camping trip

Well, we took a short bike camping trip with the tandem, up to Pike Lake State Park and back. Yesterday; 55 miles, avg. 10 miles/hour, max. 38 miles/hour. Today: 35 miles, avg. 11 miles/hour, max. ~29 miles/hour. The extra twenty miles were due to: dinner, getting lost, and taking a different route. Today we stopped off at Holy Hill, a.k.a. the Shrine of Mary Help of Christians. It's a Discalced Carmelite monastery up on the top of the highest hill in southeastern Wisconsin. They have a big brick church there (ca. 1931) with a pair of tall bell towers. We climbed up to the top of one of the bell towers, and you can see the skyscrapers in Milwaukee from there, 30 miles away. They also have a cafeteria, with very good food. It was quite a hike to get the bike up to the church, but it was worth it. My husband suggested that I add a bell tower to Hogwarts, and a scene in the bell tower somehow.

The priest said a decent homily as well; talking about welcoming visitors to the church, even if they seem to be nothing better than tourists, because they are taking the time to look at God's creation and see its beauty. And even noisy little kids should be appreciated as showing the life of God and joy in making noise. I think he might have been talking to the other monks in the monastery, but it was really good. Not what I would have expected from a cloistered celibate monk. Although the gift shop had a number of writings, pamphlets, etc. that I perceived as being a bit "right-wing," so I had to remind myself, "not everybody in the Church is like that, I need to read more Jesuit stuff..."

( writing )

gacked from yonmei

( type of Snape )

( type of sword )

( inner self )

( Legendary Being )

( Magical style )

( Knight of the Round Table )

reviews...

Hmm, one review on FAP for 50 hits on the newest chapter. I'm losing everyone with the Catholicness...oh well. At least it was a good, thoughtful review. If I'm losing readers, it's their loss, not mine. I am tired. I tried to make up a grocery & pantry list. A grocery list of "things we get often therefore we need them on hand" and a pantry list of "things we have on hand right now."

The miles on the bike are catching up with me...

I'm trying to find somebody's entry on my friendsfriends list about a new Harry Potter RPG on LJ, a 6th year one. They're looking for some more teachers, Vector and Sinistra for some...I am tempted. But: (1) I've never played any sort of an RPG before; (2) I would really like to pull my GPA back up this fall, and I'll be carrying at least 15 credits; (3) Patent Bar. 'Nuff said.

More evil cackling tonight on the phone with Brooke. ( writing )