Unlikely Opportunities

When Alyssa and I set out on this journey that we have called the Road Trip, we wanted to be open to God's guiding whatever that might look like. Never in a million years would I have guessed that planning a funeral would be what we would need to do. But that's where our lives led us. 

When Alyssa's mom first died, we were understandably shocked and grief struck. (Ok, we are in a lot of ways still shocked and grieving, but it was overwhelming at beginning.) In those first hours and days, I also wrestled with anger. Anger that the trip had to re-route. Anger that we had to 'stop' our trip for a time. Anger that we had to return to California. 

As I wrestled this through with God, I came to realize something that entirely changed my view on those two weeks. The trip was not stopping; it simply was taking us to a different place. Our hearts to serve were not being ignored, but rather refined. 

So. We embraced the planning of the funeral as a way we could serve. Not in the way we would have wanted, but in an unexpected and raw way that changed us forever. We were able to help her dad and brother with planning as well as to serve our God by creating a service that glorified Him and honored Anita's memory. In the midst of it all, our hearts began to understand more how to have empathy for those who are suffering heart break. We were being refined to be more Christ-like, even as we figured out a slideshow and flowers for a memorial service.  

During this time we also were served by many people around who showed us by example how needed the body of Christ is:

People at church came up to us and expressed their condolences. Being acknowledged made us feel less alone. 

Our pastor took us aside that first Sunday to make sure he got to hear about what had happened and how we were doing. He poured himself into making sure we had the right connections to help us with planning as well as providing an amazing message of hope during the service. Again, we felt acknowledged and seen. (He is the same pastor who prayed over us during the church commissioning written about in a previous post.)

The worship leaders who I also mentioned in the Church Commissioning post blessed us so much. They not only did an incredible job leading songs for the service, but they also spent time listening to us after a church service. They showed such grace, love, and support that will never be forgotten. 

Another huge way we were blessed was by Alyssa's mom's friends who stepped up to help in various ways including organizing the reception, giving us photos for the slideshow, and buying a basket for the remembrance candles. Without them helping in these ways, the burden would have been much heavier. 

One of our friends drove from another state to show us support. If you have ever doubted how much having your presence somewhere can mean to someone, doubt no longer! It meant so much to have her with us. The night of the funeral would have been so much harder without her. (Bonus: she paid for our meals!)

Our other local friends gave us their presence too. They came to the funeral. And then two of them met us for lunch later that week and another one cooked us a dinner. Those simple offers of time together meant so much during a time of pain and sorrow. 

Of course there were those who continually checked up on us via text. Each of those texts helped us get through and reminded us of God's love and hope in the midst of sorrow. My mom also stepped up with the texts and calls which was a blessing to both of us. A simple text can mean the world to someone. 

Oh! And there was the amazing couple who opened up their home to us for TWO WEEKS with very last minute notice! They did so graciously and with many smiles. They included us in a game night, multiple walks, many talks, and a movie. It was wonderful to have a home base in the midst of chaos. 

Our acupuncturist and chiropractor showed such compassion when we entered there office much sooner than anticipated. They stood and listened to the story and offered what comfort they could. In the midst of grief, they used their compassion and medical skills to help us cope with our grief. 

I'm sure I have missed people! The point is we were abundantly blessed. 

So in the midst of it all, not only did we have unexpected opportunities to serve, but also unexpected opportunities to deepen relationships. 

We also spent precious time with Alyssa's brother and dad. They completely welcomed me in as a part of the family. We grieved together. We laughed together. We remembered together. None of these times would have happened without coming back for the memorial service. It was unexpected time to make memories. 

Our trip didn't stop for two weeks, it simply took a different form with many unexpected opportunities to treasure, grow, feel loved, and serve. 

Tuesday 6/23, Part 2: Muir Woods

Our next destination was San Francisco! Just outside of Monterey, we came across a beautiful fruit stand. So we stopped. ;)

We drove all the way through the city to the northern part and across the Golden Gate Bridge. Neither of us remember ever driving across it before (although we may have!), so it was an exhilarating experience!

We then continued up a very windy road to Muir Woods National Monument. It took us a little while to get organized with the National Parks pass and NP passports for stamps...so we got to walk one stretch of path multiple times! After finally getting everything in place correctly, we only had 30 minutes until we needed to leave. Thus, we chose to do the second shortest loop. It was beautiful with huge redwood trees! The air was fresh too. We even had the chance to take one family's picture so they could all be in it! They took ours too :) There was a stream running through the woods (that in other times of year would be full of salmon!) which added to the peaceful atmosphere of the woods. Here is a taste of the views:

After that we met up with some of Alyssa's friends who live there. They are an amazing couple who opened up their home to us for our 2 nights in San Francisco. On this particular night they treated us to really good Katsu curry rice :) We were exhausted by this point, so we returned to their house to relax for the rest of the evening. 

Wednesday 6/24: San Francisco

We had the unexpected (think this may be the theme word of this trip!) opportunity to serve at a church day camp on Wednesday in San Fracisco. One of the friends we were staying with was involved with this camp and asked if we wanted to go for a few hours the next morning. We said of course! 

The day began with a devotional by the pastor. He was extremely welcoming to us!

*The sanctuary where devotions were held

As the counselors were getting their kids, we prayed for the kids and the day. We weren't quite sure where we fit in, but we decided to wait and see what happened. 

Shortly after that, we began to help prepare lunch. This was the friend's job, so it was great to be able to help her out! We made sandwiches and set out juices and oranges. It was quite enjoyable actually. :) 

After the lunches were done, we headed to downtown San Francisco to take a free walking tour that we found online. They are called San Francisco City Guides. Their website is http://www.sfcityguides.org/current_schedule.html. I am in no way paid to tell you about them, but we had so much fun I wanted to share it with you! We took a tour about the Gold Rush, but they have many others. :) 

It was a bit stressful trying to find street parking in time to walk to the starting location of the tour. Ok, read very stressful. We tried multiple parking lots but they cost too much. So we kept driving around until we found a spot on the street! Unfortunately, we parked at the exact time the tour was starting...and had to walk a ways to the meeting location. Alyssa ended up calling the company to figure out which direction to go if we need to catch up! Thankfully we didn't have to! 

We learned about how the city grew suddenly because of the discovery of gold in the surrounding regions. They called this an 'instant city.' 

The San Francisco Bay used to come further up into the city, but over time they filled the bay with various things, including dumping full loads of cargo from ships into the bay. As the city built up, they began using boats as foundations for stores! This then led to the boats being built on top of! To this day there still remains over a dozen ships under the foundations of San Francisco. Each one that is discovered must be documented and recorded before the building can proceed. 

Another interesting fact is that when the bay was farther into the city, they built long docks into the bay for ships to come     They became so long that people didn't want to walk all the way back to the city before going to another dock, so they connected them with a walkway. This structure later became the grid pattern of the roads of the city. There are two exceptions to this: mission road and precidio road. These were both well-worn paths that existed before the docks did. 

*This picture was found online; I cannot remember where right now, but if desired I will find out to give proper credit. It is also the picture the tour guide showed us!

Mark Twain also spent time in this city. In one of his books there is a frog. I cannot remember which book or the story on the frog, but there is a statue of a frog to pay tribute to Twain. 

San Francisco was the last stop on the Pony Express. They have a plaque as a reminder of this! The riders would ride at a gallop, stopping briefly every 20 miles to change horses. After seeing all the terrain they had to ride, we have a new respect for what they did to carry letters across the country!

China Town is the largest community of Chinese people outside of China. They live in small apartments packed with people. If the density of San Francisco was the same as China Town, the population would be around 9 million people. That's a lot!! We didn't have a chance to spend much time in China Town on this trip :(

We also got to hear about the history of the California flag. It started with white muslin with a strip of a woman's red petticoat stitched on the bottom. They then put republic of California because Texas' flag said republic of Texas. Then they added the lone star from the Texas flag. To finish off the flag, they wanted to add a fierce animal. They thought of the great grizzly bear! And so with all of that combined, the California flag was born. :)

We learned even more history, but if I added it all this post would become much too long! Hope you enjoyed the highlights. 

After the tour we walked over to the Ferry Building (think that's what it's called). There we bought vegan donuts from Pebble's Donuts. We haven't had donuts in probably over a year because of our allergies. Oh my! They were so good! We sat on a bench looking at the harbor to enjoy them. I got Salted Caramel; Alyssa got Vanilla; we shared a cinnamon and sugar. 

As we sat on the bench, we saw a bunch of pigeons. Some of them were all fluffed up because it was cold! Haha. 

After our donuts, we drove a ways to buy dinner from a food truck we had seen on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives a few months ago. They now have a restaurant and a food truck. We decided to go to the food truck! It is called KoJa (Korean/Japanese fusion cuisine) If you are ever in San Francisco, we definitely recommend looking up where this food truck would me. We got teriyaki steak on fried rice...patties? Buns? Cakes? It was delicious!!

On our way to and from the food truck, we got to drive on a double decker bridge! 

We were exhausted by this point in the day, so we went back to our friends' house to relax and watch TV. :)

Tuesday 6/23, Part 1: Monterey

After looking at brochures that we picked up in the hotel lobby, we decided that we would visit the Path of History in Monterey! We knew we were in the right place when we came across markers with many languages along the brick walkway. 

We arrived a little bit before the place to pick up a map opened. So we read some plaques leading up to the entrance that shared about the rich history of Monterey. Did you know that California constitution was written there? Or that a man raised an American flag above the customs house 2 years before they actually became a state because he thought they were at war with Mexico? Or that when California was part of Mexico, Monterey was the capital of the northern 'Alta California' portion? Or that Steinbeck lived there? Neither did I! Always learning!

After getting an overview of the history we would be seeing, we sat outside on a bench and enjoyed the view. 

Once the Colton House opened, we went in to get a map and figure out our plan! This was the room where they signed the California Constitution! The sign in sheet was on display. The handwriting was gorgeous--and most of them wrote out their ages in word form!

Next stop was the jail where they held prisoners until the 1950s! 

Then we walked around seeing various Adobe houses. We got to see one house where John Steinbeck lived for a time and wrote...a famous piece that I'm blanking on the name. We also got to see the customs house that looks similar to the way it did when Monterey was part of Mexico. There was so much more on the Path of History that we didn't get to see!! I highly recommend it if you are ever in the area. :)

*I believe this was where Steinbeck lived! 

*Cant remember the full history on this house but I loved the blue gate!

We walked onto one of the piers for lunch and enjoyed a beautiful viewing spot where we got to watch and listen to sea lions. Even paid a quarter to use the telescope! So gorgeous and peaceful!

We ended our time in Monterey by driving down to Cannery Row where the canning factories used to be. There was a small beach there. So we stopped to watch the waves for a few minutes before leaving for San Francisco! This stop was brief but completed the time in Monterey nicely. :)

*Alyssa holding her little jar of sand to add to her dirt collection. (We both have one!)

The California Coast

On Monday morning we left Southern California and drove up the California coast to Monterey. We opted to take the longer route in order to enjoy the view. We are so glad we did!  It was such a beautiful drive!! The pictures we have do not even do it justice. 

At one of the stops we made a cute little friend. :) I was mildly concerned he would try to join us for our trip!

We also stopped off at Elephant Seal Beach where a lot of huge elephant seals were laying on the beach. It was incredibly windy, so it was bit chilly. The chill was worth it to see the elephant seals throwing sand on themselves, hear their loud barking, and watch them clamber over each other. There is a video posted on The Road Trip's Facebook page of the elephant seals where you can hear their noises.

One of the other moments of excitement was after waiting in traffic right around Pepperdine University and seeing firefighters wrapping up a job(don't know what happened), this landed on the grass right next to the road as we were passing it! It was pretty cool. 

Finally we got to see a powerful sunset where we could watch the sun set from behind the clouds. I've never seen anything like it! The lighting was perfect. I tried to capture it but the phone camera doesn't quite do it justice (no camera would!). Here's a glimpse:

It was a gorgeous and worthwhile adventure that ended with falling asleep quickly at a hotel in Monterey!