OSMT-Our Secret Mission Trip/極秘検索旅行の巻

This past week has been my Spring Break...it actually continues until Wednesday which is really nice...Sunday after I preached at our congregation we headed off on Our Secret Mission Trip (actually only secret to most of my co-workers, all of my students and most of you guys in cyberspace)...it took us almost two hours to just get to the Verrazano Narrows Bridge and through Staten Island...then I somehow went the wrong way on I-95 in Jersey...once we finally figured that one out, we made pretty good time through Philly and D.C. and Baltimore. Then we hit pouring rain in Richmond, Virginia and since we had already booked a hotel room on-line about an hour and a half from our final destination in South Hill, VA as Mapquest said it would only take about 7 1/2 hours to get there...we pressed on and near midnight, after 10 hours of travel we tucked in for the night...the next day we completed Our Secret Mission Trip to...

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA!!!
今週始まった学校の春休みは来週の火曜日までなので、日曜日に教会でミサが終わった後極秘旅行(僕の仕事仲間と生徒達には内緒なのです)に出発...スタッテンアイランドへ通っているベラザノ橋まで２時間もかかったり、間違えて高速９５を反対方向に行ったりと最初が大変だったけど、その後は何事も無くフィリー、ディーシー、バルティモアを越えて南に下りました。リッチモンドに着いた辺で豪雨に降られて本当は運転し続けたくなかったんだけど、あらかじめ予約をしてあったホテルまでがんばってもう１時間半行く事に...１１時ちょっと過ぎぐらいにやっとホテルに到着。１０時間のドライブの後一晩泊まって明日はついに極秘旅行先の...
北キャロライナ州、ラリーへ!!!

So now we share our secret...we hope to make Raleigh our future home this summer...I had two interviews at schools and we also looked at houses and apartments as we decide what to do...while the interviews went well they unfortunately couldn't hire me then as they hadn't been given their allocations for the '10-'11 school year yet, so that was unfortunate...but we still had fun looking at houses and apartments and hopefully the middle of this month we will receive some good news and get to move forward with our housing plans which we will share more of at that time.
ここで秘密はおわり...今年の夏からラリーで暮らす予定を立てているんです...僕が２つの高校で面接をした後、いろんな家を見回ったり。残念ながらまだ何人雇えるか分からない学校側は僕を気に入ってくれたけど、その場で仕事が確実にできなかったから後２週間ぐらいしないと分からないけど、確実になり次第家を買う予定です。細かい事はまだ内緒です。

The last school I interviewed with backed right up to a beautiful city park that has basketball and tennis courts, a pool, a dog park and a playground...as well as a beautiful tree...
２校目の高校の裏側にあるきれいな公園(バスケ、テニス、プール、遊び場と犬の公園)で...綺麗な木の下で...

Madison loved the swing...
マディソンのお気に入りのブランコ...
My Dad was kind enough to donate some of his Choice Hotel points so we stayed out by the airport at a Cambria Suites...it was very nice and had an indoor pool which Madison wasn't too sure of the first night and then really warmed up to...
僕のお父さんからホテル用のポイントを貰って無料で４泊することができました。しかもキャンブリアスイートって言うとってもいいホテルに：）ここに室内プールがあったんだけど最初の日は入りたがらなかったマディソンも最後の日には...

First Day in Raleigh:
ラリー初日：

Last Day in Raleigh:
ラリー最終日：

Don't worry we didn't put her in the hot tub...
大丈夫、このあっついお風呂には入れなかったから...

After all her swimming she had worked up quite an appetite...
やっぱりいっぱい泳いだ後はお腹が空くね...
We also found time to visit downtown Raleigh and the Marbles Kids Museum...
子供用の博物館に行く事が出来ました...

Madison enjoyed the balls...
ボールが面白いね...っていうかおいしいね...

And the bricks...

ブロックだ〜...

While visiting our housing options, Madison loved the golf cart rides...
モデルハウスを見学する時に乗って移動したゴルフカートをとっても気に入ったマディソン...

On the return trip I had the brilliant idea to "swing by" Virginia Beach for a pit stop and then head up Route 13 North which looked like a nice scenic, straight shot over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel which we found out is the second longest bridge in the United States...what we didn't know was that Route 13 is littered with stop lights and towns and that some of those towns target out of towners who barely run red lights (it was yellow when I started) and give them $161 tickets...grrrrrrrr!!! So we are letting everyone know who comes to visit us in Raleigh...do not be tricked into taking Route 13...it is not worth it!!! After a total of 15 hours of travel (including our three hour pit stop at Virginia Beach) we arrived home just before midnight Friday and enjoyed a night in our own beds!!
帰り道にバージニアビーチに寄り道して海岸沿いをドライブしてアメリカで第２に長いチェセピーク海岸橋を通って行こうと計画。景色はとても良かったんだけど橋を通った後に使って北に行ったルート１３っていう道は最悪！黄色で通ったはずなのに赤だったって警察官に止められて１６０ドルも罰金...県外の車を狙って止める警察が多いらしい...打からラリーにクライン家に会いに来る時はぜ〜ったいルート１３は使わない事!!後悔するよ!!３時間の寄り道を合わせて１５時間のドライブの後夜の１２時頃に無事に到着、自分達のベッドでぐっすり眠る事が出来ました：）

BONUS PICS: One of Madison's playgroup friends, Masaki's 1st Birthday Party...Here is the happy family
ボーナス写真：マディソンの友達のマサキ君の誕生日会で...幸せそうなラウ一家。

Madison and the birthday boy enjoy the view from the 22nd floor of the Benjamin Hotel in mid-town Manhattan...
マンハッタンにあるベンジャミンホテルの２２階の窓からの景色を楽しんでいるマディソンとマサキ君...
Madison thinking...in one month this will all be for me :-)
マディソンの頭の中...後１ヶ月で私が主役のパーティー：）

Already a Facebook sensation with over 5 likes :-) We end with one of our better Daughter on Daddy's shoulders pictures...
フェイスブックで沢山の人達が気に入ってくれてる話題のツーショット：）パパと娘の肩車ショット...