Disney Adventures 2019 - Kickoff

Well, here we are again- another milestone, and another Disney vacation!

This time I am adventuring to Alaska, with some dear friends, and celebrating the completion of my Masters of Arts in Theology and Leadership (MATL) and wrapping up Year 35 of Drae.

Graduation, Baby!

There are still a smattering of MATL posts on this blog, mostly from the first year, and I'll be backdating more as I have time later this summer for anyone who still cares to walk along that theological and leadership journey with me.

It was my tremendous honor to deliver the benediction, along with one of the PhD candidates, to conclude the ceremony.  I am still amazed and humbled that I was invited to participate in such a special moment, and I am definitely still processing what that means within my own theological framework. If you're interested in reading more about my reflections on the MATL and the graduation ceremony, those posts are coming soon.

Disneyland Christmas 2017

Further back are the Disneyland Countdown posts from 2015, when mom and I headed to Disneyland for the Diamond Celebration. I actually had a chance to swing past Disneyland in 2017 as well as part of a speaking engagement with the UCC. That probably deserved a blog of its own. I was there to see some of the Christmas decorations, which was such a fun parallel to the last Christmas visit waaay back in 1992. There were some elements which have been in place all this time, and the nostalgia throw-back factor was really something. Anyway, as I start to finish up the scrapbook and journaling, I will share some of that here as well. For now, enjoy this gorgeous photo of the castle.

As ever, Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/castelter/) is the best place for short photo essays and stories, and sometimes FB or Twitter, but I will try to keep a more detailed trip log here.  The catch, of course, will be access to reliable internet. Theoretically the three days in port should have internet, but we'll see.

Anyway, this adventure kicks off sailing with Disney Cruise Lines on the Disney Wonder. We will visit Vancouver, Dawes Glacier, Ketchikan, Skagway, and Juneau. I will tell you right now: there will be a lot of food photos, and probably a lot of pictures of ice and trees. Well, and ear selfies, because we can't just toss all Disney traditions out the window just because we're on a ship, now can we?