckily, someone a bit higher up in the organization came in and wondered how we had gotten there...after he checked us out, he asked if we were staying for the game. Unfortunately, that wasn't in the tight schedule so, instead, he offered a tour of the park. What a wonderful opportunity! These Minor League parks are so cool - small and fun - and it was a blessing to see it up close. As you might imagine, our baseball fanatic was thrilled.

Didn't buy it but wanted to - he is such a cute mascot!

Ending this very long day, we were happy to arrive before nightfall so that we could truly appreciate the surroundings. It's not every day you stay in a 300ish square foot RV surrounded by animals. It was truly an experience that I'm glad to have had and, no, we won't be buying one anytime soon.

Open the door to the greeters

Our house with some of the welcoming committee

big boy

Lots of goats

The turkeys were kind of pushy to be honest

But this guy...adorable

It seemed he enjoyed eating the bugs off our car. He could definitely fill his belly!

Dinner in our very tight space. Other than Sil (who slept where she was sitting) I think we all made it through ok. 

Grateful to have arrived in time to see all of our friendly hosts, we watched some Food Truck race (I don't know when we last saw a tv) and headed to bed. We are blessed.