Reflections on the Journey

After accomplishing such an amazing feat as traversing across this great country all the way to the Pacific ocean and back, one might say I've experienced a bit of a let down. I remember feeling this way, only to a much greater extreme, when I finished my bicycle trip across the country, way back when I was younger and stronger and well, immortal...or so I thought. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

First I need to put the finishing touches on the last leg of the trip. We drove from Denver, CO to Kansas City, KS on Saturday, July 24 arriving at my brother and sister-in-law's house around 7:30pm. It was a long, long day of very monotonous scenery which made the drive seem to go on forever. But, we had a wonderful meal and good conversation with Jim, Christy, and Jenna (my nephew, Jimmy was on a mission's trip with his youth group). We stayed 2 days with them, ate great food, enjoyed their new house, and left for home on Monday, July 26th at 6:45 a.m. Kansas City time.

The day would be the longest yet as far as miles, but it proved to be rather uneventful for the most part. Up until we were just 4 hours from home that is, and heading into Indianapolis, IN. Oh Indy, I now loathe you entirely. Just as we were coming in on I-70 east and just before the Ronald Reagan Parkway, BAM, one of the tires on the camper blew out. Interestingly enough just minutes before, I actually had noticed something different about how the camper was handling. But it was one of those subtle differences where I just wondered if maybe I was imagining things. I should also note that I felt the same thing right before the truck tire blew. The "feel" was off. I guess when you travel 6400 miles over all kinds of terrain in an SUV named Capt'n Jack, you begin to feel at one with said vehicle.

Anywho, I managed to pull off the 3 lane highway full of drivers who seemed to think they were actually in the Indy 500. I called AAA and we waited an hour for help to arrive. In the meantime, we tried to stay out of the truck since Jodie, our newly permitted driver, said that when you have car trouble on a busy highway, you should not stay in the car. I pulled out some beach towels and the kids sat in the grass while I stood and kept watch for our rescuer. While standing in the 85 degree heat, I felt something crawling up my leg and found a tiny tick looking for just the right spot to burrow it's ugly head. The kids decided to take their chances and got back in the truck.

Finally help arrived and within 15 minutes we were back on the road. I have since come to the conclusion that I need to practice changing my own tire because I could have accomplished the task and been back on the road much faster than it took to wait on AAA. Now we were without a spare for the camper and since the remaining tire had also traveled the 6400 miles thus far, I felt it best to buy a spare. So all in all, the ordeal detained us about 2 hours. Ugh. 2 hours makes a lot of difference when you're on the home stretch. But as usual, the punks were in good spirits and not a discouraging word was heard.

Once back on the road all went well. But, I must admit that I was preparing for the worst. For some reason, I couldn't help but think that the other tire was going to blow or something awful would happen such as the engine blowing up or some other ridiculous disaster, and a twinge of fear began to eat away at my insides. Why is it that we, or maybe it's just me, even after having experienced several amazing miracles and acts of grace from such a loving God, somehow allow doubt to creep in to the depths of our soul? The miles seemed to tick away ever so slowly as I waged a battle of "what ifs" in my mind.

As we drove up I-69 north and entered Michigan we all began to cheer. Now we were only an hour away from home. But that nagging doubt continued. I just wanted to get home, but now it was getting late and the sun was beginning to set. What if the other tire blows and we're stuck on the side of the road in the dark? God has taken care of us this far, He will continue to take care of us all the way home, I continued to tell myself. To the west an amazing sunset was beginning to take place. As we drove, the sun began to streak vibrant shades of pinks and purples through the clouds. I believe it was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen, and I've seen some pretty outstanding sunsets over Lake Michigan. But this was electrifying as the streaks of light shone through the clouds more magnificently than anything I have ever seen. "Look you guys", I said, "God is welcoming us home with this beautiful sunset. He's throwing us a welcome home party!"

Even as I said that I still had this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach reminding me that most accidents happen within just a few miles of home and it's getting dark, and that other tire's got to be getting worn out and what if...... Finally, as if God was talking right to me, these words popped into my head, "What do you want me to do, stand on my head?" I laughed to myself....or really at myself. What a dork. God had provided and cared for us for over 6400 miles and His majesty and power were being poured over us in this beautiful sunset and yet I was still allowing doubt to pervade my thoughts. "Ok, knock it off", I thought to myself. "With all you've been through, when has God ever forsaken you?" I'm a slow learner I guess.

Once we turned on to M-60 the kids really began to come alive, each reminding the other of different landmarks and how many miles that particular one was from home. Then, like I wrote in the previous post, as we came into town I began to call out greetings to all of the buildings. "Hello Frosty Boy!", "Hello Spring Arbor University!", "Hello McDonalds!", "Hello Spring Arbor Free Methodist Church!". What a great feeling it was to pull into our very own driveway and know that this night we would be walking into our own house, brushing our teeth in our own sinks, showering in our own shower, and sleeping in our own beds. Home....there really is no place like it.

We're Home!!!

Oh my nerves, it's good to be home! There's so much to write about, like another blowout for crying out loud, but that'll have to wait. It's late, 12:01 a.m. to be exact, and I need to lay this body down in my own comfy bed. But first I just have to tell you how good it felt to pull into good 'ol Spring Arbor.

Remember Jimmy Stuart in "It's Wonderful Life" when his life is restored and he runs through Bedford Falls yelling "hello" to all the buildings? I did the same thing as we rolled into town. "Hello Frosty Boy!", "Hello Spring Arbor University!", "Hello bank", "Hello McDonald's" (that one made my kids groan), "Hello Spring Arbor Free Methodist Church!" Oh how I missed my little town. And oh how I missed my family and friends. So it was such a wonderful feeling when we pulled into our humble little circle driveway and were greeted by my folks, and Joann and Brooklyn (and they brought Natty - yea!), and my friends Janette, Mary, and Micki. Mom and Dad stocked us up with milk and bread, Micki and Janette had put up welcome home signs made by their awesome kids and brought fruit and veggies from their garden along with warm homemade cookies, and Mary brought baked oatmeal fresh from the oven. Now I can relax and not worry about breakfast for the punks!

Coming home to an empty house after such a grand trip would have been such a downer, so having family and friends there to hug and share in our accomplishment made it so perfect. We are truly blessed!

There's so much more to tell and I will fill you in on the last few days of the trip later, but for now I am going to get reacquainted with my bed.

The Mile High City

Here's a picture of what the terrain looked like after we got past LA and the rest of the day yesterday. It's God-forsaken country if you ask me. Makes sense that Las Vegas thrives in it.

Below are pictures of the tire that blew. Wish I'd have thought to take the picture while it was still on the truck 'cuz it looked really pathetic, but I had other things on my mind at the time.

See how it has 3 spots where it split open?

No we're in Denver. What a day again. No problems though, just wanted to make that perfectly clear right off the bat.

We left the Comfort Inn in Richfield, UT at 8:00a.m. and drove to American Tire. Remember that the gal at the hotel front desk told me to go there because her husband worked there? Ok, so we met Dale and he was expecting us. He and Gary got us all fixed up for a good price. I told Dale about the blowout incident and he said, "Sounds like the Lord was watching over you." I then told him about some of our other God interventions on the trip and agreed that God has certainly been with us every mile. We had a nice talk.

The next 100 miles was beautiful Utah red canyons, but there was nothing, absolutely nothing, within that 100 miles. You know you're in some pretty barren country when you never even see a bird, or squirrel, or even roadkill for that matter. I am so thankful that the blowout happened between Beaver and Richfield because if we had gone past Richfield, we would have been in some very desolate country and if even if we got through to AAA, the wait for a truck would have been really long. Anyhoo, God knew.

Here's an interesting tidbit. After driving over 100 miles, we got to a town and stopped for gas, along with everybody else traveling that stretch of I-70. As I walked out of the gas station I ran into a young man and young woman who were sweaty, dirty, dressed in bike shorts and had just leaned their loaded bicycles against the building. "Where you guys coming from?", I had to ask since I once road my bike across the country. (I've talked to several bikers on this trip...can't help myself.) "Delaware", the guy said. "Are you riding to California?" "Yea". "No kidding?! When I was your age I road from California to Delaware." "No way", they both said. "Yep, you guys are going the wrong way though, you'll be riding into the wind the whole way." They sighed and agreed that they'd had some pretty tough winds, especially the last couple of days. We went on to talk a few more minutes and then I said, "Be careful and have a great trip."

After I got in the car I thought, "Where in the world are those two headed from here? There is nothing along here for the next 100 miles and it's hot." So I went back in to the gas station and found them. I asked them if they were riding west on I-70 and they said they were. "There is nothing for the next 100 miles", I told them. He explained his plan. I asked how much water they had and again warned them that they would be traveling with no gas stations for 100 miles. Personally, I think they were making a big mistake traveling that way because they'd be out there for 2 days even if they road fast, which they can't with that headwind, the mountains, and with their bikes loaded. Fortunately the road is widely traveled so I'm sure they could get help, but I've been praying for them all day.

The drive was beautiful today. It was nice to see some trees for a change. After we drove awhile in Colorado, we began to see signs of civilization. Stuff like houses, barns, fences, stores, and gas stations. Amazing! We traveled many miles along a river all through the rockies and saw many rafting outfitters taking people down the river. Capt'n Jack was rock steady through all the curves, canyons, and climbs. We drove through Vail and Breckinridge and saw some amazing ski slopes. The punks are traveling well with very little arguing and no complaining. They're real troopers.

Once in Denver we stopped at Casa Bonita for dinner where we watched cliff diving. It was fun. Unfortunately I didn't think to take my camera in, so no pictures...sorry. It was all pretty cool though. After dinner we drove to the east side of Denver where we are now snuggled in to a Comfort Inn once again, and I am feeling quite comfortable.

Tomorrow we'll drive to Kansas City to see Jim and Christy. We haven't seen them since Christmas so it will be great to be with them, plus we haven't see their new house which isn't really new, but we've never been there so it's new to us. We'll spend a couple of nights there and head back to SA on Monday and the plan is to drive straight through. Joann will be bringing Natty back home that day and we are so excited to see her we can hardly stand it. In fact, Joann emailed me a video of Natty in their backyard and I got all choked up. Sappy I know, but I love that dog.

Love to all!

Major Blowout

What a day! We left Santa Barbara at 5:00 in the morning so we could beat the LA traffic and the Mojave Desert afternoon heat. We made great time, driving 80-85 mph for the first 3 hours. We had one stretch of desert where they were doing construction and it was down to one lane and we crept at turtle speed for about 1/2 hour and it was 101 degrees. The kids were great even though we turned off the air to spare Capt'n Jack any undo stress.

We arrived in Leeds, UT around 2:00pm where we picked up the camper from the Cole's home, (thank you again, Brian and Tammy!) we even remembered how to hook it up...oh, and the lights still worked great! Once the camper was connected, it was back to 65-70 mph which felt like crawling after 80-85 all morning (I even hit 90 a few times...don't tell my dad. Wait, what am I saying, I learned that from him.) We were still making pretty good time until we turned onto I-70 and began to head east. Just as we were about to head over a mountain range, we ran into some construction which moved us into one lane and then onto the right shoulder of the road. I hate it when they do that because there's so much crap on the shoulder and I always wonder what I might run over. Well, sure enough, something must have been there because as soon as we hit the rumble bump thingies there was a loud "boom, boom, boom" and I knew the tire had blown. But I was now on a small bridge and needed to get beyond it or we'd be stopping traffic. This worried me because I didn't want to dent the rim.

I crossed over the bridge and pulled over into the left lane which was blocked with cones. As soon as I pulled over, a really nice gentleman named Shawn and his wife pulled along side and asked if we were ok. I said, "I'm not sure". He said, "You blew a tire", and I asked if it was the truck? Yep. I quickly looked at my phone and didn't have service. He did, so he pulled over and let me borrow his. It took about 15 minutes before AAA had a free line and I was able to request roadside assistance. Another 10 minutes passed while I gave them my location and they contacted a service. I told them I was a mom alone with 3 kids and they made me top priority. Then the nice couple, Shawn and his wife Lou left. I was secretly wishing they'd offer to stay until the truck came because we were in the middle of nowhere and having no phone service made me a bit nervous. Then the AAA truck service called my phone (not sure how they could call me when I couldn't call out), but he told me he knew right where I was and he'd be there in 20 minutes. And then he told me that on that stretch of highway a guy in a white pickup truck pretends to be with AAA, but he's not with AAA and not to talk to him. Ok, so this freaked me out a bit. I said, "Is this guy crazy?" He said, "Kind of." "You mean crazy like he's gonna hurt us or crazy like he's just a con artist?", I asked. "No, he's just dishonest. Just don't believe him." Ugh. So I got off the phone and since the kids heard all that conversation, I prayed with them. But they weren't phased by any of it anyway, they just thought it was all a great adventure.

A very long 20 minutes went by and Rick, the AAA service guy came along. He and his teenage assistant had the tire changed and ready to go in 10 minutes. He asked where we were staying and I decided then and there that we should stay in Richfield, UT, 30 miles on up the highway which was also the first town on up the highway. He suggested a place to get a tire, I thanked him and off we went.

The first exit had a Comfort Inn and since I was feelin' like I needed some of that, we pulled in. I stepped in and asked the clerk if she had a room which she did. I told her we just had a tire blowout and asked where the tire store was that the AAA guy suggested. She said it was just up the road, but that her husband worked at a brand new one called American Tire. "They're having their grand opening", she said "and you'll get a much better price if you go there and ask for my husband, Dave." Bingo. God is good.

So now we're in our hotel room, our tummy's are full with pizza, we're showered, and getting ready to watch The Mentalist. Once again, God has been good to us; protecting, blessing, providing, and showering us with love. We are blessed. More than anything else about this trip, I pray that the kids will grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Jesus.

And I must add that I am fully aware that the prayers of you, the saints, have been heard by our loving Father and have been answered in more ways than we will ever know. God bless you, our dear family and friends!

Denver and Casa Bonita are the destination for tomorrow. But for now, I'm just going to chill.

Homeward Bound

Well friends, it's about time to wrap up this grand adventure. I'll be waking the kids early - like around 5:00a.m., to beat the heat as we head back through the Mojave Desert and on to St. George, UT where we will pick up the camper. What a blessing it was to be able to store it safely at the Cole's house! I can't imagine pulling that through Los Angeles!

We have had such a super time with Pam, Gayle and the kids. It will be hard to say "goodbye" for sure. Pam and I had some great chats on their patio in the mornings as I had coffee and she had tea. Then we had lots of time to sit and talk as the kids played in the ocean everyday. While here we had a chance to visit their church, see the kids' schools, visit Gayle's office, tour the campus, and visit Anna while she worked in Westmont's bookstore. I love to have visuals of where our friends live, work, and play so I can "see" them in their own environments when I think of them.

From here we will do our best to high-tail it to my brother's place in Kansas City and should arrive there probably sometime Saturday, so lots of miles will be covered. We covet your prayers as we journey home and know that God will continue to watch over us, guide us, and protect us. We are anxious to see all of our family and friends back home, as well as our dear friend Natty, the best dog in the world.

Love to all!

Santa Barbara 2

This is day 5 at the Beebe's in Santa Barbara and we haven't missed a day at the beach yet. This afternoon the waves were huge and the kids were lovin' it!

Lizzy keeping her head above water.

Chase about to get pummeled.

Jayme after getting rolled around and beached by a big wave.

Jodie ridin' a wave.

Chase getting pummeled again. He's a glutton for punishment.

Oh man, look at that wave!

Lizzy knows how to handle these big waves...she just dives right in.

Pummeled.

We've been to Yogurt Land twice now. It's the coolest place. They have about a dozen flavors and you serve yourself. You choose as many flavors as you want, then put on your own toppings - everything from fruit to cookie crumbs to candy bits, then put it on a scale and pay by the weight. Ingenious!

One of my favorite parts of the backyard is this lemon tree. It was one of the only trees that managed to survive the big fire last summer. We've plucked some everyday. Jayme and I like to eat wedges of them, plus we put them in our water and iced tea. They are super juicy. They also have avacado trees, lime trees, orange trees, grapes, peach tree, fig tree, strawberry plants, tomato plants and squash. These have all been planted new since last year after the fire so they are young and don't have any fruit ready yet....bummer. Guess we'll have to come back next year and see how they're doing. :-)

In order to save on energy and parking, the college has asked the Beebe's to use a golf cart when getting from their home to campus. Lizzy and Jodie have had fun picking Anna up from work at the college bookstore and picking Ricky up from basketball camp. I think Spring Arbor should be a golf cart community!

Hangin' at the house.

Lizzy and Jodie made a wonderful lemon meringue pie with fresh lemons from the tree in the backyard. Wow!!

A bit of fun in the kitchen.

We eat almost every meal out on the patio.

Kids are eating breakfast on the patio.

That's it for yesterday and today. Tomorrow we are going to lay low except that Pam and I are going to lunch together and then picking up cupcakes to bring home from a place called "Whodiddly" which should be a real treat. I wonder if the previous 2 weeks of hiking will somehow keep me from gaining weight while I'm here. Not likely I guess. Oh well, livin' for the moment baby!

Santa Barbara with the Beebe's!!

We are having a great time in Santa Barbara with our good friends, the Beebe's!! Pam and I have taken the kids to the beach every day which means lots of fun, sun, waves, and sand up the shorts. The first day at the beach we saw 2 dolphins and 2 seals. That was pretty cool.

Lizzy and Ricky are pros with the boogie boards and body surfing and are the Michigander kids are catching on quite well. The following are just a conglomeration of pictures from the past few days.

That's Ricky and Lizzy is in the wave.

Lizzy's showin' 'em how it's done.

This picture says it all! We are just having a BLAST! It is so nice to be with our friends. We have missed them so much and it just feels so natural to be here with them. They have treated us to some wonderful food, including a lemon meringue pie made by Jodie and Lizzy with freshly picked lemons from a tree in their yard. Everyday we have fresh fruit from the local farmer's market like strawberries, blueberries, melons, watermelon, apricots, and peaches. The kids are getting along great - lots of game-playing, puzzles, and every night we watch a movie, and half of us fall asleep before it's over....just like home for me.

Right now at 10:00 a.m., we're lounging around the fireplace (yes, it's lit - the morning's are cool) and having coffee/tea. Pam and I walked on the beach earlier with our friend Susie Sheard, Lizzy made smoothies with fresh strawberries and bananas, and now we're talking about what we want to do today....which of course will include going to the beach!

Leaving here will be hard...not because of the weather, the ocean, the fresh produce...although those things are nice, but we will miss our dear, dear friends something awful! I have many more pictures to post and will either include them here on this post or a whole new post.

Thanks for praying and reading...we miss you all something awful too!!