Nomad Life - Day 217

Fortunately, I had a very restful sleep and woke up (no alarm required) at 0630.  I spent a little time reading, doing puzzles and working on Duolingo before eating breakfast at Brenna's apartment.  After getting ready, I left Brenna's (0740) and drove to Downtown Harrisonburg so I could attend Mass at Blessed Sacrament Parish.  When I arrived (0755), I couldn't find parking (there were now passive aggressive signs in a closed business across the street).  After driving around for a bit, I ended up parking blocks away.  The day was overcast, cool (high 50s) and a bit breezy.  I finally got inside the church a few minutes after they started (0805).  Even though I'd been at this parish before, I had forgotten that it was a VERY High Mass.  Added to the normal pageantry, it was the Day of Pentecost.  There was lots of singing, extended length prayers and incense.  One interesting experience was then some parishioners led the Prayers of the Faithful in several languages, including ASL.  I left the service at 0900 and drove back to Brenna's - I had a nice call with Mollie on the way.  When I came into the apartment, I discovered that Brenna was not awake yet.  With the extra time, I did some bag repacking and car reorganizing.  I also had a chance for some more blogging and eBird while waiting on Brenna to be ready for her own church service.  After I got to witness Brenna in one of her whirlwind preparations for leaving, we departed (1020) for a short drive to Horizon Christian Fellowship and arrived just in time for the 1030 service.  I don't think there could have been two more distinct church experiences (Blesses Sacrament versus Horizon) but it was clear that everyone involved at both places was a very faithful and enthusiastic Christian.  The young people at Horizon led most of the worship (announcements, music, prayers) and then there was a long sermon by Pastor James.  All told, we were there for about 90 minutes and there wasn't one slow moment.  On the way out of the door, Brenna introduced me to Pastor Wes and then we headed back to her apartment so we could have lunch.  We also talked a lot about our outdoor exercises options.  I'd hoped to go to Shenandoah National Park but a rescheduled Young Adult Group meeting at Brenna's church gave me pause.  In the end, we decided to walk on the nearby Friendly City Trail.  After Brenna accidentally drove us to Hillandale Park again (where we last walked on the trail in April), she repositioned us to Bluestone Elementary School (1335).  From there, we walked through Hillandale Park and then continued on to Thomas Harrison Middle School.  The weather was agreeable (70 F - overcast) and I liked the "golf ball dome" that protected bikers and walkers on the trail section within the Heritage Oaks Golf Course).  By the time we were finished (1500), we'd completed the entire (4.4 mile) walkway and I'd reached my 10K step goal for the day (3.9 miles was on the Friendly City Trail).  We then returned to Brenna's and she spent the rest of the afternoon resting and relaxing in her room.  Meanwhile, I read and watched YouTube videos.  I'd thought my daughter would be heading out a Young Adult Group meeting at 1700 but she didn't actually depart until 1820.  For the next few hours, I continued resting, reading, watching movies, blogging, etc.  During this time, I made dinner for myself and also did some chores for Brenna.  My daughter finally returned home at 2100 and we got to visit for a short time before she went to bed (2130).  For the rest of the evening, I watched movies - bedtime (on Brenna's living room couch) was at 2230.  Even with the unpredictable weather, this is turning out to be a good visit to the Shenandoah Valley!