California - Week One, Conclusion

This has been the longest week of my life. :-(   It was full of 'nothingness'...some of it good. Well, mostly good. Rest is good. Recovery is good. Discovery is good!  So 'nothingness' is an exaggeration.  Forgive me.

I wonder how I will fit into the movement of California life to serve, to bless? I am not my happiest just receiving...although, I realize there is a time and purpose for everything "under the sun"...there is no reason to complain. I hope it doesn't sound like I am. This is just a 180 degree turn from where I was a mere four weeks ago. 

I am waiting to see where God wants me and what I am to do here. If it is PURELY for reflection, recreation, reconnection then I need to embrace that. And I have a impression, that this time, this is REALLY WHAT it is all about. OPEN. RECEIVE. I often have to remind myself. :-))  God's gift of fun. 

My first weekend here was spent driving with Kurt south on Hwy 1 along the pacific coast.  We ventured through small towns, stopping in Pescadero for french bread, salami, and cheese.  Blackberries, strawberries and cherries at a local farmer's stand completed our fare for the day. 

We stopped in Santa Cruz for a walk on Sea Bright beach with views of the board walk in the distance.  We saw a light house, sand crabs, crashing waves, seagulls, and there swimming out not far from where we stood, seals and porpoises as they seemed content in their race against one another.  Our feet received a proper exfoliation from the hot sand as we walked to and from our parked car.

We concluded our drive in Carmel where again we walked to the beach.  This time the sand was whiter, the sky bluer, and the ocean more forceful.  Pebble Beach was also in distant view.  (I had no idea it was one of THE most famous golf courses in the USA!)  We surprised ourselves by 'attending' an open house in a residential area that caught our eye.  I can say this $5 million dollar home a stone's throw from the beach had nothing on our lovely home back in the Black Forest.

If you are in Carmel, one HAS TO go to The Hog's Breath Inn, where the owner is Clint Eastwood.  So sorry, Mr. Eastwood.  But service was extremely poor, and those hanging petunias are in desperate need of some water.  At least we can say we have now been there!  And Carmel is indeed a heavenly place - just not so much The Hog's Breath Inn.

Turning around and heading back at 5:30 pm awarded us the delightful treat of a clear bright sunset over the now still ocean expanse.  The hot coal of color dissolved on the horizon in minutes.  The afterglow lasting about an hour longer before darkness enveloped us.  Singing 70's hits, one after the other, kept us occupied until we rolled back into the hotel parking lot in San Rafael at 9:00 pm.

I would say yoga classes, expansive daily breakfasts, two drives to Sonoma, two movies, coastal drive and church on Sunday morning complete a very relaxing FUN first week.