Final Day: 9,020 Miles Later....

Departing Pismo Beach, and the thousands of Pelicans near our room, and we made it up to Elephant Seal Beach...and they weren't kidding...

There were 2 dozen elephant seals lounging, snorting, covering themselves with sand and arguing with each other for the beach front power position...Kinda like Jim at dinner in the Bencista in Florence :)))
This reminded me of Peggy being soooo excited to see Dan when he arrives this evening...and Dan taking off from fear of being smothered...
Route 1 through Big Sur was a great driver's road...unfortunately I was behind too many "nons", which caused Peggy to pray more than normal...finally we arrived for lunch at the Nepenthe...a family run, 3 generation, cliff side restaurant...
Our lunch included a great burger and an organic caprese...which we enjoyed almost as much as the view...
Peggy, obviously, got the power seats at this cliff side bench...
The sun was doing it's best to burn off the haze and reveal some of the coastal beauty that surrounded us...
We continued through Carmel and the Monterey Peninsula, on passed Sana Cruz, all on Route 1, and we found ourselves to the west of the Santa Cruz mountain fires in Bonny Doon. Some smoke was still visible...
Before we cut away from the coast, I stopped at a Half Moon Bay driving range to hit some golf balls, and then across Hiway 92 to meet Suzy, Peggy's sister, for dinner at the Fish Market in Foster City...
When I first moved to California in 1976, one of my first Hewlett Packard lunches was at a Palo Alto Fish Market. This same poster was in the men's room, and I loved it then, and I love it now...33 years later...
Our objective was achieved...we picked up Dan and he wanted food and sleep...he got both!
Home at last after 22 days on the road...
and having started with the odometer at 33,700...we handled, by God's grace, 9020 miles and 25 different states...with no car issues, many great times with family and friends, amazing meals, wonderful fellowship, deep worship...and a desire to get back on the road again...perhaps next summer!!!
Praise the Lord for answering our prayers for safety, joy and blessed memories with family and friends!!! Gary and Peggy over and out....

Day 22: 63 Degrees!

Our goal was clear...make it to San Francisco Airport by Tuesday night at 9:20 pm to pick up Dan as he returns from his month long adventure in Spain and France. It's Monday morning and so we have a bit of time...as we discussed our plans we asked ourselves, "what do we love to do"? Yep, drive some more. The coastline drive from south of LA to Pismo Beach will be Monday's journey, and then from Pismo through Big Sur, Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay will be Tuesday's. We plan to meet Suzy for dinner near SFO and then, Lord willing, Dan will arrive on time.

We bravely endured the 63 degree, misty overcast and the very cool ocean breeze all morning with the top down. But by the time we reached Santa Monica (only 2 hours on the road) we came across a Diners, Dives and Drive in establishment...Patrick's Roadhouse...uh, yeah, we stopped and had lunch...
The burger was excellent, my green tea smoothie also hit the spot, but unphotoed, the best part of the meal was Peggy's Arnold Palmer. Some amazing flavored tea with some fresh lemonade and many free refills, which also made for a quick gas stop after lunch...
As providence would have it, stopping time was around 5pm and we were right next to the same hotel where Amy Burlingham was married. Checking in, negotiating, showing my AAA and Best Western Rewards Card, and asking nicely for their best "nice person" rate...we installed ourselves about 2 doors down from the exact room Steve and Elva were in for that weekend. Our view of the grassy outcropping where the ceremony was held is directly in front of us...a short wedge shot away. The place is known as Pelican Point...
We went for an ocean walk from the hotel to the Pismo Pier, and along the way spotted this apparent feeding frenzy just off the shore line. What a sight...thousands of Pelicans, and smaller birds flew in, and for 15 minutes went nuts, and then they all flew away. I couldn't quite capture the intensity of the action, but for us it was incredibly awesome...
From our balcony as we finished off a few crosswords and sudokus we enjoyed the sunset...with a Tobin James "Notorious" near by...
It's also hard to describe the sound volume of the seagulls and pelicans that roost on the roof of the hotel, and that wing their way with no fear right in front of your eyes...
For dinner we checked with some locals to discover that the "Cracked Crab" was their favorite spot. Triangulating with 2 other web sources, it turns out that it was also the #1 rated Pismo restaurant on Trip Advisor..so we went after the sun had fully set, around 7:45. A short wait and we were seated and supplied with our implements of destruction. These were needed as we ordered the "Pot for 2".
Okay, so this picture is a bit hard to title...I'll let the photo speak for itself.... :))) Just kidding :)))
They dump the Pot for 2 right on the table in front of you and you get to work. Corn, some potato and spicy sausage are always included, and then you select 3 additional types of shellfish: we picked Dungeness Crab, humongous shrimp and a second type of local fresh crab. They were all very yummy...
We left a few slices of potato...and 1 lemon slice...the rest went either in our bellies...
or in the dump bucket that sat on the floor. Notice the few shots where, um, Peggy missed the bucket..
We highly recommend the Cracked Crab if you find yourselves in Pismo. I'm completing the blog this morning on the patio listening to the pelicans, watching some otters romp and enjoying the cool air as Peggy sleeps. We are very excited to pick Dan up and to finally make it home!!! Vote in the survey and we'll see you soon...Blessings,

Day 21: A Day of Worship!

Dear friends and family....first there is a new survey for you to take. If you need to refer back to some of the meal photos throughout the blog...it won't kill you and you might find stuff you haven't read before...so it's worth it. If you already know the difference between a great Ted's Hot Dog, or a Salted Kaiser Roll with amazing Steamship round roast beef sliced super thin, called a Beef on Weck, from Schwabl's, you can go ahead and vote right away. Have fun!

Second, we have spent the day in Irvine CA with Kevin and Ben and some of their dear friends...great young men and women...and this includes Kate Jordan who joined us for lunch.

Third, there are a number of ways I could review the day...for example...it was an almost perfect food day. Fresh, sweet watermelon with sausage and eggs for breakfast, a sno cone at Grace Fellowship Church at 11am to support a Jr. High Mission effort, a crisp, wood ovened Margherita Pizza while watching Tiger come in second, free popcorn and free movies as Kevin got us in to the theater he previously worked at, finishing off with a green tea smoothie and some Asian appetizers...

It was also an almost perfect friends and family day (not completely perfect because you all weren't with us)...we started with Ben, Kevin, CJ and Kate, then had lunch together, we then spent more time with Ben, Kevin and CJ...we then spent more time with Kevin, CJ, Steamer, Leanna (sp?) and Melanie...and we finished up spending time with Kevin, CJ and Leanna (sp?)

But how I would like to summarize the day is that it was a perfect Worship Day! We went to Grace Fellowship for their morning service and experienced solid music and a glorious message on how the strength of Jesus fills us and perfects our understanding and appreciation of Him in the midst of our weakness. Rather than removing some of the things that seem painful, He leaves them and meets us in them, to show that His grace is sufficient to carry us through. Each one of us prays to have certain stresses and challenges removed from our lives and the lives of those we love...this is good to do. However, God sometimes says no out of love....just as Jesus prayed to have the cup of God's wrath removed from Him, and the Father said no...Jesus experienced the wrath of God and His obedience, even unto death on the cross, resulted in the most glorious blessing for us. So too will the sufferings and challenges we face, that are left in our lives, result in blessing for us and others as we learn to trust and treasure Jesus in the midst of them. He promises to never leave us or forsake us and to be with us always...Finding Him faithful and ever present in our troubles gives us great hope and joy. We were then asked to consider the thorns in our flesh, and specifically those that have remained after praying for their removal....How is Jesus showing Himself to be faithful to us in the midst of those thorns, and how are we learning to love and trust Him more as His grace gives us the power to rejoice in them. Finding Jesus to be your greatest treasure through the ups and downs of life is what I call a great time of worship.

But that wasn't all...In the evening we went to Rock Harbor's Celebration Service and the message was just as powerful. The resurrection of Jesus is so significant in the gospel message. Truly believing that He has been raised from the dead to conquer death and the grave forever for each of us who believes IS the gospel. A number of attendees gave their lives to Jesus this evening and it was truly a time of celebration. Being transformed from those who will taste death and die in their sins, to those who have been set free, their sins forgiven and their entry to Heaven to live forever confirmed and sealed, is an occasion to worship Jesus for His gift of eternal life, gained by His death and resurrection. Jesus Saves!!!

These first 2 photos are from the sanctuary at Grace Fellowship...

Left to right you have Ben, deep in thought, Kevin and CJ, and Kate Jordan...perhaps you can see that I asked them to turn on the golf in the background...
We made a quick stop at Kevin's to pick up a few things and to watch the end of the golf tournament, and I was struck by how tidy and clean the 5 young men keep their apartment...
The next 2 photos are Kevin's Rock Harbor friends. The wonderful 10 cent noodles T shirt guy 3rd from the left is Steamer. In 2 days he is heading to Granada Spain for nearly a year of study. Please pray for him...for his heart...for those that will miss him...and for his impact...he's a great guy!
Stopping at Cha Tea for a late, light dinner Kevin, CJ, Peggy and I enjoyed the crispy chicken...with mango infused black tea...
Chicken noodle soup with passion fruit green tea...
Crispy tofu (that one's mine :)) with a blended green tea with aloe vera...I guess so my tongue wouldn't burn?
and the dumplings with a straight up chai tea...with "pearls" which are sweet potato slimy little black balls of weirdness....healthy weirdness that is.
Tomorrow we start our final trip towards home as we plan to take Highway 1 all the way up the coast...stay somewhere near Moonstone Beach in Cambria and on Tuesday continue the drive up route 1 until we get to San Fran airport by 9:30pm to pick up Dan returning from Europe...Lord willing...so until tomorrow evening's post, vote in the food survey and treasure Jesus in the difficult areas of your life. We love you...

Day 20: Flamin' Hot!

SURVEY RESULTS: Before launching into today's events, let me thank the thousands who responded to our "What do you enjoy most" survey (actually only 7 folks voted). 57% chose humor, while 2 out of 7 selected food photos, and 1 lone soul picked people photos. No one could care less about scenery photos...oh well, travelling across country is really about having a great time eating all kinds of yummies with family and friends...who cares where you are! Right!!!

Now to today...After an "authentic" Mexican dinner in Willcox, Arizona at El Ranchero...and a friendly reminder each 2 hours thereafter, through the night, of how "authentic" the meal was, it was time to get back in the car and head to Tucson. We had precious little time to keep our schedule, but having never visited my cousin Shari and her husband Todd at their own restaurant, Todd's Place, we really wanted to enjoy breakfast with them....this is a lovely breakfast and lunch spot with a perfect view of the airplanes and runways at Ryan's Airfield just south of Tucson...

Todd has been chefing for much of his life and Shari (my cousin...I only have 3 total in the entire world) is the co-owner/marketing guru...
Their daughter, Gailee, (my 1st cousin once removed for those keeping score) recently married Ryan, this amazing young man
who knows how to chill with the cool looking chef pants...
Now to the "Flamin' Hot" part of the trip...you might think the 112 degree temperature in the morning was what motivated the title...but you would be mistaken...
Here is the way to cook hot dogs! Ok, so you've probably guessed that there is only 1 location outside of Buffalo where there exists a Ted's Hot Dog establishment. It happens to be in Tempe, Arizona, where the grandson of Ted retired and opened one up. Any time we are within 1500 miles of the place, we go and get some hot dogs...duh! Well when you ask the "chef" to burn 2 of the regular dogs...they know how to please...Peggy's is done grilling and sits unburnt on the left :( although even hers has some signs of fire love...mine on the other hand are smack in the middle of flamin joy... and did these babies taste great!
Shipped in from Sahlen's in Buffalo, NEW YORK, Stu, when they are fully dressed with extra hot sauce they look
like this! We also always order a large Loganberry soda, an order of onion rings and a chocolate shake. But seriously, look at the crispy perfection peeking out of both ends of the buns. Sure, a little heartburn may result, but no pain no gain...
We continued on along the southernmost part of Arizona, Interstate 8, where you are so close to the Mexican border, you can see the black barbed wire border patrol fence from the road..
With a few border patrol stops to encounter, we easily passed through them when we mentioned that we had just dropped our daughter off at Disney World where she is becoming a Skipper on the Jungle Cruise. This one always works...they smile and say "Cool...now move along". And we did. Arriving in San Diego on Coronado Island (which is really a peninsula) we had the superb privilege of meeting and dining with CJ Lassiter's parents, Dave and Jane. CJ and Kevin are an item, and so the first parent meeting went well...actually they are great people and we hope they don't make CJ kiss Kevin goodbye as a result of our dinner together...but time will tell... :)))
On to Irvine tonight where we will enjoy Grace Fellowship and some time with Ben, Kevin, CJ and Kate Jordan...it's 12:31 and time to catch some zzzzzzzzs.

Day 19: 841 Miles!!!

Our longest driving day of the trip...841 miles in 12 hours. It didn't hurt that in parts of south west Texas we had a great speed limit!

Throughout the morning we were driving...
We were driving through the sun setting as we headed due west...
and we finished driving just after the sun set. We made it through many miles of Texas...from Fort Worth to El Paso, all of New Mexico from Las Cruces to some town (?) and then about 50 miles into Arizona. 2 time zone changes and top down weather most of the ride!
The authentic Mexican Restaurant in Willcox Arizona, El Ranchero, served up some tasty dishes...
Peggy's chimichanga and enchilada combo...
and my shredded beef quesadilla....all very authentic...
Tomorrow we plan to stop at my cousin's restaurant in Tucson, Todd's Place, and then on to Irvine to visit for a bit with Kevin, CJ and Ben and "others"....Hoping your sunset was as beautiful as ours... love and hugs, Gary and Peggy...