Jerry and I had a great time on our California adventure. We put over 2400 miles on my Subaru Tribeca. Only got lost once (in Sacramento), and after I discovered that I hadn't switched my GPS to the correct region and state, we were good to go the rest of the time.
On our first day, we rose at 3:00 am PDT and were on the road by 4:35 am PDT. It was a long, long way to our destination in the LA area. It was after 11:00 pm PDT when we rolled into the hotel parking lot and after 1:30 AM before our heads hit the pillows.
But the next few days were well worth it. A number of writer friends had been invited down to
Bill Myers' home for a time of fellowship. The writers were Bill,
James Scott Bell,
Randy Alcorn,
Frank Peretti,
Angela Hunt,
Terri Blackstock, and
little old me. (A few spouses wandered in and out, too.) For two and a half days we talked writing matters and faith matters. We joked and laughed and worshipped and prayed. And of course, we ate and ate.
On Labor Day, Jerry and I went to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Museum before heading down to Anaheim, where the next day, we joined up with James Scott Bell and his lovely wife for a day at Disneyland and California Adventure. You do know that these parks bring out the kid in all of us, no matter our ages. Right?
We headed north the following day, stopping for the night at the home of my dear writer friend
Francine Rivers. Had a lovely visit with Frani and her husband. Special people
The next day we were in the Redwoods of Northern California. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! We saw some trees that were already a thousand years old when Jesus was born. Boggles the mind. And that night, we reached Oregon and were guests of
Karen Ball (she wears and has worn a number of different hats in this business, so I guess I'll call her a "publishing professional," as well as a dear friend). More great fun, including a crazy game of cards after dinner. Karen's dad whopped us good!!!
The next day, it was another long drive before we pulled into our garage, nine days after leaving it. So good to be home, so good to love on Poppet and Pinky. But the memories linger. So sweet.
Now it's back to some serious writing, writing, and more writing. I've blocked out my schedule for the next year and told my man I'll try to come up for air every so often so he'll know I'm still alive and kicking.
I'll leave you with some photos.
 |
| Frank warming up for worship |
 |
| Randy, Terri, Cindy Bell |
 |
| Angie, Jim, Bill |
 |
| Angie, Robin, Frank, Randy, Terri |
 |
| Writers love Macs! And those weren't the only ones there. |
 |
| Jerry for President? No, see below. |
 |
Jerry for Space Ranger! Yes! LOL!
(my screwed up expression is because I was trying to look down the barrel as I fired) |
 |
| Frani and Robin before we departed for the Redwoods. |
 |
| Right after this photo was taken, we watched as a small car drove through the tree. |
 |
| Saying farewell to Karen after breakfast our last morning of the trip. |
Robin, looks like ya'll had an absolutely amazing time! Wow on the driving to LA! The longest Erik and I've driven was 15 hours and that's rough. Can't imagine how rough ya'lls first leg was :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Poppet and Pinky were extremely happy to have you home. Praying those words flow onto the Mac today. God bless!!
Looks like you had a wonderful time of rest and refreshment for body and soul. We enjoyed our visitors while you were gone, but it's good to have you back at WoP, Robin. And we're thankful for your safe travels, as well. Thanks for sharing the pictures--fun!
ReplyDeleteWelcome back, Robin! Ditto what Miss Judy said about enjoying the visitors but it's good to have you back. Sounds like a wonderful trip!! Thanks for sharing the photos with us, and I'm certain you're giving lots of extra attention to Pinky and Poppet now (okay, when you're NOT writing, LOL). Hugs from Georgia, Patti Jo
ReplyDeletep.s. Okay--think it's time for more coffee (or perhaps a CATnap?!). Meant to also add that seeing those Redwoods must've been AMAZING!! I've never viewed them in person--it's hard to imagine a tree so BIG! ~ Hugs, PJ (heading to my coffee pot)
ReplyDeleteCatherine, I should have noted that the first day included three stops for meals (leaving that early we needed breakfast, lunch, and dinner). That, stops for gas (oh my word! Fuel cost nearly $5 per gallon in some places!), plus getting lost in Sacramento added to total trip time.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Judy. It is always good to be missed.
Patti Jo, while Poppet seemed very glad to see us when we came through the door, I don't think Pinky gave a hoot. Although she has decided to sleep by my feet ever since we got back, so I could be wrong about that. And the redwoods are amazing. I took some photos and videos with my iPhone as we were driving through them, but we temporarily misplaced my camera (and thought we'd lost it until the next morning), so we didn't get as many as I wanted (my iPhone ran out of space).
I visited the Redwoods when I was ten. That was {{cough, cough}} years ago!!
I would have loved to have been a background visitor at that author's gathering! I've heard Terri speak a few times at author's events at a Christian bookstore in a town where we used to live, but I never worked up the courage to meet her afterward. Bill Myer spoke at my son's school a few years ago, and I did enjoy meeting him.
ReplyDelete