So – did you have a fun St. Patrick’s Day? We actually did nothing, absolutely nothing, that had anything to do with the “holiday”. We failed to wear green, stayed out of the pubs, and didn’t consume anything green. But we did have a pretty great day!
Our destination for the day – Pensacola and the National Naval Aviation Museum.
Oh, my – what an wonderful museum!

And I’m not really “into” airplanes!
We were able to join a guided walk-around tour (given by a retired military pilot who was great!) and even though it took a little extra time, it was well worth it!

They started at the very beginning (of military flight, not the Wright Brothers)

and took us right to today’s fighter jets

and even the Blue Angels!

(The Pensacola Naval Air Station is home to the Blue Angels and this week they are having a free demonstration/practice session. Unfortunately, we just could not work it into our schedule. Rats.) But we thoroughly enjoyed our walk through the history of Naval Aviation!

(this was the type of plane that shot down the Red Baron in WWI, and Snoopy was just a little bit of whimsy – do you remember the 1966 song Snoopy vs the Red Baron? Here it is on YouTube if you’d like a little flashback!)





OK – is that enough of the airplanes? EXCELLENT museum and here’s a real bonus – it’s FREE!
We also made a quick stop at the Pensacola Lighthouse -

and soberly drove through part of the Barrancas National Cemetery.

We thoroughly enjoyed our brief foray into Pensacola (need I mention we also checked out a Home Depot, Lowes, Wal-Mart and Sonic?) – it was a lovely day all around!

Tomorrow we start our last week here at Camp Baldwin, so I really need to get going on my “wrapping it up” post about the project! But in the meanwhile, if you’d like to see a couple more Pensacola pictures (mostly from the museum), check them out here.
Hope you had a lovely weekend, , and I’ll leave you with this sunset from this evening.

Fun. Blessing. Family. Fun.
This last project was a bit different from some of our recent projects. First of all, there were only three couples (the last two had 7 and 8 ) and we knew both of the other couples before coming to Camp Good News. So it made for an easy, relaxed month. In a sense, we were already family – no learning curve needed! That made it sweet to start with. Each day was a new adventure, to see how we could help in “waking up the camp” and getting it ready for Spring Break Camp.
Often we ladies do a lot of painting. Walls, floors, trim. That kind of painting. Well, this month we did a lot of painting too. Only we were painting snakes and lizards and cacti and signs. Quite a different kind of painting.
With the help of the group before (who were instrumental at gathering ideas, cutting out the shapes, and painting the majority of the critters) we were able to take the Reptile Round-up from this-

to this -


(I’m happy to report that there were no actual reptiles in those containers during our stay there. I don’t know where they were, I was only happy they were not there.)
Marg rehabbed one of the camp signs that had been graffitied

and made it as good as new!

We painted signs for all the buildings and play areas -

And we took the beginnings of the “Cactus Canteen”

and with the help of an overhead projector, ideas from that extremely clever previous group, and some fancy computer work, turned it to a fun spot for the kids this summer!

We thought it was also a fun spot for our group picture!
I can’t begin to list all the stuff the guys got done. My goodness, they fixed playgrounds,

invented playgrounds, hung giant swings

made a birdhouse garden (birdhouses already constructed!)

and spent days cleaning up the grounds, burning pile after pile of downed tree branches and spanish moss.

They even had a helper every now and again…


Truly, one of the blessings of working at this camp was the wonderful family of the current camp manager. Although the “big kids” were generally at homeschool, we often were delighted to see little Chloe and Theo trailing after dad as he worked with the guys on different projects!

We had campfires, enjoyed bird watching -

played lots of cards and ate too much ice cream. Ah, the delight of it all!
Here we are, all together with the whole family -

Quite the gang, eh? We loved it!
We’ve pulled out of Camp Good News, and have made our way to Bryson City, NC,
where we have tucked Lizzie into her parking spot.

Tomorrow we head to Gatlinburg, and by the end of the day all my little chicks and chicklets will be under one roof!

You might not be hearing too much from me for the next week or so. There will be hugs and kisses to give, games to play, walks to take, and stories to read. Oh, and we might even have a conversation or two with the grown-ups!

But before I sign off for a bit –
Ever seen one of these guys?


I’m not a huge caterpillar fan (by a loooonnnng shot), but this guy was really small (he’s on Gary’s finger) and quite striking. I did a little research, and for those of you who want to know – that is the Vapourer Moth Caterpillar -aka Rusty Tussock Moth. Seems that he’ll be getting a fair bit bigger, and will probably (along with his siblings and cousins) move into the pest catagory pretty quickly. But for today, I thought he was pretty cool looking!
And for those of you who are totally creeped out by that little guy, sorry. Sometimes this inquiring mind just needs to know.

One of the great adventures of our lifestyle is trying out local places to eat. Here in Hawthorne, FL there are 5 choices. A Subway, a Chinese buffet, Diane’s BBQ (used to be a Sonny’s, but now is run by Diane) PJ’s Cafe (closes at 2:30, though they do have a pretty good breakfast with killer fried potatoes!), and The Burger Barn. We tried the BBQ when we first got here, did PJ’s after church last week and heard that the Chinese buffet was mediocre at best. We weren’t really in the mood for a Five Dollar Foot Long, so tonight we tried The Burger Barn.


This must be one of the last independent drive-thru burger joints in the country! The burgers were hot and tasty and the fries were crispy and fresh. And the price was certainly right. It was definitely a good choice for our out-on-the-town dinner! You might notice that this is a true drive-thru. It is ONLY a drive-thru. No sit down dining here!
The six of us took our burgers “all the way” and fries and drove down the street to the boat ramp/fishing dock/picnic area on a local lake.

A lovely alfresco dining experience, all around!
After dinner we walked to the lake.

Any ideas on what that might be hanging from that pole?
No really, any ideas? We haven’t a clue, and neither did the guys fishing.
Sure was a pretty evening -


We saw a beautiful bald eagle (after the camera flashed the dreaded “Change Battery Pack” message and shut down), a couple of red-wing blackbirds, a cormorant or two fishing for dinner

and these guys -


The common moorhen. It was pretty cool watching them walk on top of the water lilies!

So here’s the bottom line on trying the local spot – Give it a shot! We’ve been pleased more than we’ve been disappointed over the years, and tonight’s excursion to The Burger Barn was a perfect example!

Oh – special thanks to “sk bob” who took the Burger Barn pictures and posted them over at Roadfood.com. Interestingly, the prices haven’t changed since the picture was taken in June 2010. Now you can’t say that about much these days!

Have you ever heard of Palatka, Florida? Me, neither! But around here, if you’re looking for something to do (or need to do some shopping), there’s a good chance you’ll be heading to Palatka.

Gainesville might be a little closer, but Palatka has most of the same stores with the delightful addition of a waterfront!



It was a beautiful day – perfect for a walk along the St. Johns River.
It was a beautiful day for lunch along the river too!

In the name of full disclosure, it was actually a little too cool for us for sitting outside, but we did enjoy a wonderful lunch at Corky Bell’s and then another walk along their dock.

Can you see the alligator?

Now can you see the alligator?

We spotted another one just floating along -

Honest, he was there!

While we were up on the deck we spotted another little Florida critter -


Aren’t those colors fabulous?

We managed to squeeze in a stop at Wal-Mart and Lowe’s (of course), and the six of us really enjoyed a beautiful Friday seeing some of what Palatka is all about!

We’ve enjoyed a beautiful weekend here at Camp Good News (and Palatka!), and we’re looking forward to a busy week ahead. And right now I have to go and take care of that missing hour of sleep………

PS – there are a couple more Palatka photos HERE. Really, just a couple more!

Have you ever heard of CEF? Child Evangelism Fellowship? It’s a wonderful international ministry that reaches pre-teen children with the Gospel of Christ on their level in their environment. They have the Good News Clubs (after-school programs) and Backyard Clubs (aka 5 Day Clubs) which take place over the summer in (you guessed it) backyards. CEF also has seven Camp Good News all across the country. One of them is here in Hawthorne, FL, and we are blessed to be able serve here this month. Want to see what’s it all about?

This is the main building/dining hall/activity room -

I believe the murals on the wall were done by SOWER ladies in years past. They represent some of the activities that are available at the camp.
This is our parking area -

Very cozy, don’t you think?
There’s basketball

and campfire pits

bike/hike trails

rock walls

rope swings

tire mazes

and the Good News Gulch. -





There’s a nice “waterfront”, with it’s own water slide!


and a small selection of boats for the campers to use.

There’s lots more to the camp, but this I hope gives you a feel for Camp Good News, here in Florida. The camp is quiet now, just waiting for the first batch of pre-teens to come for spring break day camp. Our jobs this month will mostly focus on helping to wake up the camp from its winter sleep and get it ready for a new batch of youngun’s to come and learn about Jesus.
Should be a great month!