Monday, March 22, 2010

champions and adventures on the river

Thanks to everyone for their well wishes on our trip to Lynchburg, VA.  Everyone had a wonderful time.  There were tons of memories made and many special friendships formed.  And we came home victorious!  The girls played their hearts out and took the championship title of Division 2a.  They got to play their final game in the Vines Arena at Liberty University.  Playing in a Division 1 gym was overwhelming and exciting all at once.  They trailed the entire game and managed to take the lead in the last three minutes.  It was a nail biter to say the least!  We're so proud of all of them!
On our way home from the tournament, we had ourselves quite an adventure.  We came home through Virginia and decided to cross into Maryland via White's Ferry.  When we were about 1/3 of the way across the Potomac River on the ferry, the cable holding the ferry broke!  Aparently a huge tree had floated down the river and bumped into the ferry getting tangled up in the cable.  The tension caused the cable to snap and it was then that we were floating freely down the Potomac River.  It was the most surreal experience.  We were in the front of the ferry and so we saw everything clearly. 
 As we drifted down the river, we went askew and hit the river bank on the Maryland side.  The captain told everyone to get into their vehicles and we all quickly complied.  Our family began gathering our laptops and cameras and essential stuff in case we needed to pile into life boats. (just so you know...my knitting bag was in that essential stuff pile!)
That however, proved unnecessary as they were able to slow the ferry down enough to hook it to a tug boat.  That little tug boat pulled the entire ferry back to the dock and after some manuevering with a big bucket tractor, we were straightened out and able to drive off.  It was some kind of adventure.  (that's our van in the front there with Johan Samuel and John in the front seat getting a great view of all the action)
I called my mom and mother in law and asked them to pray for everyone on the ferry.  God was so gracious to answer the prayers that were lifted up for all of us.  We felt calm and peaceful throughout the entire experience....well, except for Kenzie.  She had to go to the bathroom so badly and when she realized we were off cable, she had a bit of a moment.  But she and I jumped ferry when they got us close enough to the dock.  They had left the gate open as they were securing cables and she, Maggie and I quickly slipped out and jumped to dry land to get her to the port o potty. 
Whew!  (good lesson:  go to the bathroom before getting on the ferry!)  As we were leaving the ferry, after the hour + long ordeal,  the ticket collector gave us two round trip fares and told us to, "Come back and see them again!"  Needless to say, we're so grateful to be home.   We're praising the Lord for His protection...I'll even relish doing the piles of laundry this week....those piles that could have ended up on the bottom of the Potomac River! 

12 comments:

~ The Jolly Bee ~ said...

That is an incredible adventure....I would be thinking "Titanic" the whole time. And having your kids with you, must have made it even more stressful. I'm sure your kids will look back at this trip with fond memories for years to come. I'm glad you're all safe and sound.

Meg said...

Wow! What a finish to an exciting weekend! So glad the ferry ride turned out okay. We've been scared off of ferries for quite some time (a 13 hour delay getting off Martha's Vineyard did it for us--2 of their 4 boats broke down, so ferry service was in complete disarray!).

And I'll be folding my laundry right alongside you today!

Green Acres in the City said...

What an adventure and great story.
Glad you made it home safe and sound.

Kristyn Knits said...

Congratulations Warriors! So excited for all the champions but especially Maggie! You were blessed with an awesome season!

Christina said...

Congrats to your daughter and her team! I'll bet you all are thrilled.

And oh, my! What an adventure with the ferry. I'm glad you all are okay. I'm pretty sure I would be laughing about the guys saying, "come again." The irony of the situation is so funny!

From All Stitched Up said...

Congratulations on the Championship. I would have been petrified on the ferry. I shy away from boats as a rule and your story gives me another excuse. Have fun with the laundry !

Gloria said...

This will probably be the trip your family remembers more than any other. In our family we all still talk about our very rainy day at Disneyland where everyone in the entire park had blue Disney Resort rain panchos on! Very fond memories for sure!

Congrats to your team on their win, and so glad to hear our good Lord protected your family on this trip!

Mondays are always full of laundry here also.

larissa said...

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS on your victory - way to go Maggie and all the girls and your husband the coach and You who no doubt did everything but play and then some! What an exciting ferry ride you had - I just kept thinking that it was a good thing that Maggie had to go to the bathroom because it gave all of you something to focus on other than your cable breaking! So glad to hear you're all home safe! After your weekend you should definitely proclaim today a family holiday, skip school, rest up, and go out for ice cream.

The WoodLand School said...

Congratulations on the victory -- go team!

I'm shuddering at the ferry episode ... how very very scary! Thank goodness you're all safe and sound!

Stephanie said...

Congratulations on the tournament! And what a trip home!!! So glad everyone is safe and sound. Welcome home :)

Stephanie said...

Congratulations on the tournament! Welcome home, sounds like the trip home was quite interesting! Glad to hear you're all safe and sound. What an experience!

Tracy said...

What an adventure all around! Just so glad you all were safe on that ferry ride. This will be a trip to remember! And not least because the girls won--HOORAY! Glad you are all home safe, sound and happy. :o) ((HUGS))