Category Archives: Photos

Charleston – December 26

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Two things we knew were thoroughly confirmed on this trip: 1) Charleston and the surrounding area are very interesting, and 2) Sarah really knows how to plan and host a trip (no slight to Kyle; I just think Sarah does the logistics on these things).  Every day had just the right touch – we had rest when we needed it, but were on the go the rest of the time so we could see as much as possible in the time allotted.

On the 26th of December we went to downtown Charleston, toured a historic home (Edmonston-Alston House) that is just amazing, enjoyed walking around the waterfront area including White Point Garden Park, and finished with another fantastic home-cooked meal.  This time dinner was Ceviche and Charleston Boil.

The tour of the Edmonston-Alston House includes a lot of discussion of history.  One can imagine watching the Civil War break out on Fort Sumter out in the harbor.  And of course, with South Carolina on the wrong side of that struggle, there are statues and other tributes to the Confederacy.  We took a picture of the boys in front a statue labeled, “To the Confederate Defenders of Charleston” and refer to that picture as “Irony.”  We are so blessed that our country has moved in the right direction.  Even in the South, our family’s diversity rarely caught anybody’s attention.

The notable exception happened on the freeway: Kyle was driving his truck with David sitting next to him and me (Randy) next to David.  I can’t recall who was in the back seat.  Another pickup passed us with a black man in the passenger’s seat.  I watched him as he was casually looking our way until he saw David in the middle and his mind had a great deal of difficulty processing what he was seeing.  He just completely locked on to David until his truck was well ahead of us.  The look on his face seemed to be one of pure bewilderment.  I wish I had video or pictures of the moment.  But otherwise, the looks we got were just like home meaning, really, that people are quite comfortable with mixed-race families.

None of us had eaten Ceviche or Charleston Boil before.  Both were fantastic!  And, keeping with the Jensen way, there were multiple varieties.  My favorite Ceviche was the shrimp.

Click the photo above to see more.  Watch the video below (there’s a fair amount of wind noise).

Christmas Day

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We continued our fantastic stay in South Carolina by spending most of Christmas Day at Kyle and Sarah’s house.  Food was, once again, excellent.  We took our time getting moving in the morning and with the opening of gifts.  We also kept our family tradition by having the boys recite the Christmas story from Luke 2.  They memorize it every year, as the girls did when they were younger.  This time, Sarah helped the boys with the recitation (you can hear her on the video).  Also, Zheng continued David’s musical education by working with him on the piano and the guitar.

In the afternoon, we left the house to take in a movie – Les Miserables opened on Christmas Day so we went to see it.  The boys have been singing the music ever since.

Christmas Eve 2012

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Dinner time

We enjoyed a fairly quiet day on Christmas Eve.  Margie and Ruli had arrived early in the morning after a 3-day travel delay and two long drives sandwiched around some long flights (watch “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” and you’ll get the idea).  Dinner was awesome (that seemed to be one of the themes of this trip) as Kyle and Sarah prepared pasta and several types of fish.

After dinner the boys each opened a small gift.  Daniel’s was a “Merry Oke” microphone that alters the voice.  David’s was an audio version of “Mad-Libs” in which he would answer questions (e.g., “Name a place”) and then the device would read a story with his words filling in the blanks.  These two things really helped fill in the entertainment void (that’s a joke – there was never an entertainment void!).

John’s Island – Light Display (12/22)

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David, Santa, Daniel

We went to John’s Island to see the Christmas lights.  For us, the display was like going to two different displays here at home: a drive through and a walking park.  The lights were very well done and, although it seemed cold at the time, we appreciated how much warmer it was than at home.  In addition to the lights, the boys climbed the rock wall and, of course, we found plenty of treats!

Click the picture to see more (including David getting piano lessons from Zheng).

Busy Day in Charleston (12/22)

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Angel Oak

There is so much to do and see here in Charleston that we have to double-up on most days.  On Saturday, we had to do triple duty!  We started by going to Angel Oak, which boasts the world’s largest Live Oak tree.  It was quite a specimen and we enjoyed this sprawling tree.  We took some very nice family photos (and tried to delete most of the crummy ones).

After Angel Oak, we headed down the road to the Charleston Tea Plantation, the only active tea plantation in North America.  It is owned by the Bigelow family and produces Bigelow and other brands of tea.  Touring the facility was educational (we did not know that black and green tea come from the same leaves; they’re just processed differently) and fun.  Naturally, we had to do a little shopping in their gift shop.

When we had finished at the tea plantation, we headed to the Firefly Distillery (some of you are thinking, “Now we’re talking”) to sample their products.  The distillery is in a beautiful setting (to be clear, everything in the Charleston area is in a beautiful setting) and is home to rabbits, chickens, ducks and other animals.

Click on the picture (taken at Angel Oak) to see more pictures.

Daniel Island

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DanielAs we drove to church for Christmas service, we crossed Daniel Island.  It’s a very upscale part of the Charleston area.  On the way back from church (excellent sermon, by the way), we had to stop on the island and get a couple pictures of Daniel on “his” island.

Friday

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Our first full day in Charleston was fairly relaxing.  We spent much of the day at home with Kyle and Sarah.  Margie & Ruli had planned to arrive that morning but ran into travel difficulties; they would not arrive until Monday morning.  In the afternoon, all the boys (Randy, Kyle, Daniel & David) made a bunch of sandwiches to take downtown later.

David & Kyle

At dinnertime, we went with a large group of volunteers to feed a number of people who lined up for food.  All of the people receiving food were extremely nice to us and very appreciative of the food.  Many of these people were quick to engage us in conversation and they were generally optimistic and upbeat, despite the fact that most of them would spend the night outdoors on a very cold (for Charleston) night just a few days before Christmas.  The experience was a good one for us, althoug it might have been a bit more than Daniel was prepared for.  He didn’t really want to talk about it so all we can do is speculate, but it seems he wasn’t prepared to see poverty in America.

After that we met up with a couple of Sarah & Kyle’s frieds, Matt and Crystal, for dinner at Barsa restaurant.  Dinner was fantastic and the conversation even better.

MLK Museum

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David, Daniel & Sarah

We’re in South Carolina, visiting Sarah and Kyle for Christmas and New Year.  We flew into Atlanta (yes, we understand the geography; we also understand the economics of airline travel with a party of four).  Sarah made the five-hour drive from Charleston to pick us up.  We took the opportunity to visit the Martin Luther King, Jr., Museum.  It’s an inspiring place and I recommend it for anyone who wants a better understanding of the struggles that were faced by many in our country.  It’s a testament to our better nature that now we can walk freely on those same streets with a mixed-race family without any strange glances.

The museum has some short films playing, and some powerful photos and other exhibits.  When we finished in the museum, we walked to the MLK birth home, the reflecting pool, grave & eternal flame, and then on to Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Click the picture to see more photos.

Accolades

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DBacksInNewsTribuneDaniel’s soccer team was featured in the local paper.  They finished first in their league (which was spread all over the western half of the state).  It was a very successful year and Daniel enjoyed the competition immensely.  Click here to read the blurb (and see the picture) on the paper’s website.

Seattle Christmas

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David & Daniel mailing their letters to Santa

Saturday was pretty much wall-to-wall Christmas.  In the morning, the boys finished their letters to Santa and we headed in to Seattle.  Every year we visit Santa at the downtown Nordstrom for pictures and to mail letters to him.  This year, we had already seen Santa in Tacoma, so we just needed to stop by his mailbox in Seattle.  We also enjoy the gingerbread house display – the creativity amazes us each year.  While we’re downtown, we try to squeeze in some time at Game Works (in past years, one of the girls would take the boys for games while we waited in line for Santa).

After Seattle, we went to Julie & Cindy’s for the Averill family Christmas gathering.  As usual, we had a great time eating and visiting and eating and eating.  The boys played FIFA soccer on the Wii with Borja, Mason and MacKenzie.  Dinner was awesome – paella loaded with clams, shrimp and scallops.  After dinner, we exchanged gifts.