Sunny California

Whenever we visit the sunny State of California, I envision God enjoying a good laugh at my expense. There are things that were good about our life here, but many things we were very glad to leave behind. It never fails that we revisit the things better left behind on nearly every trip.

The plan to stay with my sister and her husband was short circuited. About two hours before our arrival we got a call on our cell phone. Thank goodness for those technological wonders. Ellen and Johnny were under mandatory evacuation because of the fires. Did I mention the fires? People forget that Southern California is a desert. Little water. Very little green. Lots of dried brush. Lots of hot wind, even if you don't count the politicians. The fires beat us here by a couple of days.

We finally did get the all clear to spend some time here with Ellen and Johnny late yesterday, and that's been great. We always manage to have fun together. However, I'm not sure if she has been more unhappy with the hot weather, or me. At least I know I'll be going home to Autumn soon. She's pretty tired of the hot dry days.

I love having email access again. I sped off a few notes, including one to our old (not in years, but in the sense of previous) pastor. I mentioned that we were here for ten days. We'd already had the bumper to bumper traffic, the Santa Ana winds, the heat wave and the fires. I asked if he knew when the earthquake was scheduled for, because I was sure there would be one before we left next week. He was hoping I'm wrong, but so am I.

John's going to be towing back his "P.o.S." Blazer when we head home, so we're not going through the Eisenhower tunnel. Instead we're driving through the Elk Ridge and Bountiful areas. If that is of particular interest to you, email me before we leave on Wednesday at break of dawn (or sometime shortly thereafter) and we'll make plans to wave on our way through your town.

One final piece of news. John's day at the missile base was productive. It appears as though they will have a three week contract for him, and will need him to come back for that in four to six weeks. That translates to Thanksgiving with the family here instead of in Connecticut. So, kids, can you think of an alternate time period when we could come and bond with (nearly) new baby Kate and spoil Ashley while we're at it?