Thankful to be in California

It didn't take long for us to cross the border. No fruits or veggies to declare. The nice lady at the agricultural check asked very politely and I have to admit I was really happy to be able to shake my fist at the cars with Oregon plates and yell, "Go home!" Of course, I would never do that. (Yeah, right!)

We stopped at the Welcome Center to figure out a good way to Healdsburg. (We will actually stay in Windsor, a little closer to SF.) The thinking is that we will have a crazy drive to get over to the left coast at some point. Where to take that on is the question.

The advice we got was to take a right at Williams and head west on the 20. The burn areas from the recent fires would be both to our left and our right on this drive. So, just before we embarked on the great adventure, we said hello to Mount Shasta, which had come out to play. The last time we came through here the weather was a little sketchy and alternately foggy and rainy.

It is at this point that I have to report that one of the displays at the California Welcome Center was all about the state of Jefferson (the "51st state") and the cast of characters that lead the resistance to the U.S. Government. It is only a little unsettling. But weirdly a sign that we are very close to home (I am thinking of Orange County here).

We stopped for lunch in Redding. Meatball sandwich should fortify our big adventure off the big freeway. After a phone call to Michael, we hit the rowdy road.

Trucker games and some real craziness by a would-be trucker in a pick'em up truck give way to some truly beautiful and some really awful countryside. The fires have affected a huge area of this part of the world. Obvious pain and suffering has given way to an odd kind of beauty, born of suffering and grief. Blackened trees are spotted with green growth and fall colors. So weird. Large swathes of land with no vegetation at all.

But suddenly we are climbing into the hills and the serious driving begins. I am so happy for my little Prius C. I can imagine trying to drive this in a bigger car and fighting the narrow lanes and the crazies headed in both directions who travel the road all the time and who are bold and aggressive in their attack of the road.

At one point we have to stop for a long time at a red light in order to wait our turn to drive single file across a bridge in process of being rebuilt. The GPS tells me we must make a U-turn but I ignore it and we are caused to drive even longer, but we finally make it to the 101! Thanks be to God.

So here we are in the land of the wealthy and the privileged at a Holiday Inn Express that should cost about 100 bucks, but instead costs $250 because that's what they can get, because we are in the middle of the Sonoma wine country. Amazing.

We opt for the expensive room and we visit the supermarket to cook our dinner in the room instead of going out. Tomorrow is our last night on the road and we will treat ourselves at the end of this long trip and celebrate our accomplishment on the eve of our last day of travel on this sabbatical trip.

I am very thankful to be in this comfortable room with my daughter and friend. It has been quite a trip. We are beginning to sense the end of this journey, recognizing the signs that we are approaching very familiar territory. Hooray for California. Hooray for home.

Tonight's prayers are for friends and family we have missed; thanksgiving for safety and comfort and sustinence and the bond of mother and daughter; and also in thanksgiving for the gracious gift of a faithful and caring congregation. All I can say is, "Wow!"

Tomorrow: Highway 1, Monterey, and Big Sur.

 

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