2017 Tour - Day 5 - L.L. Bean There Done That

The morning came quickly on day five of our journey. We had a traditional New England breakfast of Dunkin Doughnuts, muffins, and fruit at South Church in Andover. Following breakfast we gathered in the sanctuary for informal worship led by Nick, and sang a few hymns Steve chose for us. Our gracious hosts didn’t get enough of the group last night and hung around after breakfast to hear a few more selections. During this time the rain came and went as it so often does in New England.

If you’ve been keeping up with the blog then you know the drill by now: board the bus, have a greeting, and go back to sleep! However, today they couldn’t help but spontaneously break out singing Owl City’s “Fireflies”. As a tour veteran I can’t help but add that there is a strict code to uphold whilst riding the bus which reads “No singing on the bus!”. The reasoning of course is to preserve our voices for the concerts, but I digress. The singing was short lived and it seems also caused by a sugar rush because very shortly after, the bus fell silent.

Ever fallen asleep and woken up in Maine? Join the club! We woke up in Freeport where we had a few hours to explore the campus of L.L. Bean stores there. The campus (which is open 24hrs) includes the following stores:

“The Flagship”, Hunting and Fishing, Bike, Boat & Ski, Home, and of course the Outlet. We unfortunately didn’t lay eyes on the famed Bootmobile (worth looking up), but did get plenty of pictures and delicious food while in town (keep in mind, we’re in lobster country). I’ll spare you the MANY “bean” puns I could have filled this post with, and instead let it suffice to say it had bean a great day in Freeport, but it was time to take a Bath.

Bath, ME was only a stone’s throw from Freeport, so we arrived at Grace Episcopal Church early for rehearsal in the sanctuary. Did I mention it was AIR CONDITIONED!? It’s a really big deal sorry for the all caps. From there we headed over to Bath UMC for a quick dinner where we made contact with a former CWS member Smo Hicks! It was great to have some fellowship time there as we prepared for the concert. Our shadow tour had met up with us so we were happy to see some familiar faces in the audience.

With the humidity rising and the sun falling we escaped the Maine state bird (the mosquito) and landed safely in our host homes for the evening. It’s been a long day and we all need our sleep. “That’s all folks”

-G!

Click Here for Photos from Day 5

2017 Tour - Day 4 - “Y’ale Come Back Soon Now! Ya Hear?"

Friday, June 23, 2017

I think you already know where your favorite choir went today… A pleasant morning departure from Mary Taylor UMC transitioned into a warm afternoon on the Bulldogs campus. The group disembarked the bus and hiked down to the Yale bookstore where they wrapped themselves in Yale Blue (which is NOT navy, it’s Yale Blue). Some even dawned newly purchased sweatshirts (in 80 degree weather). The joke of the day was that for those of us who wish to attend an ivy league school this tour may be the closest we would ever get!

With a group this talented though, I believe the potential is unlimited. The more I get to know those I’m not so familiar with, the clearer that gets. We are so fortunate to have such a truly incredible group of young people traveling New England and spreading the word of our Lord. The concerts continue to get better and better so make sure you tell everyone you know to come to the homecoming concert on the Wednesday, June 28th!

After dropping our souvenirs off on the bus we were led on a tour of the Battell Chapel. The Chapel was built in 1874 and is now non-denominational (see pictures below). We were all provided with bracelets with symbols specific to many of the denominations that practice worship there (Star of David, Cross, Dharmachakra, Crescent Moon and Star, and Om to name a few). We then took over the campus in search of lunch and later I spotted a few of ours napping in the shade of the Oak and Elm trees in the green across from the chapel.

As the last few stragglers got onto the bus, we prepared for what we thought would be a 2.5 hr trip, but thanks to infamous New England traffic, turned out to be more like 4 hours. We made it to West Parish in Andover, MA by the skin of our teeth and walked into (what I believe to be) one of the greatest meals that has ever been prepared for us. Deep fried turkey, stuffing, mac & cheese, green beans, and ham made up a meal that we thoroughly gave thanks for.

The concert was a hot one for sure, but working for the Lord is so cool we hardly noticed once we got going. It was a treat to see some long time friends of DUMC in the congregation and once we had packed up, the town of Andover warmly welcomed us into their homes.

“That’s all (he) wrote” … Goodnight everyone.

-G!

Click Here for Photos of Day 4

Tour 2017 - Day 3 - Gillette, It’s the Best (Castle) a Man Can Get

Thursday, June 22, 2017

We gathered at 8:30 sharp this morning and were ready to move on to our next stop, the Mashantucket Pequot Museum. The youth rubbed their eyes and yawned as they clamored onto the bus. It was a short ride to the museum but that never stops us from getting a few extra minutes of sleep in.

Now officially on the Pequot’s sovereign land we were excited to see what the 308,000 sq ft museum had in store for us, and it did not disappoint. The collection of artifacts housed there is not only massive, but truly breathtaking. From authentic dugout canoes to original tools and back, they have everything there. We were led on a great tour and acquired a wealth of information on the Pequot people. An incredible story of perseverance and pride that resulted in a once disbanded and failing tribe becoming one of only two federally recognized tribes in Connecticut.

The group boarded the bus, souvenirs in hand, the greeters made their rounds and we dove right into Fork Stories from the previous night. Today’s winners were William Baldridge and Bryce Taylor who took “potty time” a bit too seriously and had somehow ended up fishing a clock that had fallen off of the wall in the bathroom out of a toilet…

Our next stop was about an hour away - Gillette Castle State Park in East Haddam, CT. Thanks to Paul Lopez (our long time friend and bus driver) we successfully navigated the winding roads up to the castle and disembarked. We had a self guided tour of the fantastic grounds, and lunch at Sherlock’s Grill with an exquisite view of the Connecticut River (PLEASE see pictures below). William Gillette was a man who attended Harvard, Yale, Trinity, MIT, and College of the City of New York, but never received a degree. In other words he was in pursuit of the best, so he designed the entirety of his castle by himself… let me explain a bit of what that means.

-It took 20 men five years to complete his design of the structure which was steel framework and fieldstone

-There are 47 masterfully crafted wooden doors that could themselves be considered works of art… no two are the same

-He conceived the idea of a 7,000 gallon rainwater collection basin that was connected to a network of pipes throughout the castle to create his own unique fire suppression system… in 1919*

I’m sure you are wondering "How much does it cost to build a castle?” well, I actually heard a park employee say “If money could buy it, Mr. Gillette had it” which I took as the equivalent of “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it”.

With everyone back on the bus we were headed to Mary Taylor UMC in Millford, CT. Upon our arrival we corralled everyone into the sanctuary for a quick rehearsal. It immediately became apparent that the theme of the night would be “Ho! Everybody Thirsteth” due to the New England heat! Deb Bowe would later ensure the hydration of the group with subtle hints prompting us to drink during the concert. We had a great dinner of chicken, hot dogs, macaroni salad, and potato salad, after which several of the men had a shirt vs skins game of ultimate frisbee in the green space in the center of town. We make our presence known wherever we go.

Up next was the concert! The congregation loved the program, applauding well after the final word. We then shifted gears and returned to the courtyard to meet with the hosts. After a long day of activity we are grateful to be in host homes and are anxiously awaiting the tour of Yale in the morning (not to mention heading to one of my family’s favorite places, Andover, MA).

“Until next time, I’ve been Graham Taylor… Stay warm New England”

-G!

Click Here for Photos of Day 3