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California – Returning Home

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The Last California Road Excerpt I have written four blogs on my “road” in California if you have been keeping up. This final patch of road in my retirement had a few more twists and turns, but ringing through this entire trip was a theme of peaceful rest. Jesus tells us in Matthew 11 to come to him when needing a reprieve from labors and burdens and he would give us rest; even a deep rest for the soul. That was this trip. Let’s get back on the road and catch that flight out of the Golden State.  Departure Via the Coastal Highway Our time for departure had come at the cove in Northern California, and we rose early packed a few things, and then had breakfast in our room overlooking the morning surf. The tide seemed slightly higher and the “never gets old” big blue Pacific was churning once again below us extending west from the rugged dark gray and brown rocky cliffs and mini-islands of granite and sandstone orphaned from the shore. We settled up, checked out, and left the lovely confin
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California – The Cove

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I have written three California travel blogs: Embarking, Apple Town and In-Laws, and Twists and Turns. They are actually segments of my continuing winding road in retirement with disabilities. Take your sigh of relief now because we are leaving California and returning to the cold flatlands of North Dakota  . . . in two more blogs 😊! Seriously though, take a minute and just be still, realize there is a God, and read on.  We Made It! I continue my California road trip at the intersection of a twisting forest road and the famous coastal Highway 1 of what’s called the Coastal Franciscan Redwood Forest ecosystem. We sat at that intersection white-knuckled from the winding mountainous forest road; literally only a few blocks from what I will call here “the cove.” We made it! This had been my goal throughout my recovery from deep brain surgery; to get to this spot, to be still, know God’s presence, and rest. I was here. When my husband asked me what was one enjoyable or comforting thought t
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California – Twists and Turns

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 A Road to the Boonies In my last blog, we were about ready to leave Apple Town for our northern California coast B&B. It was a Sunday, our third day in the sunshine state and we headed north to eventually swing a left toward the coast and Elk, CA. Chris had this notion that it was a 3.25-hour drive from our San Fran area hotel up to our B&B. It was all of that just to the road of twists and turns. California has mountains that run parallel to its length; with much of the entire length of the state having a range that butts right up to the coast. So go west my friend go west to the Pacific, yes, but before you hit the ocean in many CA locations you must first cross or cut through that last western mountain range. Yes, we had a scenic trouble-free freeway drive north on the 101 until we reached a town called Ukiah where we headed west toward the Pacific on the 253. We were headed into the coastal mountains toward a town called Boonville. That town should have been called “The Bo
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California – Apple Town and In-Laws

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Cupertino Aka Apple Town In our last blog, we detailed how our fears of air travel from Grand Forks to California were assuaged by trust in God and by what seemed to us to be the help of near angel-like people. We left off with our landing in San Francisco. Our first couple of days in California were spent in the Cupertino area where Apple has a corporate office called Apple Park or Apple Campus 2. We both carry iPhones in our pockets and sport Apple watches on our wrists, so it was cool to be in “Apple Town.” This is a beautiful area with few bugs (except in the phones), perpetually sunny skies, an amazing array of bush and flower types, warm temperatures year-round, and swarming Teslas.  Time One reason we were in Cupertino was that it had a solid and reasonable handicapped-accessible hotel close to our son’s in-laws who we promised to visit if we ever were in the area. Well, we were only a few miles from them so we arranged to meet them on a Saturday evening. Let me just say “disabi
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California – Embarking

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The Challenge I am on a road in retirement that began prematurely as medically approved disability leave from my school teaching job about four years ago. The road has had all sorts of adventures discussed in previous blogs. I finally undertook some serious actual pavement travel this summer to the tune of not one but two, two-thousand-mile auto round trips; always with a nagging anxiety in tow related to future air travel; could I do that? When I was healthy, walking, talking, and eating without any aids whatsoever, air travel was invigorating and fun. Now air travel loomed as even more frightening because it was becoming apparent that it was definitely possible. Air travel was now in my vocabulary; a challenge with daunting logistics and untold hazards to navigate compared to car travel. I’ll admit I was afraid.  Soothing Words Fears Assuaged One of the worst things a person can do with fear is keep it inside and not speak to anyone about it. So I spoke to my oldest son. I’m not even
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Refuge in Times of Trouble

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Strength from God Many have asked me how my husband and I maintain our strength, maybe even our sanity through the trouble, through the physical disease, through the complications of brain surgery, and through arguably the hardest time of our 40 years together. Our faith in God and a few Bible truths come to mind. We have finally given up on the notion that God provides a trouble-free existence if we just have faith—not true. It’s crystal clear to us now that God doesn’t always provide protection from trouble nor reward our faith with complete deliverance when in the heat of crushing circumstances. However, through these past 18 months of trial, we have found God’s promise of strength and endurance through any hardship to be true. That supernatural ability to find hope and press on comes through seeking refuge and sanctuary in his presence.  God’s Provision of Refuge God invented the words refuge and sanctuary to describe places where we humans could find his presence and his safety or
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Games - Kitchens & Dining Rooms

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As I stated in my last blog, I am cheerful, delighted, and full of God when I am enjoying the company of someone and playing games. My disabilities may keep me from bantering on or entering boisterously into the conversation, but I am paying attention because I also like winning. I learned to love card playing mostly in kitchens and dining rooms. Kitchens and Dining Rooms Both my husband and I learned a few things about playing cards in our grandma’s kitchens and dining rooms. Those heart-like places set the pace for all home activities. And bear with me because older architectures sometimes melded what we might call today a kitchen and a dining room. Many households of old ate their meals in the kitchen. My husband’s grandma‘s kitchen and my grandma’s dining room were not only places to cook and eat food, but they also served multiple purposes like debate center, courtroom, comedy theater, political platform, town hall, banquet hall, and most importantly, gaming center. Chris’s grandm
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