Picnic on the Frozen LakeGreetings from Tennessee!
Well, I have been delinquent in posting updates again, but of course we have been busy.
In January we took a weekend road trip through northeastern Tennessee. We took our time and followed scenic routes with stops at historic sites including the first TVA Dam built in 1924, Wilson Dam. We picnicked on the lake which was frozen enough that we could walk on the “water” and then visited Lincoln Museum located on the campus of Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee. We spent the night in the historic town of Cumberland Gap at an old mill B&B which was built in the mid 1800s (the attached log cabin was even older having been built in the 1700s). In the morning we walked up to the Cumberland Gap on the old Wilderness Road used by settlers to reach Kentucky from the east. We enj
Painting the Baby Roomoyed learning about Daniel Boone and at the visitor’s center and then made a stop at the Pinnacle Overlook where the clouds opened briefly to reveal an impressive view. We spent our next night in Jonesborough, which is Tennessee’s oldest town founded in 1779. On the way home we took the scenic route with stops at a covered bridge built in 1882 at Elizabethton, Rocky Mount (the first capital of the Southwest Territories from 1790-1792), the birthplace of Davey Crocket, Tusculum College (Tennessee’s First College, established in 1794) and Andrew Johnson’s mansion in Greeneville, TN.
In February and March we mostly focused on getting ready for the baby’s arrival. We had a couple of baby showers with different groups and also spent time painting and decorating the nursery with a jungle safari theme. In between all o
Waiting for Babyf that I was able to squeeze in an overnight backpacking trip with friends and then towards the end of March I took a work related trip to Ottawa, Canada for a week. I went a day early and drove up to Mont-Tremblant where I stayed in a cozy bed & breakfast for the night. I then spent the following day snow skiing with fantastic views of the surrounding lakes before driving back to the Ottawa area for a week long training class. In the evenings after class I did some exploring and also played disc golf a couple of times. The first time I played at a local park and met a member of the local disc golf club. He was friendly and after we played a round together he invited me to a private course later in the week. I took him up on the offer and ended up playing in an informal tournament with around 20 people or so wh
Just Bornich was fun.
In April we found out the baby was breech and tried all kinds of methods to try to get her to turn with no success. We then found out that the amniotic fluid levels were low and after trying to get them up for about a week we ended up having a c-section. Bethany Joanne Porter was born on April 23, 2010, weighed 5 pounds and 15 ounces and was 19 inches long. It turned out that my parents and sister were in Atlanta for a work trip and arrived at the hospital just in time to meet Bethany as we came out of the surgery recovery room. They were able to stay for the weekend and then Brenda’s parents arrived for a week just after my family left. We have really enjoyed getting to know Bethany and have also had fun sharing her with our friends and family.
May was pretty much spent getting used to having a baby and then in June we enjoyed a visit from Brenda’s brother and his family who live in Cambodia. While they were in town we took a day trip to Huntsville, Alabama where we visited the Space & Rocket Center.
In July we attended two weekends of the General Conference Session
Signal Mountain in Atlanta, GA. After the session we took some time to tour the CNN Center and then went to IKEA for the first time. On the way home we stopped to watch Fourth of July fireworks and then had some more time with family at our house for the rest of the weekend. At the end of July we drove down to Brunswick, GA to visit Brenda’s uncle and then met up with friends at Hilton Head, SC for a few days at the beach. The weather was quite hot, but we were able to cool off in the pool and usually waited until later in the day to visit the beach. We especially had fun introducing Bethany to the water and spending time relaxing with friends. We also celebrated my birthday with homemade blueberry pie which was a real treat. On the way home we got rear ended and were delayed about 5 hours by the time Brenda got checked out
Family Shot at the hospital. We also had to cover a couple of broken windows with card board, but still made the trip home without any further excitement. We were just thankful that everyone was ok and that the vehicle damage was repairable.
For Labor Day weekend we flew to California to visit my family and introduced Bethany to one of her Great Grandmas. While in California we picked raspberries and also had a Sri Lankan style meal one evening. From there we flew up to Washington State to spend time with Brenda’s family. I was able to work remotely for a few days and then we got to see lots of family over the weekend. We also introduced Bethany to another one of her Great Grandmas and had fun picking huckleberries and peaches. On the way to Seattle to fly home we took the scenic North Cascades Highway and had some awes
Brenda & Bethanyome views along the way.
The third weekend in September we went camping at Whigg Meadow off the Cherohala Skyway for the second year in a row. Unfortunately the wild blueberries were gone early this year, most likely due to the lack of rain. We did get enough to eat and for making pancakes at least. We were also able to watch a bird banding station in action and even got to hold and release a few wild birds. The station has nets set up to catch the birds and when they are caught they record data about the birds. Small tracking bands are then attached to their legs before they are released. Scientists are then able to study the data and track where birds have been if they happen to be captured again at another station. Bethany did really well sleeping in the tent and overall it was a good first camping trip for her.
In October we enjoyed the fall colors here in Tennessee and also in Virginia where we met my cousins at a state park for the weekend. At the park they had a pumpkin carving contest where they provided the pumpkins for us to carve and my cousin won third place. We sta
Yummy Carrotsyed in a cabin right on the lake and the colors were in their prime. On the way home we stopped at Clingman’s Dome, but unfortunately we forgot the regular camera so our only pictures were taken on a cell phone.
This month we decided to move to Guam where I have accepted a position as a Systems Engineer at the SDA Clinic. It has been a difficult decision to leave our friends and jobs here in Chattanooga, but we are excited about the opportunity and we are looking forward to getting settled on Guam. We are leaving on December 5 so we will be busy for the next few weeks packing and getting ready to go.
We will try to post updates more often, but if you want to see what we’re up to in the mean time you can find us on Facebook or check our gallery which is updated more often with lots of pictures and videos.
Bye for now,
Andrew
Category: Tennessee (Sep 2004 – Dec 2010)
Baby on the Way & Year in Review
Mojave PreserveSeason’s greetings from the Porters!
Time has really been moving along quickly for us and it’s hard to believe that it has been a full year since our last update. I can’t resist starting off with our biggest news of the year, which is that we are expecting a baby girl! She is due May 3 so we are starting to think about painting and getting a nursery ready. We can hardly wait and look forward to the new experiences to come.
Since our last update we have been busy as usual. Brenda continues to thrive at her job as a school counselor and I have stayed very busy as a network engineer. In the past year at my work we have hired around 20 new employees and launched residential TV, internet and phone services in our community. At church Brenda has been le
Keenanading the deaconess ministry and I have continued to be involved with the webcast team and the personnel committee.
We have also stayed busy with travel and other fun activities. In the first part of the year I had a work trip to Dallas, Texas and got to attend a hockey game while there. A couple weeks later I joined friends for some winter hiking on the Cumberland Trail and then we traveled to California for Brenda’s spring break. Unfortunately Brenda came down with a second case of mono early in the year so she missed some work and then really had to take it easy on our trip. We enjoyed spending time with family in California though and also got to take an overnight trip to Catalina Island aboard a friend’s sailboat. It was fun to introduce Brend
Independence Pass in Coloradoa to sailing and to be on a boat again, although most of us got rather seasick. For the second part of the trip we drove to Las Vegas with a side trip to the Mojave Preserve. The desert views and blooming flowers were a sharp contrast to the busy streets of Las Vegas, but we did have fun seeing many free sights and shows there while pushing Brenda around in a rented wheelchair.
After our trip Brenda was able to return to work and gradually gained her strength back. In the spring we joined my parents for the weekend at Callaway Gardens in Georgia and then were treated to a visit from Brenda’s brother and his family. They came back to the US from Cambodia for the summer to have their second baby. In June we celebrated our two year anniversary by spend
Esther Memorial Weekending a weekend away together at a bed & breakfast and then later in the month we went camping with friends.
In July we traveled to Colorado for a memorial service for my great aunt Esther which turned into a family reunion with family coming in for the holiday weekend from all over the country. We really had a great time together visiting, hiking and remembering Esther. From Colorado Brenda traveled to New Mexico to meet her new nephew while I went back to work in Chattanooga for the week. I then flew back to New Mexico where we spent almost a week with Brenda’s family. Our main focus was on meeting the new baby, but we also got to visit some cliff dwellings near Lo
Pewitt Familys Alamos and took the kids to the Albuquerque Zoo while there. In August we went camping at Whigg Meadow where we were able to pick nine pounds of wild blueberries while enjoying a panoramic view of the surrounding valleys. The first night we survived a powerful thunderstorm but then on the second night we were treated to an amazing view of the stars on a moonless night away from all the light pollution. Another activity for us this summer was boating on Lake Chickamauga on a friend’s boat several weekends. I especially enjoyed the wakeboarding although tubing and just being on the water were fun too.
We started off the fall season with a trip to the Northwest where we visited the Columbia Gorge with friends and then attended the annual Huckleberry weekend family gathering organized by Brenda’s extended family. The weather was not ideal so we were glad to be camping in a dry van. In spite of the cold weather we were still able to bring a few quarts of berries home with us which I picked in the rain
Cliff Dwellings at Bandelier National Monument and sleet with a large group of Brenda’s family. After the huckleberry weekend we visited my aunt Janette who lives on a boat for a couple of nights. By then the weather cleared up so we had a perfect day of cruising on the river. Later in the month my sister Sarah came to visit for a few weeks and then in October I got to go hang gliding for a delayed birthday present. It was an awesome experience to soar over the fall colors and to finally take advantage of the world class hang gliding school less than an hour from our house. In early November we spent a weekend at a mountain cabin with friends and then rode on a scenic railroad along the Hiwassee River where we caught the tail end of the fall colors.
The holiday season got off to a good start fo
Whigg Meadowr us with a Thanksgiving visit from Brenda’s parents. While they were in town we visited the International Towing and Recovery Museum which was entertaining. We also took a ride on the Tennessee River Gorge Explorer boat operated by the Chattanooga Aquarium. We then took an overnight trip to Asheville, NC. On the way there we took the scenic route and stopped for a picnic at Fort Mountain in Georgia and then toured the Biltmore House the next day. We especially enjoyed all of the Christmas decorations and several newly restored rooms in the huge house. We also made a stop at the farmers market which was much larger than we had expected. They have several large warehouses which you can drive through to purchase all kinds of fresh produce as well as two buildings full of arts, crafts and food. On the way home we took another scenic route since both of the regular routes were blocked by landslides. For Christmas we joined my dad’s side of the family at my 
Biltmoregrandparents’ house where we had a good time playing games, eating good food and spending time together. As I write this we are on a plane headed to California for a few days with my mom’s side of the family. We are looking forward to our first baby shower this week and some more down time.
We hope that this holiday season finds you well and we wish you all the best in the new year! We plan to post updates here more often in the year ahead, but you can also see what we are up to between updates via Facebook.
Until next time,
Andrew & Brenda
Uruguay, Argentina, Fall Camping & Holidays with Family
Montevideo, UruguayGreetings from snowy Wenatchee, Washington,
I had hoped to write about our trip to South America sooner, but things have been busy since we got back and it took some time to sort through all the pictures.
Our trip started Thursday afternoon, October 9 when we left work a bit early to drive to the Atlanta airport. Our first flight from Atlanta to Miami was uneventful, although I left my belt somewhere in the Atlanta security line and it was gone when Brenda went back to look for it. I normally would have gone back myself, but I was nursing a sore foot which I had twisted while hiking the previous weekend. From Miami we caught a 9 hour overnight flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina where we met up with my dad before boarding the next flight on to Montevideo, Uruguay. My mom was already in Uruguay since she had gone early to spend time with her sisters. Upon arrival in Uruguay we were 
Our rental vehicle and cabin in El Chaltenmet at the airport by my aunt Judy who lives and works in Montevideo. She took us to her apartment where we got settled and had a good lunch. We then walked around town a bit and visited Judy’s office before heading back to her apartment. Some of us ended up taking a taxi back as Brenda was still getting over bronchitis and strep throat, and I was trying to take it easy on my foot. After resting a bit we went out for supper and then enjoyed a good nights sleep after our long night and day of traveling.
The next day we went on a guided tour of the city which included stops at monuments, gardens and scenic overlooks. We had an excellent guide and really enjoyed seeing the different neighborhoods and learning about the city. After the tour we packed our bags and headed to Colonia, which is about 3 hours west of Montevideo. Upon arrival in Colonia we got settled in to our hotel and then did some expl
Mt. Fitzroy at sunriseoring and found a nice restaurant overlooking the water for supper. Colonia is an older town on a peninsula with cobblestone streets, small shops, historic buildings and lots of restaurants. Before heading to bed we visited a very good ice cream shop next door to our hotel. The ice cream was like the Gelato that we used to get in Cyprus so it was a real treat.
Sunday morning we awoke to rain so we took our time getting up and eating our hotel breakfast. We then went to a craft market and walked around town for a couple of hours as the weather cleared up. Along the way we saw the old city gate and walls, climbed to the top of a lighthouse, played with a friendly cat and then found a restaurant for a late lunch. The menu sounded good at the place we chose, but it turned out that they were not serving a full menu until dinner time. We still found some things to order but it ended u
Hiking in the Andesp taking nearly 2 hours to get our food, and once the food came it was pretty bland. By the time we finished eating we had just enough time to get our bags and then head to the port to catch our ferry to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Before leaving on the ferry we said goodbye to my mom’s sisters as they would not be joining Brenda, my parents and I for the trip south to Patagonia. The ferry only took about an hour and upon arrival in Buenos Aires we caught a taxi to our hotel with a quick stop at the ATM to get some Argentine pesos. After checking in to our hotel we found a local supermarket where we bought some cheese, crackers and mandarin oranges which we had for supper before heading to bed.
We enjoyed another very good hotel breakfast Monday morning and then caught a taxi to the domestic airport for our flight south to El Calafate. The flight was around 3 hours long, and as we sta
Enjoying the view after hiking 7 milesrted our descent we caught our first glimpses of the Andes mountains. On our way in to land we flew over a beautiful lake with many “boats” on it. As we got closer we gradually realized that the “boats” were actually icebergs! The airport was quite small with just one baggage claim belt and a nice view of the lake. The one gate with a jet bridge was occupied by another plane when we landed, so we walked down a set of moveable stairs and across the tarmac to the terminal. After collecting our bags we met up with representatives from a car rental company we had made arrangements with. The Peugeot Partner we had reserved was ready to go and after completing some paperwork we were on our way. Instead of driving the 15 minutes in to the town of El Calafate, we headed in the opposite direction to the town of El Chalten about 3 hours away. Along the way we enjoyed excellent views of rivers, lakes and mountains and stopped several times to take pictures. At one of the stops we spotted a critter called a peludo which is a type of armadillo. The route was pretty desolate with no gas stations at all, and just a few buildings near the half way point, one of which was a small restaurant and hotel. We decided to stop at the restaurant for a snack, and learned that Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid and his wife Etta Place had actually stopped there around 1905 on their 
Lago Torre & Cerro Torreway from Argentina to Chile. As we got closer to El Chalten the mountains seemed to keep getting bigger until finally we came over the last ridge and descended into the small town in a valley surrounded by mountains. The town of El Chalten is fairly new as it was only founded in 1985 and has a real frontier feel to it. Upon arrival we 
Waterfall near El Chaltengot settled into our cabin and then did a little shopping at a basic grocery & hardware store within walking distance. For supper we enjoyed a nice home cooked meal in our cabin with views of the mountains before heading to bed.
Tuesday morning we slept in a bit and then drove out of town on a dirt road towards Lago Del Desierto (a lake). Actually this was the only road out of town other than the one we arrived on and it ended at the lake. Along the way we stopped several times for pictures and then took a hike along Rio Electrico (a river). There was a sign at the start of the trail that mentioned a fee of some kind but we didn’t understand all of the Spanish words, so decided to just follow the trail and turn around when we 
Road to El Chaltenwere ready. We ended up hiking about 4 miles up the river to a private horse camp. It turned out there was an entrance fee to go on the lake and glacier trails beyond the camp, and we decided to turn around instead of paying the fee. We figured 8 miles roundtrip was probably enough hiking for our first day, plus we would be seeing many other glaciers later on. As we hiked back the clouds got darker and it even drizzled a bit, but we never really got wet. Once we got back to the car we drove a few more miles and then stopped at an overlook for a picnic. It was pretty cold and windy so we ate in the car, but enjoyed the view of a lake with several pink flamingoes and other birds in it. After we finished eating we continued on to the end of the road at Lago Del Desierto. Along the way we saw a very recently born baby cow, rabbits, ducks and many other birds. We then spent some time enjoying the view of the lake and a nearby glacier before heading back to town. By the time we got back to our cabin it was dark, which was pretty late since the early spring sunset time during our visit was around 9:20pm.
The next morning we had a leisurely breakfast and then set out on the trail to Lago Torre. The trailhead was at the edge of town so we just started hiking from our cabin. We 
Boat tour of the glaciers on Lago Argentinaweren’t sure how far we would go, but decided to play it by ear since it was about 7 miles to the mountain lake. So far my foot was doing well and Brenda’s energy was much better after getting several good nights of sleep. About 30 minutes into the hike we came over a ridge and were treated to an awesome panoramic view of the mountains with blue skies all around. The weather in Patagonia is often cloudy and we were very lucky to have such a perfect day for our hike. We kept following the trail for several hours and enjoyed seeing flowers, birds, waterfalls and more mountain views along the way. Eventually we made it all the way to the glacier fed lake where we dipped our feet in the icy water and took a few minutes to enjoy the 
Moreno Glaciermagnificent views. We then started the hike back to our cabin and made it in good time. Although we were pretty tired after hiking 14 miles roundtrip, the amazing scenery was well worth it. We were definitely glad that we had packed a picnic lunch and that the stream water was safe to drink along the way too. Back at the cabin we enjoyed another home cooked supper 
Horseback riding in the rainbefore heading to bed.
Thursday we loaded up the car, checked out of our cabin and then spent some time exploring the craft shops in El Chalten. Next we drove to a nearby waterfall where my dad and I found our own route to the top of the falls. We then headed back south to the town of El Calafate with several stops along the way for scenic views. Upon arrival in El Calafate we got settled in to the Bed & Breakfast we had reserved and then headed to town for a nice pizza dinner.
Friday morning we enjoyed a good breakfast and then drove about 20 minutes to a port area on Lago Argentina. We had made arrangement to take an all day boat tour of the glaciers which turned out to be a highlight of the trip. We got to see many icebergs and about 4 major glaciers including the most famous Moreno Glacier. At each stop we would spend time 
Matadero market in Buenos Airesjust idling back and forth to give everyone plenty of time for pictures and to enjoy the breathtaking views. In between stops most people would go inside to get warm, but I spent much of the time outside watching the mountains go by and just enjoying the time on the lake. When we first arrived at Moreno Glacier it was raining and dark, but while we waited the weather cleared and we had blue skies for pictures. In the evening we did a little shopping and then for supper we had empanadas which are pretty common in Argentina. They are kind of like pizza pockets and come in many interesting varieties including sweet corn, spinach, onion and tomato basil.
On Sabbath we decided to go exploring by car and ended up driving around on several dirt roads. Along the way we saw lots of sheep, flamingos and other birds and also enjoyed more good lake views. We ended up having our picnic in the
Enjoying the campfire car though since it started to rain a bit. After lunch we headed to the airport to drop off my parents as they were flying to Buenos Aires a day earlier than Brenda and I to connect with their flights home. From the airport Brenda and I headed to some horse stables where we had made arrangements to go on an evening horseback ride. Unfortunately the clouds rolled in and a steady rain started just as we started our ride. It was quite windy and cold but we still enjoyed riding the horses and had a good view of the town on our ride.
Sunday morning we had a little confusion about when exactly our flight was leaving since there was a time change for daylight savings time in Buenos Aires. Apparently the province we were visiting decided not to participate in the time change, so all of the flights ended up leaving an hour earlier than the times printed on the tickets and boarding passes. 
Fall colors in north Georgia Thankfully our bed and breakfast owner warned us about the problem so we returned our rental car and made it to the airport with plenty of time to catch our flight. We then had an 8 hour layover and airport change in Buenos Aires. Upon arrival we first dropped off our luggage at the hotel we had stayed at for our previous layover. We also changed into cooler clothes since the weather was in the 70s instead of the 40s and 50s we had come from in Patagonia. We then took a taxi to the Matadero Fair, which is a large outdoor Sunday market. They had stalls selling handicrafts, flea market type stuff and food from all over Argentina. There were also several stages with various musical performances going on and some groups doing traditional dances in the streets. We really enjoyed seeing an authentic side of Buenos Aires and also purchased a new belt for me and a hammock. For lunch we tried some food like corn bread and for dessert got a strawberry smoothie and a fruit kabob. The kabob consisted of sugar coated fruit chunks with pieces of popcorn stuck to them and the smoothie was very fresh since local strawberries were in season. From the fair we headed downtown and walked around a bit. We saw a memorial flame, several wide avenues, an old subway station and a number of government and historic buildings before picking up our luggage for the taxi ride to 
Thanksgiving in McMinnvillethe international airport.
Our flight back to the US left at nearly midnight and got in to Miami around 6am. From there we flew on to Atlanta and then drove to Chattanooga where Brenda dropped me off at work around 1pm. I got some sleep on the flight, but was still glad to get to bed Monday night after around 30 hours of travel and half a day of work.
Overall we really enjoyed our trip to South America. It was especially fun to spend time with family while also getting to explore some new parts of the world.
We started November off by attending a Sabbath afternoon potluck gathering for former Far Eastern Division missionaries. We had fun visiting with others who have been overseas in Asia and
Christmas dinner in Wenatchee enjoyed a wide variety of tasty Asian foods. We also went camping for a weekend in north Georgia to celebrate Brenda’s birthday. We went at the peak of the fall colors and really enjoyed exploring forest service roads among the brilliant and varied shades of yellow, orange and red leaves. We also hiked to a mountain top fire lookout tower where we had an expansive view of the surrounding area. For Thanksgiving we joined my cousins at my grandparents house in McMinnville, TN. We enjoyed lots of good food, visiting, table games, croquet and ping pong over the long holiday weekend. It was really nice to spend time with family that we will not see for Christmas this year.
In December we enjoyed several Christmas concerts including one organized by Casting Crowns in Birmingham, Alabama. Since my Uncle Steve and Aunt LeAnne live in Birmingham, we spent the weekend with them and attend
Hiking in snowy Wenatcheeed the concert on Saturday night. We also attended several Christmas parties before flying to Washington state on Christmas Eve to spend the holidays with Brenda’s parents. We are thankful for a smooth, on time flight to Seattle since there were many weather related delays in the Northwest this year. We are also thankful for a safe drive over two snowy passes to Wenatchee where we are now enjoying time with Brenda’s family. So far it has been great to just spend time relaxing, visiting and enjoying the snowy weather. This week we plan to see more of Brenda’s family and also hope to get in some snow skiing before flying back to Tennessee in time for work next week.
I hope this holiday season finds you doing well. Keep in touch and have a Happy New Year!
Until next time,
Andrew
As usual there are more pictures online in the gallery.