Tuesday, March 30, 2010

SoCal is my home

Well fans, as of 3pm today, I'm officially a Southern California resident. CRAZY!! It's been a fantastic few days of driving and seeing the beautiful coast of California. Mom and I came down in good ol' tenash... and drove Hwy 1 most of the way. One of the most gorgeous drives I've ever been on- and if you ever have the opportunity to take it, I highly recommend it! Yes, it will take you several more hours to get here taking that route, but it's definitely worth it.

Mom and I actually got along pretty well on the drive. There's always exceptions, like yesterday when I was tired, cranky, hadn't showered in 2 days, and was downright ready to quit for the day when the woman wouldn't stop for anything. But - we got through it and laughed much of the way down. Praise God for safe trips and great adventures! I'm blessed to have such a wonderful mother who I'm able to get along with every step of the way.

A few highlights from the trip:

A. Starting off 3 hours behind schedule - I mean, why not??

B. Seeing my dear friend Jackie in San Francisco, whom I haven't seen in over 3 years. She's an absolute doll and truly a blessing to see, even if only for a brief time.

C. My mom driving Hwy 1 on the "roller coaster" ride that is Northern California. That woman is crazy and loves her corners... we had many a laughs. My favorite part of the trip was coming around a corner and nearly decapitating some peacock looking bird... to which both of us yell... "Oh crap!" and start hilariously laughing because we weren't sure what the heck just jumped out in front of us.

D. Me actually surviving going over the LONGEST bridge I've ever been on in my life... driving into San Francisco. I'm from Seattle and I hate bridges... don't ask me why - but Praise the Lord that it was actually a fun venture. A city completely connected by bridges... such incredible handiwork!

E. Monterey. Oh dear, where do we even begin? After hours of driving mom and I finally decided to stop for "breakfast" at 12pm (Our iced coffees from Starbucks were not doing us justice 4 hours later). So we stop into the quaint town and find a Cafe - enjoy a meal, and head down to the Bay. Beautiful town - so much character running through it. And when I say character, I mean random characters walking up to me and hitting on me with my mother standing right next to me. The interlude went something like this:

Me: waiting for the cross walk to open, minding my own business
Random guy: Hey, how you doin'?
Me: thinking to myself "just ignore him"
Random guy: Hey, I'm talking to you!
Me: Oh, hi.
Random guy: You want to hang out tonight?
Me: Nope.
Random guy: Can I have your number? What's your name?
Me: Nope.
Random guy: Can I give you my business card?
Me: Nope, I'm not from around here and I won't be coming back.
Random guy: Really?
Me: Pointing to the "protection from creepy guys" ring on my left hand saying "I'm taken"
Random guy: *silence*

Haha!!!

Really the whole trip has been amazing and such a blessing to be a part of! My roomies here are hilariously sweet and I'm really excited to get started on this new phase of life. I'm in shock, and probably will be for weeks to come... but one thing at a time, one day at a time, and I'll get myself settled.

One thing remains true throughout it all: God is my strength, Jesus my constant companion, and the Holy Spirit my guide.

Here's to the new adventure beginning!

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