• Friday — After waking up in Baltimore, we drove the last stretch of our Journey past Philadelphia and into Princeton, we picked up our keys, signed our lease, and found ourselves in an empty apartment waiting for our stuff to arrive.
• Saturday — We slept in, then Grady and I went to the “Dinky” trains station (that’s really what they call it) to pick up my sister, and Grady’s Aunt Emily.  Em treated us to lunch at Chili’s (yes, they have those here), then we went back to our empty apartment, and took turns cleaning and playing with kids.  For awhile, Emily and I sat on the front steps watching Grady play soccer in the front yard with Matthew, a little boy who lives above us.  When we realized how late it was, we rushed Emily back to the train station, explored Princeton a little more, and then called it a night.
• Sunday — We woke up early in the morning to go to church New York City!  Our first trip on the train was exciting, and when we arrived in NYC, at first we thought we were lost, but it turned out we weren’t.  A subway trip brought us to Columbia University, where our friends John and Annie Feighery are PhD students.  Our kids played with their kids, we all went to play in a water-fountain-park near their apartment, had an excellent New-Mexico style dinner, and then to Central Park for a free concert by French/Israeli singer, Yael Naim.  By the time we got back to the Feighery’s apartment, kids and adults were exhausted and ready to crash.  Click here for the rest of the pictures (taken by Annie) of our NYC trip.
• Monday — Got up early to say goodbye to the Feighery’s and catch a train back to Princeton.  When we got back, I made a trip to the seminary campus, where I filled out paperwork for financial aid, and then bought my first two textbooks for my Summer Greek course. Cost about $50 for both, which actually is not that bad.  Yet.  That night, newfound friends Andrew and Kristina invited us to a cookout with a few other seminary families. Afterwards, Andrew took me on a quick tour of Princeton and a stop at Triumph brewery for some growlers (1 growler = approx 4 pints), which we enjoyed later that evening with a few friends and some deep theological discussion.  Well, maybe more interesting than deep.
• Tuesday — Our stuff was supposed to arrive Monday, but somehow got stuck in Pennsylvania, so we spent most of Tuesday waiting for it.  We did make a quick trip to Babies R’ Us to cash in on a present from Amy’s parents: A new play-saucer for Abby (which came in really handy the next day while we were all unloading furniture).  Finally our stuff arrived, and we did a little unloading before it got dark. Some friends we had met the previous night, Nate and Janel, were kind enough to invite us over for dinner.
• Wednesday — John & Aidan caught a train down from NYC to help us unload, and two sets of neighbors from our building (Chris & Sarah, and Casey & Rachel) also pitched in — making the unloading of the truck complete in an amazing two hours.  Following my mother’s advice, I made sure I had beer for the movers — I would have provided them with some good Texas Shiner Bock, but it seems nowhere to be found here in New Jersey, so I opted for Stella Artois instead (hey, it’s Belgian). Afterwards, the Locke’s took the Feighery’s (2/5ths of them, anyhow) to lunch at the local WaWa.  The What???  Actually it’s a chain of convenience stores.  I know, not too fancy, but apparently they’re well known for their hoagie sandwiches, and we were feeling experimental.  In true New Jersey fashion, you go in, punch your order on a computer screen, and never have to talk to a single person! Later, John and Aidan caught the train back to NYC, and we began the piling of boxes (of which there is no end).
• Thursday — After a rather whirlwind week, we slept in Thursday morning, and relaxed for most of the day.  Somewhere in the midst of it, Abby spoke what may have been her first word?  We’re really not sure.  She was looking at Grady, and out of the blue started saying “bubba, bubba” (or it might have been bababababa).  The thing is, when we say it to her now, she’ll repeat it.  So it’s reproducible, but we’re not sure if it really has meaning attached to Grady, her brother.  That evening, we made our first family trip to the grocery store, and I discovered Chimay Cheese in the specialty cheeses section!  The trip took longer than we expected, and so we grabbed some Chinese take-home on the way out, and had a late, improvised dinner to finish out the week.

That’s pretty much it.  If you’re still reading, you must either be incredibly interested in our family, related to us, or else in serious need of switching off the monitor. Either way, thanks, and keep checking back for more Locke family adventures in Seminary.  If you don’t want to bother with checking back, just enter your email address in the “subscribe” box to the right, and you can receive email updates on our journey.  If nothing else, it might be slightly more interesting than spam!

(NOTE: for more pictures from our journey to and arrival at Princeton, click here)

We arrived in Princeton today at around 11:00am, found the Seminary Housing Office, and got our keys to our new apartment without much difficulty.  Now, making a left turn anywhere in New Jersey?  That’s difficult.  Our stuff doesn’t arrive until Monday, so mostly we’re camping out in our new apartment, imagining what will go where.  We’ve met several people today, and everyone has been more than friendly, offering help at every turn.  It almost seems too idyllic of a place right now.  Of course, that’s because I don’t start intensive summer Greek for another week or so.

There’s a playground in the middle of the apartment community, so Grady and I made the pilgrimage to test it out, and both of us instantly made friends — kids and fathers, respectively.  I met a guy from Texas named Tyson Taylor — he’s a proud Texan (from Amarillo) who drives a truck and has a son named Cale…and totally reminds me of my friend Trait Thompson (who also has a son named Cale)!  Tyson and another guy I met — Thomas — will both be in my summer Greek class, so perhaps there’s a study group in the making…

Dinner tonight was frozen pizza and salad on the floor.  Tomorrow, my sister Emily will drive up for a visit, and then Sunday the Locke family will hop on a train to NYC to visit the Feighery family for the day, and watch a free concert in the park (we’re excited!).

When we pulled up to the apartment, before we even went in, I looked at this strange new place and told Amy, “In another four or five years, this will be the home and friends that we’ll be reluctantly leaving behind for new adventures.”  I’m not sure she was ready to think that far ahead, but anyhow, here we are.  The adventure begins!

In the evening, we grilled burgers in Jeff and Ami’s back yard–in some amazingly temperate weather–while Grady and Kiran wore themselves silly running around playing (and relieving themselves off the “tee-tee rock”). Jeff and I exchanged our favorite beers and talked about Perl and PHP while the Mommas played with the baby girls, and talked about I know not what. As it grew darker, we chased fireflies around the yard.

Leaving their house this morning, saying goodbye (again) and getting back on the long road to New Jersey, was hard to do. But at the same time, it was nice to know that in the midst of all this life-change, there are life-friends who remain constant. Some we left behind in Texas, some will be waiting for us on the East Coast. But right now we’re especially grateful for those who provided a happy, peaceful oasis along the way.

So after trips to the church, the bank, the post-office, Chic-Filet, Wal-Mart, Barnes & Noble, Sonic, church (again), Petsmart, and finally Carmax (where I paid 1.5K for the privilege of selling my beloved but upside-down Chevy Cobalt), we finally left town at about 5:30pm.

We made it as far as Texarkana, where I write (with my deft thumbs on my cell phone) from a LaQuinta hotel room, the kids sound asleep and Amy not too far behind.

Tomorrow I attempt something no one has ever dared before: removing my passionately Texan wife from her country. It may take my in-laws awhile to forgive me, although I’ve heard that while you can take the girl out of Texas, you can’t take Texas out of the girl.

Nevertheless, we are *finally* on the road. We even got our new address today, so if you want it, drop me a comment, and I’ll email it to you. More adventures still to come…

This Sunday I’ll be preaching my last sermon at Faithbridge Presbyterian church, strapping on my guitar to sing my last songs with the praise team, and saying my goodbyes to all the people who have been part of our lives for the past decade. Then Amy, Grady, Abby and I will climb into our incredibly gas-inefficient minivan, and leave Texas behind us for the distant spires of Princeton, New Jersey, where I’ll be attending seminary for the next three four five years.

Two Saturdays ago, I attended my last Sunset High School graduation — after the class of 2008, all the students I taught there are gone. It was bitersweet, as much has been over the past few weeks. Amy and the kids are in El Paso visiting her family, while I finish attempt to finish up some last things here. They’ll be back Saturday.

Sometime over the next month or two, I’ll also be saying goodbye to this blog, “Mr. Locke’s Classroom” at www.mrlocke.net. Well, sort of. Actually I’ll be migrating it to a new domain name, and all the old blog posts and pages will still be around. I will still always be a teacher — in fact, I just renewed my Texas teaching certificate for another six years — and I will certainly be a student in the years to come…but the whole “Mr. Locke” thing doesn’t make nearly as much sense as it did when I was in the classroom, and I think it would be fitting to retire it along with so many other parts of my life that I’ll be leaving behind in Texas.

In the meantime, I still hope to write a few things about our trip to New Jersey, our new apartment, and my adventures this summer studying Ancient Greek. Maybe post some long overdue pictures of Abby and Grady, too.

If you’re in town this Sunday, you’re more than welcome to come to Faithbridge and hear me preach (I still have no idea what the sermon will be, but I’m sure it will hit the wiki before it hits the congregation), join our family and our church for a farewell luncheon, and see us off into the blue yonder. Unless, of course, you’re Ginger and Rich, who just had a baby (Congratulations, and welcome to the world Jack!). But especially if you’ve shared some memories with us over the past decade in North Texas, come share a few more, one more time. If you’re lucky (or unlucky, depending on your taste in music) I might even have copies of my folk album ready to give away.

It’s been a good weekend, and it’s winding down, now. We saw old friends and made some new ones. Grady got to go to chapel (his favorite — he’ll make a good PK). I thought visiting Columbia Theological Seminary (in Decatur, GA) would make the decision easier. I think I came with my mind pretty much made up (in favor of Princeton), and now it is less so.

Of the three seminaries we decided to visit (and apply to), this is the last. Incidentally, if you want to see how family friendly a school is, bring your wife and two-year-old son along for their “preview weekend.” You’ll probably be the only ones with a child there, but you’ll learn quickly who’s for real, and who just talks about “community.”

Anyhow, when we visited Austin seminary, it didn’t seem right. It’s a good school, and so many pastors I know speak highly of it, but it just wasn’t what we were looking for in a seminary.

Which leaves Princeton Theological Seminary (to which I’ve been accepted) and Columbia (for which I’ll be staying up late tonight and completing my application). We like both, and for different reasons. Many things seem about equal between the two, but there are three critical areas that are shaping up to be deciding factors:

The first two kind of cancel each other out (or at least I don’t see much likelihood of either school shifting in the opposite direction), so it’s looking like things may eventually hinge on the dual degree program. If I’m accepted into it, Princeton gains a definite edge. If not, we’re back to square one and all things being more or less equal between the two. I won’t know until March, so…that means more waiting.

So far, this has been the best road trip with Grady ever. He spent most of the drive today reading books, listening to music with us, and playing with a few toys (my favorite is his leap-pad junior). We also have his “Video Now” player (plays Blues Clues, Clifford, & Bob the Builder) that his grandparents bought for him, but in accordance with our philosophy on limited TV/video, he can only watch it after dark, which today accounted for about one hour out of our seven-hour drive.

I’m amazed at how long he’ll sit still reading these days. I hope it carries over into adolescence. I was a total book-worm (no surprise there) so perhaps it’s in his genes. Around the time Grady was born, I made a promise to read to him every single night, until he was able to read by himself–and even then to continue reading together as long as he would be willing. With a few exceptions (when I’m away on lock-ins & youth retreats), I’ve managed to keep that promise, and even on those few occasions when I haven’t, Amy has covered for me.

As I watch him sleeping peacefully in our hotel room tonight, it’s a promise I don’t regret. Tonight we read “Danny Dozer Hits a Home Run” and “Arthur’s Birthday.” Not exactly the high literature we started out with when he was born, but he picks them out more than I do these days. And someday soon we’ll get back to Tolkien and Beowulf.