I am fairly focused about writing when traveling, but not so much when thinking about short trips, business trips, other things happening in my life. Those things seem not to have the impact that “large” trips have. Thinking back on the year, however, there are certain things that do stand out. In some ways all these trips have been pilgrimages.

I’m writing this at the end of the year as a summary which may interest to some readers. There will not be a test at the end so feel free to skip anything that does not pique your interest.

January

Not everyone plans a road trip in January. In this part of the world it is risky business. Least of all does one plan a trip to Minneapolis in January, a place where it is likely to be even colder and snowier than Sioux Falls. 

For several years I’ve attended a workshop on liturgy at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. It is an event I look forward to for the opportunity to worship in that lovely church and be enriched by the music there which is simply wonderful. 

This past January one of the workshop leaders was Gail Ramshaw whose work I’ve admired for years. The opportunity to learn from her about the Revised Common Lectionary was a dream come true. I took away so much from the brief time at Mt. Olive and have treasured the learning.

Yes, it’s cold. The warm welcome of the parish and participants pierces through the chill and darkness and makes the trip more than worthwhile. It is a pilgrimage for me.

March

My longtime friend (we are talking about Jr. High and High School here!) Craig Thompson invited me to spend a week with him in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. He’s invited me to do this several times before. The time there is very relaxed. It’s good to settle into a place and know that there will be no pressures for a week’s time. The resort is beautiful. The restaurants are wonderful. The time on the beach is priceless for body and soul.  Whale watching was a thrillIt is a pilgrimage of a different sort. 

May

A yearly meeting of the local chapter of one of the societies to which I belong usually takes place in May. We’ve met in Salina, Kansas for the last several years because it is a central point in the area we encompass. It isn’t really central geographically, just population wise. I’m in charge of this group of priests. The area which falls under my jurisdiction includes Minnesota, Iowa, part of Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.

The yearly pilgrimage provides a chance to see priestly friends and to pray together. It is a true pilgrimage in the religious sense of the word.

June

Each year one of my former choir boys sponsors a piano festival here in Sioux Falls. This past June two of my friends and former parishioners from Denver made the pilgrimage here to attend this festival and enjoy the pleasures of South Dakota. It was so good to have Nancy and Ted here and show them a little of Sioux Falls as well as hear some wonderful music.

January through July

I laughingly say that being a part of two endangered species does not provide for a peaceful retirement. Those species are organist and priest. 

Saint Mary’s Church in Mitchell was without a priest and requested that I celebrate and preach there one Sunday each month. Weather prevented the pilgrimage in January and February. The other months I had the privilege of being with that congregation. It was a blessing to be able to help them out.  Their new cleric began in July which meant that I could supply here in Sioux Falls.

September

My long-time, good friend and traveling companion, Craig, made a pilgrimage to visit me in September. He was born in South Dakota but left for California after graduating from college. Although I've visited him in California several times, this is the first time he came to see me. Part of the journey was a trip to his home town of Estelline, SD. It's a tidy little town which is smaller now than when he lived there, as is the case with most of the small towns in South Dakota. It was my first visit there and I was pleased to have him point out the sites he remembered. As with many small towns the bandstand is a central feature.

Each year the “business travel” revs up in the autumn. One of the things that happens when one has been around forever is the appointment to various boards and organizations. One of those organizations meets in September each year.  This year the meeting was in Boston at All Saints Church Ashmont. Traveling to see that church this year was truly a pilgrimage. To be with brother priests and worship together is one aspect. Another, this particular year, was to see the church designed by the noted architect Ralph Adams Cram. A multi-year total renovation of the church has just been completed and it is truly stunning. 

October

Each year since 1991, with a few exceptions, parishioners and friends make a pilgrimage to the first shrine of Our Lady of Walshingham in the United States. The pilgrimage site is Our Lady of Grace Church in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Sheboygan is also known as the “Bratwurst Capital of the U.S.” 

This year good friends, the Gernerts, flew to Sioux Falls from Denver. After they checked in at their hotel I whisked them off to the meeting of the city council. I was to receive an honor from Sioux Falls Beautiful for my front garden. The mayor presented me with a “chunk” of rose quartzite (the native stone around here) and a citation was read.  Pictures of the garden were projected while this was taking place. Then the fun began. Before the night was over I received a call from the local paper. The next morning the Associated Press called. An article on the front page proclaimed that my “illegal” front garden had won an award! My yard and hundreds of others in the city have plantings in the area between the sidewalk and the street against which there is a city ordinance. There has been talk of changing the ordinance for years. With the flap about my yard perhaps it will finally happen! At least I was not arrested. (Pictures of the yard at the end of the blog.)

 The Gernerts and I drove from here to Sheboygan. It’s a five hundred mile trip which we make in one day. The fall colors in Wisconsin are usually at their prime. This helps make the miles fly by. 

The first day of the pilgrimage is a “quiet day.” Meditations are given and time for reflection is provided in abundance. The second day begins with a procession around the block, a Mass celebrated by the bishop of Fond du Lac, superb music, a luncheon, and more devotions and music in the afternoon. Having attended this for so many years it is almost like going home. One sees many of the same people each year, not only parishioners of Grace Church, but others who make the pilgrimage. 

The three intrepid pilgrims made their way to Algoma for Sunday Mass right on the lake shore, then on to the only officially sanctioned shrine of a Marian apparition in the United States, through Green Bay on a Packers’ game day, across the rest of Wisconsin to Minneapolis, then to Collegeville to Saint John’s Abbey and finally back to Sioux Falls. It was a great joy to share this pilgrimage with my good friends. We still reminisce when we visit on the telephone.

November

Another society for which I serve on the national council meets in November. This year the meeting was in New York City. This pilgrimage always involves a solemn Requiem Mass. This year it was at Resurrection Church with the choir singing the Mozart Requiem. 

I had time to enjoy three broadway shows, a three museums, and an opera while there. I always make good use of my time in that city.  There is so much to see and do I don’t want to waste a minute. I also included a visit to "ground zero' to see the memorials there.

December

I’ve volunteered at the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science since it’s opening. One afternoon I was scheduled to be a docent for a group of school children. They were delayed in their arrival. Mysteriously other docents appeared and a couple of strangers. The staff of the Visual Arts Center and the Volunteer Coordinator also joined this group. The two strangers began a presentation which culminated with me receiving the Volunteer of the Month Award for the City of Sioux Falls. It was a total surprise and a great honor.

One of the things on my “bucket list” has a been a trip through the Panama Canal. Craig and I made that pilgrimage this December.

The flight from Sioux Falls was without incident, for a change.  No horror stories of airline mishaps. Quite a difference in climate from Sioux Falls to Ft. Lauderdale.  The humidity smacks one in the face. I always plan to arrive a day early in case the luggage does not arrive with me. I’ve seen the results of people who arrive on embarkation day and have only the clothes on their backs in which to spend ten days.

On the shuttle from the hotel we rode with a couple who ended up being our neighbors in the next stateroom. The Zuiderdam is an older vessel which is in need of some serious upkeep. Following the obligatory life boat muster adventure we set sail.  The sea was a bit rough so we rocked and rolled throughout the night. Being the first night it was a little disconcerting, or perhaps just hard to get used to. We met the three couples who were to be our table-mates at dinner the first evening. Delightful people some of whom were related.

Our first stop was at Holland America’s island, Half-Moon Cay. It seems that every ships’ company has a “private” island in the Caribbean where their ships stop so passengers can leave the ship and enjoy some beach time while adding to the coffers of the company.

A day at sea brought us to Aruba. Mainly flat land given to farming except for the resorts and the port city which is given to jewelry shops and souvenirs. We had not scheduled a tour so we spent some time roaming the port and returned to the ship. Others who had taken a tour reported that we had not missed much.

Next day we made port at Bonaire, one of the Netherlands Antilles. Again we did not tour but investigated the town, purchased a few things and returned to the ship. Bonaire is famous for its salt harvesting. 

Sailing through the night we arrived at the Panama Canal early in the morning. We had been told in a briefing on the ship that our vessel would have only two feet of clearance on either side as we went through the locks. Hence the need for new locks for larger ships which are now under construction. We sailed to Gatun Lake, an artificial lake that forms a major part of the canal. 

We boarded a tender which took us to a bus which took us to a ferry upon which we completed the journey to the Pacific. Being on the ferry provided a much closer look at the whole procedure of going through the locks. What a fantastic feat of engineering that project was.

At Panama City, which has become a city of skyscrapers, we boarded our bus and made the journey by land back to Colon where our ship had docked.

Our next and final port was Puerto Limón, Costa Rica. We scheduled a tour to a sanctuary where wild animals are rehabilitated and returned to their natural habitat. It is also a botanical garden. I found it to be fascinating. Many of the animals were orphaned as infants or were purchased as pets and abandoned when they reverted to their natural instincts. They are well cared for here and the docents obviously love what they are doing. The tour ended with fabulous fresh fruit and drinks. 

After two days at sea we returned to Ft. Lauderdale and then home. We met some great new friends, and had wonderful conversations. The sea was a bit choppy most of the time with winds in the 40 mph range. We had no incidents of sea sickness. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and the warm weather.

Back at home we are digging out of our fourth snowstorm. We’ve already exceeded our total snowfall of last winter. The ground has not frozen so the wonderful moisture will soak in when it warms enough to melt. We still have green grass!

I’ve been un-retired yet again. One of the local parishes is without a priest and I will be supplying there on a pretty regular basis. I do enjoy being able to do this although it cramps my travels a bit. For a while the only pilgrimage will be across town to the church. But that too is a real pilgrimage.

The "illegal" part of the garden.