My daughter’s time at music camp ended Sunday.  After an absolutely wonderful performance, we packed up her stuff and started heading west.  It feels good to be going in a homeward direction.  We stopped at Niagara Falls the next day – the only diversion in a day of driving.  It was powerfully beautiful, much more so than I had anticipated. It was a little more touristy than I’d anticipated as well, but did afford some excellent people watching, including an Amish family who were just as delighted by my daughter’s appearance as we were by theirs.  After that it was just more driving and more gas stations.  If I come back from this trip with nothing else (which is highly unlikely), I will come back appreciating how very big this country is and how full of people.  It is vast and we are many.This land is your land

But today I’m not driving.  We’re spending two nights with a friend in Chicago.  It’s a beautiful break from driving past miles and miles of wilty corn.  It’s fabulous to be in a city, too, and wonderful to see a familiar face.  Speaking of familiar, the view from our window overlooks a park and then the lake.  When I woke up this morning, there was a farmer’s market in the park – all sorts of organic yummy food right outside the door.  Anyhow – check this out: while were walking around sampling peaches, etc., I ran into a Living Light graduate who spent last summer with us.  What are the odds?  It was weird and comforting at the same time.  I guess in spite of the vastness of the country and the many, many people who live here, we’re never too far from a friendly face.mary elizabeth See you soon, Fort Bragg!