And then…of course….we got behind on the blog. So all we can give you now is a quick overview…and 454, 235 pictures. (Just kidding…not that many pictures.)
We were so happy to see the D’s again. Tera and I haven’t seen most of them since they were all here in Oklahoma….6 years ago. They are just as they were…only more grown-up. Still the lovable, adorable, friendly, wonderful, sweet, hospitable, REAL people that we remember. But some of them are SO much taller!
They showed us where we would be staying in their wonderful, comfortable guest room and we all started talking…yes, all at the same time…just as we remembered.
We had a great time with them, going to a special Chinese restaurant, visiting T- in her adorable little home with her adorable little children, going to San Onofre Beach and watching the sunset, eating hot dogs Will roasted for us over the fire they built, watching them surf till dark. The rocks on the beach make a beautiful sound when the waves roll in and out again. It was all lovely.
And in between those lovely times, we visited our cousin D- and had a delicious dinner while our hearts were encouraged by the faith and love she shared. The next day we visited our cousin Alex and Aunt Kim in downtown LA. So fun to see them, and the apartment they are fixing into something really cool. And lunch in Little Tokyo was fun!
LA is big…..like…HUGE!!! We couldn’t get used to how big it is, really. Just because something is on the other side of town doesn’t compute to be HOURS away in our Oklahoma mindset. But in LA…it is. Lesson learned. Be careful planning next time and it will feel like you have more time. Tera did an incredible job as navigator, and God answered our prays and kept a bubble around our truck the entire time. It was good.
We were sad to leave everyone…and realized that there is a lot we’d like to see in that area someday. So hopefully…we’ll be back.
Driving out of the complexity that is LA and into the vastness of the desert was an awesome contrast. Such openness…such simpleness…for so long! Lesson of the desert….fill up your gas tank before you head through…cause that gas station out there in the middle of nowhere is out to GET YOU! $$$$
When we planned our day, we had forgotten that even though we didn’t go through a time change…it was definitely darker earlier by the time we arrived at the Grand Canyon. After debating and discussing…we decided to stay the night there and see the Canyon the next day. Good decision!!! Read more about those adventures here: Overwhelmed
That morning…waking up to a snowy wonderland and seeing the awesomeness of the Grand Canyon…which no photo or film could ever do justice…driving through the desert and into Flagstaff…those mountains in the swirling clouds…it was all so beautiful. So perfect.
We didn’t make it all the way to Albuquerque that night, which ended up saving us two hours of sitting in traffic, but the next day’s drive was uneventful…aside from being pushed off the road by a semi that was determined to change lanes no matter what. We listened to a mystery story from Libre Vox, and the time went pretty quickly…but we were SO happy to be pulling into our driveway…and home.
Home.
Sisters Four 