A word from Bob....

Hey!...Bob here...Yes I am still alive and kickin'!
This may be a bit lengthy, as I 'catch up' on trip talk from my vantage point.
To be honest, it took me a few days to recover from all the packing, farewells, packing, farewells, packing and packing, as well as the torrential rains that pelted us all the way through the coqu...
So...Let's start with Victoria...It was amazing to spend time with the kids, especially time spent with each alone. They each gave me a deep blessing in their own ways. They are developing, each one, in their own very unique ways...according to the awesome gifts God has embedded in each of them. It was great to just be near them without distractions for a few days...that's been a long time!

Leaving them was very difficult, especially because it was in bits as Thursday quickly passed. As Deb may have mentioned, we had to get her another passport and that delayed us three days!
On Thursday we tried for the 3pm ferry after picking up the $157 passport at noon, but it was full, so we wandered around Victoria waterfront for 4 hours and caught the 7:30 pm which was 40 minutes late...getting us into Port Angeles Washington at 10pm...which made our arrival at our first motel 100 miles away @ 11:50 pm...TIRED!!!

Most people go on holidays and visit a major landmark...we are amazingly blessed to move from landmark to landmark...certainly a unique opportunity to see much of God's creation wonders, and a few man made disasters...

Friday took us through the Washington and Oregon forests and hills to arrive at the home of two very special people of God, Charlie and June. These talented, gifted and outstandingly caring couple took us in and pampered us to pieces! Their wonderful country mansion was a great place to finally relax from our whirlwind exit from Vernon and Canada. Charlie took me through historic Jacksonville where artists like Natalie McMaster come to a very rural setting to play this one of a kind venue...young people were everywhere, with backpacks, pillows and energy, awaiting the concert of the night...a few even jumped on our tailgate for a ride up the hill as we toured about.

Saturday gave us the chance to cruise down into California, through mountain passes (picture a loaded down Versa 4 cylinder with two kayaks on top, engine screaming to maintain speed), down into the San Bernardino valley floor (108F) and out through the marshes and across the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco for supper at Fisherman's Wharf (after missing our turn and going through the entire city on a street with traffic lights every block!!!)


The day ended leisurely driving down the coast road, playing on the ocean beach (fixing the kayak rack that was digging a hole right through my roof!!!!) and watching the sun setting out on the water's horizon...sitting beside the one I love so dearly.



We landing finally in Santa Cruz, a Saturday night hot spot for young and foolish Californians (making almost every motel flash NO VACANCY!

It seems like each day has had a mini crisis, but nothing can dampen our enthusiasm at the beauty God has positioned everywhere we venture!


Sunday was extremely special! After driving away from the Pacific and stopping in Fresno for a very uplifting worship gathering at the North Fresno MB Church, we headed off up into King's Canyon and Sequoia National Parks to hike through the mighty Giant forests. Deb drove us up the winding road to 8000 feet, much of it without guard rails even at the edges with 1000 foot drops!! Our first stop was a path up to the General Grant tree, the second largest in the world! We took some fascinating pictures of these friends of God, and really enjoyed the people around us, as we bonded in our amazement at these special anomalies. We managed to drag ourselves away, only with the promise of an even larger tree at the neighbouring Park. A downward trail led through a shadowed hillside to a true wonder of the world of God's creations, the General Sherman tree.



We had to linger in awe...This was a time of reflection for me as I prayed my thanksgiving to God for the majesty of this forest...and the safety and certainty of His ability to care for us and carry us through this whole season of our lives, giving me a renewed sense of peace.

Little did we realise, that the real adventure of the day lay ahead in the roadway downward to the valley floor. It was literally a two armed workout at the gym as we wove around 10km/hr hairpin turns for more than an hour, much of which was an 8% grade and mostly covered by overhanging branches and vines! Whew...made it back to the highway, where we headed south to Bakersfield and then west for about 40 minutes where we collapsed at a Best Western around 11:30 pm. Should we sleep in??? We'll see...

YUP, didn't leave today until 8:30 (oops 8:42...Deb insisted upon a Starbucks start to the day!!).
Another interesting part of the world indeed! Our first sight of a cactus on a hill led us straight out into the scree ridden, cactus tree laden Mojave Desert, past the secrecy of Edward's Airforce base, with it's THOUSANDS of wind turbines along the entire mountain ridge, like a whole tribe of 'Injuns" (sorry for the politically incorrect title...) looking down on the wagon train in an old western, churning out millions of watt of power (FOR WHAT??? Hmmmmm? Area 51???)

(FOR WHAT??? Hmmmmm? Area 51???)



Four hours of desert scenery led us to a mountain pass of 50 mph side winds, and a stunning vista ahead on the desert floor known as Las Vegas. Moving with us down the mountain hovered a huge cloud of pelting rain, flashes of lightening and wind gusts creating side twisters of dust in it's path. You'll have to Google "South Pointe" to see the spectacle of the Hotel we are experiencing tonight!.Who knows what tomorrow will bring??? All I know is that we are seeking God for a way around hurricane IKE!!!