*Monday, April 5*
Our plan today was to drive into Yosemite National Forest to spend a few days hiking and sightseeing but, the village got over a foot of snow and the trails got between 17 and 28 inches of snow last night with more scheduled for tonight. I guess that Spring has not quite arrived at Yosemite. :) So, we have regrouped and decided to drive further North. Our target is Redding, CA. It is raining off and on all the way up the West Coast today but, the rest of the week looks like it will clear up. We hope to make as much progress on the road today as possible while the weather is yucky. The kids are enjoying this unexpected "down day."
Everyone is tired and our allergies are acting up. But, the wildflowers are beautiful and the fruit stands are open selling freshly picked asparagus and strawberries. We stopped at a stand and stocked up – delicious. We stopped at a cheese factory and bought some yummy varieties (I taste tested each one just to make sure) along with crackers and a sourdough loaf for snacking later. Oh how I long for a trip to Dairy State Cheese in Rudolph, WI...delicious and inexpensive...only in the "dairy" state!
Everyone is getting weary of driving. We are looking for an excuse to pull over for the night...ahhhh...once again we decide to take a detour to Jelly Belly Factory! Everyone perked up at the idea so, off we turn to get a sugar fix (and another bag of chocolate covered almonds!) and then to find a place to stay tonight.
Our plan today was to drive into Yosemite National Forest to spend a few days hiking and sightseeing but, the village got over a foot of snow and the trails got between 17 and 28 inches of snow last night with more scheduled for tonight. I guess that Spring has not quite arrived at Yosemite. :) So, we have regrouped and decided to drive further North. Our target is Redding, CA. It is raining off and on all the way up the West Coast today but, the rest of the week looks like it will clear up. We hope to make as much progress on the road today as possible while the weather is yucky. The kids are enjoying this unexpected "down day."
Everyone is tired and our allergies are acting up. But, the wildflowers are beautiful and the fruit stands are open selling freshly picked asparagus and strawberries. We stopped at a stand and stocked up – delicious. We stopped at a cheese factory and bought some yummy varieties (I taste tested each one just to make sure) along with crackers and a sourdough loaf for snacking later. Oh how I long for a trip to Dairy State Cheese in Rudolph, WI...delicious and inexpensive...only in the "dairy" state!
Everyone is getting weary of driving. We are looking for an excuse to pull over for the night...ahhhh...once again we decide to take a detour to Jelly Belly Factory! Everyone perked up at the idea so, off we turn to get a sugar fix (and another bag of chocolate covered almonds!) and then to find a place to stay tonight.
We keep seeing billboards advertising an olive processor in Corning, CA called, The Olive Pit. "TOURS!" "SAMPLES!" That sounds right up our alley! So, we’ll make a detour there on our way to Redding, tomorrow. Once we reach Redding our "plan" is to spend a couple of days there seeing the sights. But, the beauty of this trip has been the opportunity to take a detour when desired. So, we’ll see where the wind blows tomorrow. :)
Just as sweet the second time around!
I would smile but, my mouth is stuffed full of jelly beans!**Amazing God - I have to write what just happened to us!**
As we were getting buckled and ready to leave the Jelly Belly factory we noticed a white Toyota Sequoia just like ours with a Thule rocket box on top. Paul said to me, “That could be us without a trailer. We could just haul everything and stay in hotels.” “No thanks,” I replied, "I love having our home travel with us!" And, as we were pointing at them, they were pointing at us.
The wife hopped out of the car and flagged us down. She said that they want to buy a similar sized trailer and wondered if the Toyota would pull it, etc . Her husband was close behind her, along with their young son. As we stood there chatting and laughing about all sorts of things their son said, “We went to church yesterday.” Paul said, “Hey, us too!” And as we visited, we discovered that the church we attended in San Diego, San Carlos United Methodist Church, is only 4 miles from their home! Note: we are now 500 miles North of San Diego!!
We shared with them what a fun service it was, how nice the children’s ministry leader is and how many active young families there seemed to be attending there. She nudged her husband and said quietly, “Maybe that would be a good place for us to check out?”
We don’t know exactly what will come of that meeting for them but, what are the chances of that just happening? We believe NONE! God is amazing. To think that we were led away from our original plans to that very place and time where we would meet someone who lives so close to where we went to Easter services. And to think that we attended there, a 20 minute drive from our RV Park in San Diego, because Paul picked up a local magazine and scanned the ads for an Easter service that would work for our family. Of all the churches, of all the cars, of all the places, of all the snow storms...absolutely incredible, God!
What a living example of His grace. And, what peace that brings us! How much more capable is He of providing for our family, preparing our future and guiding us on His path? Knowing that God can so perfectly orchestrate a meeting between two families traveling in opposite directions bolsters our faith in Him. I believe God to be huge. I believe that He can do what He says he can do – move mountains, heal, restore, forgive, save. YEAH, GOD!!
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