Come on in

Some things in life never cease to amaze me. And one of those things occurred when we were driving around the Duke campus. You can think you were at the right place at the right time or you can think God knew how much you wanted something and made a way for you to have it....ensuring that you get to make a memory you'll never ever forget or you can think it was just luck you found your way in to a place you've dreamed about. I choose to believe God gave us a gift we'll never forget remembering. Read on and you'll see what I'm talking about.

We saw many beautiful buildings we knew absolutely nothing about but still enjoyed seeing.


No idea but lovely.


This just happened on TV and then we saw the banner which of course means it really did happen!


We were looking for the basketball arena so we'd know where to drop the girls off for the basketball game they'd be attending on Sunday night. We saw the law school and the math and science department and lots of other stuff and finally after driving around and much rubber necking, we found the gym. It was so small and unassuming we might have passed it up if the girls hadn't known what it was. It has a little circular drive that looked as if it would fit in the front yard of a house.




As we were driving through the circle, we saw one of the doors to the gym propped open with a trash can and we made hay while the sun shined!! (Even though the sun wasn't shining). We all jumped out of the car and went inside. We heard people on the basketball court and of course when we saw the sign below we thought maybe the team was practicing. But we were wrong. It was just some people that had done the same thing we had done....crashed the place!

We didn't let this sign deter us.


We found a place to walk into the arena upstairs and could see the floor but couldn't find a way to get down to it.


So, in true Dale Walker fashion, we started walking around and trying doors until we finally found one that got us down on the floor where other people were already shooting a basketball. I don't know how or why or what brought this about but we loved every minute of it! We found ourselves standing on the gym floor of the current national champions basketball arena as if we belonged there. It was unbelievable. We made ourselves at home for about an hour. I mean....we could have set up a concession stand or something! It would have been a great concession stand if we had.

So just like Goldilocks we sat in their chairs...every single one of them. They felt juuussstttt right. Except to Carlie.


Including Coach K's.


Gotta get one more picture.


Apparently it's Coach K's court.


Then we had to have a gander at the emblem on the court. I mean if you turn on the TV right now you'll see our gym being played in RIGHT NOW. We were RIGHT THERE!


A moment of prayer, maybe thanking God above for this opportunity.


And again one more.


Getting close to the paint.


And then they decided to do fake lay ups. Man these girls can achieve some air.


Look at Emma....she's ALMOST a 1/2 inch off the floor!


I think Olivia beat her out by a full 1/2 inch herself!


Lame-o Caitlin wouldn't even try so I couldn't make fun.


I'm gonna need to see that from another angle.


Love that form Emma with a 5 foot step stool you might actually make it to the bottom of the net.


Olivia's looking good to touch it with a 4 foot step stool.


Ummm....what Maggie?


Carlie had had just about enough.


Melanie and I had to get a few pics in to prove we had been there.


Carlie's gettin surly.


But Maggie's gettin comfy.


And Olivia as well.


Just a few more minutes please.


Maggie's trying to decide how she can live there.


And then it was time to go but they couldn't pull themselves away.


This kind of chance may never come back around.


Really and truly do we have to go?


Not just yet.


More free throws to shoot.


Not sure what Emma was going for but it looks like ballerina basketball.


This is what a dream looks like in real life.


Next we were off to UNC to try and break in there! Did we succeed? You'll have to wait to find out.

Yal come back now!

Duke Chapel

The most impressive thing to see on the entire trip was the Duke chapel located on the campus. I looked up a little information about it tonight and this is what I found out from the website.

The Chapel was the first building planned for the new campus, but the last one to be completed. Construction started in 1930, was completed in 1935, and cost nearly $2.3 million. The Chapel began to be used before its stained-glass windows and other details were finished; commencement was held in the Chapel in 1932. Although the Chapel was inspired by other buildings, including English cathedrals and the chapels of other American universities, it is not a copy of any other specific building.

I also found out that the bells ring every day at 5:00. I'm very sad I missed it because I'm certain it's fantastic. I love a ringing church bell so very much.

We had no idea the chapel was open but quickly made our way inside when we saw other people coming and going. It's quite the sight to behold indeed.


Caitlin looks uncertain about entering the Lord's house but she did eventually venture inside.


The stained glass windows are beautiful and the Christmas decorations were still up and looking lovely.




I've never been inside any church with such an impressive magnitude. Everything was amazing and huge and unforgettable. It's so very different from my church and that in itself is interesting to me. My church is so informal. It's one of the things I love about it. This church made me think about wearing formal clothes and sitting up straight and behaving like I was supposed to in the Catholic church. Notice I said "supposed to." I'd love to sit in a service in this church with a pipe organ and all the formality that would go along with it. It would be an unforgettable experience.




Everywhere we looked there was something beautiful to see.


This picture was taken in the crypt.


And another.


Although I'm in no way afraid of or weirder out by dead people, I found this aspect of the chapel to be a little freaky. Caitlin didn't believe there were dead people in these sarcophagi but I looked it up and indeed there are.

This is what I found out. The Memorial Chapel is located off the south transept. In it are the tombs of the University’s founder and chief benefactors, James B. Duke, his father Washington, and his brother Benjamin. Their likenesses are carved on the tops of Carrara marble sarcophagi. Placement of the sarcophagi in the Chapel is in keeping with the character of a Gothic church.

It weirded me out

Not sure if dead people are under these plaques but it's entirely possible.


Beautiful wood carvings were everywhere.








The nativity scene.


Emma G






This pipe organ has to be amazing when it's played. I'd love to hear it in person.




It was fantastic to see.

The Carolina road trip in words and pictures

Well, we blazed our trail to North Carolina and back home in 4 days. Melanie's car's probably still wheezing a bit. It was a whirlwind full of many miles covered, junk food eaten, Chick-fil-a all day all the time and basketball games. It was a highly successful venture. We left in the afternoon on Friday, New Year's Eve, with much anticipation for places and things never before seen.


Excitement filled the stale air in the car.


There were no disappointments along the way. The biggest problems we faced were picking movies to watch and bad weather with rain and foggy conditions following us the entire trip.

Friday night found us ringing in the new year on the highway somewhere around Atlanta as someone in the car said, I think it was Olivia, since those of us on the trip made it into the new year ahead of our family, we were living in the future! It was a very profound statement.

That night we were entertained by fireworks along the way and one huge new development occurred while driving at night. Did anyone know shining a light from a cell phone on a passing 18 wheeler allows for making awesome shadow puppets on the side of the truck!? This brand new information made for some entertaining moments indeed. It helped cut the tension around Birmingham when the rain was coming down in sheets. The combination of the dark night, much rain and one headlight being out made it difficult driving. Thank God all ended well.

After about 11 hours in the car and crossing over into the eastern time zone, therefore losing a valuable hour, we arrived at our hotel at 1:00am. When we went to check in, the girl's grandmother was from Monroe! How crazy is that? It really is a very small world. So Friday night we tucked ourselves in, slept quickly and Saturday morning awoke ready to began the second leg of our trip, after unsuccessfully trying to get chicken biscuits from Chick-fil-a.


Me looking weird.


We were always waiting on Caitlin.


To our disappointment, the rain we had outrun the night before caught up to us as we slept. It was foggy and therefore difficult to see the South Carolina countryside, although what we could see looked strangely like Texas and Louisiana.

With 7 passengers, the car was packed like a sardine can and the 5 girls were basically sandwiched in between pillows, blankets and books but they switched out regularly so people wouldn't get too claustrophobic.


We continued on our journey eating our way across 6 states until we arrived in North Carolina at about 2:00 pm eastern standard time. When you lose an hour, you miss it terribly.

When we arrived in Durham, we made our way directly to Duke University's campus...because we were closest to it....not because of favoritism.


The entrance to Chapel Drive.


Everything is very Englandy looking.


I was stunned to discover it's Gothic architecture. I don't know what I expected, but Gothic wasn't it. We inadvertently found the entrance to the Duke chapel, which is huge and I'd never call a chapel.


Even their signs are cute and snazzy.


Since the students weren't there because of the holidays, we had the run of the place! There were a few sight seers like us but for the most part it was like a closed session for us to drive around and look through every nook and cranny we could find. We took much advantage as you'll see later.

People leapt with joy to be out of the car.


Standing on Chapel Drive.


Caitlin and Olivia decided to join Emma and Maggie.


Emma having a moment to herself.


Carlie acted very much like a grown up and even joined the girls for a picture on the Duke campus. For anyone that may not know, Carlie hates Duke basketball down to her core...her loyalties lie with UNC. The other 4 girls feel the same way about Carlie's tarheels. No one really knows what a tarheel is.

But a tarheel is just a ridiculous as a Methodist college being a BLUE DEVIL!



Many photos were taken cause how often do we go there?


What to do next? Walk to the chapel and see what's gonna be on the agenda.


But before we do let's get a few more photos for posterity.


Carlie's about to dash off to UNC.


And another photo.


This place was highly impressive.


Walking to the chapel.


These buildings line the drive to the chapel.


So lovely but a little creepy.


This place was gorgeous. I wish we could have seen it with the sun shining but there was no sun to spare.


I've never done any research about Duke so I had no idea what to expect. It was a delight to see the campuses of Duke and UNC, as well as the surrounding cities. I just wish it wasn't so far away. This 14 hour road trip isn't for the faint of heart when you're doing it in 4 days!

Coming up next, the inside of the chapel.

It's quite beautiful.

Stay tuned.

Four days...2100 miles

The posts about our trip will begin later today as soon as I have a handle on what I'm doing!

I'll be posting many words and pictures but I'm doing it in order so don't freak Carlie when UNC stuff isn't first.

There's much to report.

A great time was had by all.

Safe travels are such a blessing.