GOOD WEEK OF VACATION

As I mentioned earlier on the blog I spent a week visiting friends in Buffalo, NY and in Dayton, OH. It was a great trip and I thoroughly enjoyed visiting with so many friends. In Buffalo I got to see probably about 16-17 of the 22 people who were on the pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 2006. I stayed with the lady who led the pilgrimage, Barbara Shanahan. Barbara is an oblate of Conception Abbey and usually comes here for Christmas and the Triduum each year. She is the director of the Biblical Program in Buffalo and also teaches many of the classes. I enjoyed so many good meals and, while I had seen Niagara Falls before, this was the first time I had gone on a ride on the boat that takes you practically right under the falls. They give you a plastic rain coat to wear and it is needed. It was an exciting and beautiful boat ride.

After spending three nights in Buffalo I went on to Dayton, OH. A former seminarian and good friend, Ben Darnell, lives there. He and his wife Alicia have a little boy, Isaac Joseph, who will be one year old in August. What a delight it was to spend three days with them and to get acquainted with little Isaac. I presided at Ben and Alicia's wedding in 2008 at Springfield, MO. Alicia has just finished her Master's Degree in Theology at Dayton University. Ben is Youth Director at Precious Blood Parish in Dayton. We also visited the U.S. Airforce Museum which is located in Dayton.

About a week before I went on this trip Father David Coon and his parents stopped in to see me. It was wonderful to see him, as well as his parents. I was David's spiritual director in the seminary and I went to Charleston, MO to attend his ordination and first Mass some years ago. He is now the pastor at Popular Bluff, MO in the Springfield-Cape Girardeau diocese.

Here at Conception work during the summer proceeds. We have put in some new sidewalks which were needed. A lot of work is scheduled to be done on the roads in the next few weeks and some new laundry rooms have been put in the seminary dorm areas since the enrollment has gone up and seems like it will go up again this year.

Monks are coming and going as they each try to get some vacation days in before the students return. We are allowed two weeks. I hope to take about a week visiting family and relatives from about July 15-22 and will take a parish assignment at Brookfield and Marceline, MO that weekend.

I am posting a number of pictures here below of my trip to Buffalo and Dayton. To see more of these go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/frkenneth/BuffaloNYAndDaytonOHJune23292010#

Pictures below taken at Buffalo


















































Last three pictures below taken at Dayton, OH