Hockessin Letter
POSTCARD FROM HOCKESSIN, DELAWARE – WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2009
We all gathered at Church of St. Andrew right on time, sprinkles held off until we were mostly loaded up, said our goodbyes to relatives as well as our stowaway mom, Amy Szalkowski, who came to Toledo with us and drove back to Madison in their “new” car from grandma/pa Sawyer. As we waved goodbye, we headed out for a day of turnpikes and movies – 5 movies to be exact! New DVD player worked great!!!
Rained almost the whole 9 hours through the up and down mountains and hills, sometimes pouring really hard. Jim did great keeping us on the move with just a couple of rest stops along the way. After about 60 miles of non-turnpike roads up and down rolling hills, and through Pennsylvania Dutch country. There were a couple of horse and buggies were on the road cruising at their own pace.
We crossed the stateline into Delaware and arrived right at our host church – Hockessin United Methodist where again our hosts came out to greet us so warmly! After a quick tour of the setup, the kids de-bussed, into the church for fast potty break and into Faith Hall for a splendid assortment of hot dishes and great salads. Fully nourished, the singers went off for warm ups and quick rehearsal, then into their concert attire.
Another great audience showed up for a concert for all of our choristers who had a nice day of relaxation on the bus and had more energy for their performance tonight. There were some really great children in the audience as well – singers themselves! – so we hope they are inspired to keep on singing!
We were treated to a reception following the concert where we all got to mingle with our host families and community members. I’m still not quite sure how to accurately pronounce our town, but I can pretty much guarantee I’ll do it wrong!
Lucky that the rain stopped just long enough for the kids to get their suitcases and gear off the bus and into their cars to whisk them into the hills. 502 miles, 9 hours, new friends, great music, and wonderful fellowship – what a day!
Til next time,
Sue
