We Escaped!

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Right in the middle of too busy and not enough time to finish the ever expanding “To Do List,” Martha Lynn and I briefly interrupted our busyness for four days to ourselves away from everything—mostly. We escaped Ocala, Florida on Monday, April 10 and headed for Ormond Beach, Florida. Happily for me, the journey was only about an hour and a half to our destination due east to the Atlantic Ocean. We stayed in a reasonably affordable beachside hotel that permitted us easy access to sand and surf. Being the off season for tourists, traffic was no challenge and few people populated the sandy strip that we frequented days and evenings. Especially Martha is enamored with water, particularly the salty sea.

We tried a few restaurants with which we were unfamiliar, some of which we do not plan to visit again, some that were above my pay grade—too expensive for me—and some to which we hope to return someday. One day, we visited an historic lighthouse compound—one of the tallest remaining such maritime structures in the United States. Not far from there, we also toured a small marine museum where we saw stingrays, an octopus, crabs, fish and rescued tortoises that are being recuperated from boating injuries. In addition, Martha and I walked along a paved path and wood bridge through dense tropical, seaside vegetation. That’s when we happened upon a furry critter—a raccoon—which decided to give us the right of way as it scampered into the underbrush.

It was our pleasure to dine one evening with good friends and Christians Gayle and Bruce Daugherty as well as with Judy and Emanuel Daugherty, Bruce’s parents. The following night, we assembled with them and other saints at the Beville Road Church of Christ.

Lastly, before leaving paradise for Ocala once more, Martha Lynn and I walked along the Boardwalk and pier in Daytona Beach. The excursion was pleasant enough as we strolled the famous spot, but these days, other locations such as one finds in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and I’m told in Branson, Missouri, outshine the Boardwalk. Martha, though, remained mesmerized by the rolling ocean waves.

Upon our return to Ocala, we lingered before driving to Martha’s Florida home. We got a bite to eat, after which we showed pictures of our South American mission trip to some church members. Of course, we stopped by a grocery store, too.

Martha Lynn and I enjoyed our time together away from pressing responsibilities for a while, though we felt awkward wiling our time away instead of attending to the “To Do List.” We are not good at down time and had to work at it somewhat. We did interact with some brethren via phone and email regarding ongoing matters that refused our inattention. However, for the most part, we took a hiatus from our usual “work” in some semblance of our honeymoon. Knowing what we each lost in the passing away of our respective spouses—Bob and Bonnie—we fully intend to the best of our abilities to make our marriage the rest of our lives our honeymoon. Together, Martha and I hope to help each other make our pilgrimage to heaven and serve the Lord the best we can in this life along the way. Back to work, now!

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