"My, my, this Sir Anakin guy, maybe Vader someday later, now he’s just a small fry... Left his home, kissed his mommy goodbye, saying, 'soon I'm gonna be a Jedi, soon I'm gonna be a Jedi!'" This Weird Al remake of American Pie has been our anthem since the kids learned it at their cousin Chris's in Fort Collins, CO. They sing it continuously. I'll never hear the song again without crying.
It is Sunday, July 22, and we are heading east on route 126 toward Eugene, OR. Tonight we'll
sleep by the banks of the Columbia River - which means we've got about a three hour drive ahead of us... and it's after 8 PM right now! We should have started our eastward venture hours ago, but we've had a time-problem ever since we hit the Pacific Coast last Monday. Each day, as we begin our travels anew, the Pacific beckons us with glorious views and beaches with tide pools and sea lions. We'll step out to explore at, say, 11 AM, but a few moments later, when I realize we have 200 miles left to go that day, it will be 4 PM! This is the first time in a week that we've left the shores of the Pacific, and it's a good thing, otherwise I don't know if we'd ever get back in time for Regional Staff Conference!
Last Monday we explored Yosemite. What a transition from the soft, lion-colored sides of the
Sierra Nevadas to the deep, secluded greens and mighty granite faces of the park. Bridal Veil Falls transfixed us with breathtaking cascades of rainbow mists and shifts of the "veil" with the gusting winds. We enjoyed walking some of the trails in Yosemite, but we took our Mountain Lion and Grizzly Bear precautions seriously. The day before, when we stopped at a roadside fruit stand, we read the following warning: BEAR WARNING!!! The Forest Service has issued a BEAR WARNING in the national forests for this summer. They're urging everyone to protect themselves by wearing bells and carrying pepper spray. CAMPERS AND HIKERS should be alert for signs of fresh bear activity. You should be able to tell the difference between Black Bear dung and Grizzly Bear dung. Black Bear dung is rather small and round. Sometimes you can see fresh fruit seeds and/or squirrel fur in it. Grizzly Bear dung has bells in it, and smells like pepper spray.
Leaving Yosemite with bells and pepper spray all accounted for, we drove through miles of California gold – the sensuous foothills of the Sierra Nevadas – generously dotted with deep shadow-green pine trees twisted into giant bonsais by the eternal winds. We drove to my cousin Jim’s home in Pebble Beach.
Being from Potsdam, not having a television, and not being golf-ish in any serious fashion, all conspired to leave us unprepared for Pebble Beach and cousin Jim’s house! Who’s ever heard of 17 Mile Drive in Potsdam? Who’s ever heard of GOLF? I’d heard of Carmel, certainly, but didn’t know it was RIGHT THERE. Not in a book, but DOWN THE STREET! And seals and sea otters live right off shore – you can SEE them with your own two eyes from the beach! 17 Mile Drive is a lovely twisting coastal road that takes you past plush green golf courses, graceful Spanish-style haciendas (coyly hidden among shrubbery and cedar), and beach after beach lined with wildflowers shore-side, and tide pools ocean-side. At the end of 17 Mile Drive, for us, was Jim’s house.
The last time Glen remembered seeing Jimmy was when he (Jim) was thirteen and on a trip out East with his family. None of us had met Jim’s wife, Amanda, or their new baby, Ryan. The best thing Pebble Beach has going for it is my cousin and his family! We enjoyed our time and our talks with them, and felt that they treated us with graciousness and love. The tie that connects us – Jim and I have Gramps and Granny Simpson in common (our dads are brothers) – grows stronger with time, and I enjoyed so much sharing our special memories of them. Ryan, at just seven months or so, sparkled with laughter and had a wonderful, sunny disposition. I enjoyed talking with Amanda about books and authors – we share that love - and had fun tossing ideas about philosophy, religion and parenting back and forth with her.
Alyssa particularly enjoyed Sterling and Shady, Jim and Amanda’s frolicsome Weimaranars. The morning we left we couldn’t find Alyssa, until she came out of their doghouse all tousled and drowsy! She had been falling asleep in there!
One of my life-long dreams came true while we were staying with Jim and Amanda. Ever since I read Cannery Row by John Steinbeck I knew I wanted to see “Doc’s” home. I wanted to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Never in a bazillion years did I think I would actually make it to that raucous, smelly, heavenly place! I couldn’t believe it when we pulled in and the first thing we saw – besides the big old Cannery Row canneries – was a statue of John Steinbeck. I was delighted! “Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” Psalm 16:5-6
The aquarium was a delightful experience for all of us. We passed the day with sharks, sea otters, eels, sea stars, and all kinds of glorious creatures. Sean and Alyssa especially enjoyed petting the sting rays. The staff at the aquarium is dedicated to teaching good stewardship of the sea and its inhabitants, so we all learned lots of good things while we were there. The whole time all I could think was, “Thank You, thank You, thank You!”
San Francisco couldn’t be done justice by after the Monterey Bay Aquarium. (Although one of my favorite authors is from there, she’s not in the John Steinbeck hall of my heart.) We enjoyed it very much – couldn’t believe we were actually there! Loved the tall, narrow houses festooning the hills like pastel-colored dominoes, and the view of the Bay and Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. Fisherman’s Wharf was noisy and fishy and fabulous, and tired us right out! Our favorite thing there was seeing the seals at Pier 36! They lolled in the sun, relaxed – not spending the day jostled by crowds along the tinselly tourist strip. We probably just didn’t have the time to see the most wonderful parts of the city.
No matter how tired we felt at any point after this, though, we always had the Pacific on our left to lift our spirits and drive away anxiety and frustration. From Pebble Beach up into Oregon, that marvelous mystical ocean was with us. To me the ocean is like an endless magic box – into which God placed lovely gifts for our delight. Shells – iridescent and fantastical, sea stars, crabs, anemones, sand dollars, smooth warm pebbles of every imaginable color and design, sculpted driftwood… sea lions, silver fish, sea otters… Whales!
The West Coast is not any lovelier than the East Coast could be… But from California to Washington they have passed laws requiring the coast to be kept open for ALL. Wise stewards, those westerners; I love them for that! Because in the East you pretty much have to own a piece of the coast to be able to enjoy the glorious siren song of the sea. Even in places like Pebble Beach and Carmel, everyone was welcome to explore the beaches!
We followed Route 1 along the coast, enjoying the sweep of silver beach and the black monoliths and arches rising from the sands and the sea, as well as many varieties of sea birds and wildflowers and seals.
At the place where we reluctantly had to leave Route 1 for Route 101, we saw our first Redwoods! They are so high – over 300 feet – that looking up their straight red, fuzzy trunks, through swaths of dusty green needles, makes you dizzy! We tried to drive through one that had a tunnel cut through the living trunk, but our roof rack made us just too high to fit. Never fear – if you see our pictures some time, we found a way to make it LOOK like we drove through.
Moving right along, the next day we stopped at the Redwood Parks Visitors Center. They seem to have miles of beach, and that was the day that we stopped at 11AM and left disbelievingly at 4PM. There was a group of Laotians there having the most wonderful time netting smelt right out of the surf! The grown men were stripped down to their boxers out in the freezing surf (as cold as the orange juice in your refrigerator!) laughing as they hauled out net-fulls of the delicate, silvery fish. Out on the edge of the waves lurked two hungry harbor seals! They never left the verge of the surf. Before we left I found two warmish, dead smelt that had been overlooked in the sand and threw them out to the patient seals. They thanked me by coming closer for a photo-op. An osprey couple also joined in the frothy fray! What a glorious treat to see them wheel and dive over the noisy swells.
Yesterday we entered Oregon – the first State this trip I’ve not been to before! Little did I realize it would be my favorite state! They have made so much of the coast into wildlife reserves – it’s spectacular! Today we explored more beaches – saw more harbor seals sunning themselves before great stone arches, and had a wonderful seafood dinner in Florence.
Glen bought me a print in Florence that captures the essence of my feeling for the sea. A small girl kneels on a platform in the middle of the sea. On her door is a sign that says, “Whale Hugger.” She is kneeling on the edge of the platform, hugging an Orca. Behind the Orca, eager, upright and in a straight line, are all the whales of the world – Belugas, the Humpback, the Grey, the Blue, and many more. It’s a wonderful, whimsical picture – I wish you could all see it!
Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it. Psalm 98:7 What a joyous song creation sings when treated with care and enjoyed with respect. I’m so thankful for this unfolding of wonders. Giant trees, great beaches, vast canyons… tiny flowers in the desert, carpets of daisies and sweet peas along the highways… elk and antelope, bear and lizard, seals and otters… sand dollars and kelp, and children laughing about it all. Here we are – resounding. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:5
Now, we’re off!
Love,
Beverly – for all of us
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