Adventure
It started with my daughter -- in this case, her father's daughter. "Let's take a road trip...to the Sequoia's or to the Grand Canyon!" MY idea of a good time isn't sitting in a car for hours. Erica's father, on the other hand, loves 'adventures': an adventure is when he gets in the car and heads out...somewhere. "Road trip?...the Grand Canyon is OUT!" "Why??" "There is a desert between us and the Grand Canyon!" So at the end of a long conversations where Erica extolled the wonders of roadtrips, the need to get away, and the fact that she and her dad and I were all off from Thursday to Sunday...I told her to chat with her dad. Ultimately we settled on Sequoia National Park...come to find out a mere 5 to 6 hours from here. We planned and shopped for essentials for the drive: things like chips and bread and jerky and chocolate. Then the storm threatened and suddenly Sequoias were out...so was the Grand Canyon ~ a snow storm loomed and we did not have chains. Rather than moan about what we could NOT do, we focused on where we COULD go, cuz now the adventure was a PLAN. The idea of an adventure...the wonder of it for Ed and Erica...was that the plan was free and loose: we go and then .... we do ... something. Ultimately we decided on San Francisco. We could get great deals on PRICELINE...if you haven't tried it ~ you SHOULD: we got rooms at a 4 Star hotel in the Financial District of San Fran for $70/night.
Ed got up that morning and took the car for a quick oil change where God intersected his schedule with a line of people who poured out their hearts and the stories of their lives to him. This happens to my husband, ... well, pretty much all the time. He is by life gifting a PASTOR and he pastors everywhere. At first the "hurryhurryhurry" metronome of our time clock for the trip made him feel anxious at the interruptions in his schedule. Soon, when he realized that these were JESUS moments, he relaxed, and listened, and poured out life, and prayed ~ and these "interruptions" become people he loved in Jesus' name.
We loaded up the car: mini-grinder style roast beef sandwiches for lunch while we drove ~ check, luggage with a change of clothes, and coats for the storm we were sure to meet on the road ~ check, chips ~ check, peanut M&M's (milk and dark chocolate) ~ check, beef jerky ~ check, salami, rosemary/garlic bread and baguette ~ check, lots of water ~ check, thermos of hot tea ~ check, and a book to read on the road ~ check!
In no time (actually in about a 2 and 1/2 chapters of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) we had left the long train of city-city-city-city of the L.A. basin and we were surrounded by hills and blue sky. The weather was gorgeous on the drive up: blue blue blue sky filled with puffy, fleecy clouds. We have had quite a rainy winter so the hills were GREEN! Salted across the hills were flowers: orange California poppies, yellow mustard, mixed with wild flowers in purple, and blue. I felt the tension of "must-do" melt away in the sunshine, and saw schedule flutter away in the breeze.
Ed got up that morning and took the car for a quick oil change where God intersected his schedule with a line of people who poured out their hearts and the stories of their lives to him. This happens to my husband, ... well, pretty much all the time. He is by life gifting a PASTOR and he pastors everywhere. At first the "hurryhurryhurry" metronome of our time clock for the trip made him feel anxious at the interruptions in his schedule. Soon, when he realized that these were JESUS moments, he relaxed, and listened, and poured out life, and prayed ~ and these "interruptions" become people he loved in Jesus' name.
We loaded up the car: mini-grinder style roast beef sandwiches for lunch while we drove ~ check, luggage with a change of clothes, and coats for the storm we were sure to meet on the road ~ check, chips ~ check, peanut M&M's (milk and dark chocolate) ~ check, beef jerky ~ check, salami, rosemary/garlic bread and baguette ~ check, lots of water ~ check, thermos of hot tea ~ check, and a book to read on the road ~ check!
In no time (actually in about a 2 and 1/2 chapters of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) we had left the long train of city-city-city-city of the L.A. basin and we were surrounded by hills and blue sky. The weather was gorgeous on the drive up: blue blue blue sky filled with puffy, fleecy clouds. We have had quite a rainy winter so the hills were GREEN! Salted across the hills were flowers: orange California poppies, yellow mustard, mixed with wild flowers in purple, and blue. I felt the tension of "must-do" melt away in the sunshine, and saw schedule flutter away in the breeze.
Yeah for you all. Getting out . . . with each other . . . and having some good ole road trip fun. Some of Ildi's and my best memories are when we traveled. And now, the children often talk about the many van trips we have taken.
ReplyDeleteFood for thought. We would LOVE to have you come and stay with us! Free! No payement at all. Priceline can't beat that. It would take you some time to drive out and back, but if you took a few weeks from work, I am sure you would love it. I have it all planned for you. Stop in OK and visit the Wades, then drive and stay here. As long as you like! Speaking of the Wades . . . they are coming to visit and stay with us for a couple of days early May.