August 6 - “Shark eats cat”

I have been pondering the tiny little critter I found on the floor of the baseball stadium last night. Best I can tell is, a shark swallowed a cat which the used its evil claws to pierce the shark’s body which left it in quite the predicament as it peers out through the shark’s mouth. Either that or it’s a philosophical rendering of the supposedly cute kitty’s real shark-like nature. You have to see it to believe it. Frightening, either way. 

We loaded up the van at or near the appointed time (some nearer than others). Then it was time for the amazing hotel breakfast. Except … those little waffle makers that virtually every hotel has? Well both of these were not working properly. Even with a hefty dose of the anti-stick spray, they stuck. Bad. Top and bottom. Then they shredded when we tried to scrape them out. Fortunately, they also had greasy, skinny bacon, sausage patties, and those pre-packaged cheese omelettes. Enough to get by. 

So on to … a gas station. We had to drive three or four twists and turns and even disrupted a sun-worshipper with arms uplifted at prayer on the sidewalk. But we found the perfect one. Right off the freeway that we needed to enter. Filled up and on to Virginia. Richmond, here we come. 

Well, after a stop for lunch in Gaffney, South Carolina we went to a place called CookOut. Not bad. Chris had a burger. I had a BLT with fried okra and cole slaw. I would go back. 

North Carolina snuck up on me. I didn’t get a picture of the “Welcome to“ sign, but we’ve been to Kings Mountain, so we knew it was North Carolina. That and the mountains started showing up. 

Burlington, North Carolina. Target. The older guys got some of the Magic cards they collect. No idea what those are about. None of the creatures on them can hit a curve ball. 

Oxford, North Carolina. Pizza. Nuff said. 

Sometime after 9:30, we finally arrived in Richmond, Virginia, our home for the next two nights. Today we are going to Six Flags. Not over Texas, of course. But an amusement park, nonetheless. It’s been a while for us, but these kids we are with have never been to one before. Adventure. 

‭‭Luke‬ ‭16‬:‭10‬ says, Whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much.

Father, that was an awfully long van ride yesterday. Thank you that the kids did so well. Bless them.  Amen.