The Tale of Two Roadtrips

Spring is in full blossom over here on the West Coast, but summer’s heat seems a little impatient for its turn and some of the days have already grown quite warm. Nevertheless, the mornings and evenings remain delightfully balmy, so we have taken to picnicking in the park once again. This weather has a way of beckoning one’s attention, and people are out and about. Biking, jogging, walking, sprawled on a blanket on the grass, playing soccer or baseball, walking dogs, flying kites, reading, etc. Life is good.

The vineyards are showing forth lustrous new green leaves. Each groomed row marches away over the hills. The strawberry fields are full of bounty, the cherry trees are draped in clusters of crimson cherries that catch the light as though they were polished, and the citrus is taking a back seat.

Brentwood is sporting a brand new sign that reads, “Welcome to the U-Pick Capital of the World,” and we are quite glad to live in this area.

Ballico came for church this month. (March.) Barry and Theresa Friesen, Bryce and Janae Friesen, Dallas and Kristin Peaster, and Ben and Steph Geisbrect. As always, we had an enjoyable day. It was a clear spring day, so after lunch we took off for the top of Mount Diablo. (The highest mountain we see from our house.) Eleven miles of switchback curves to the top. Spring is the best time to go up there as the hills are so green and the wildflowers are at their prime. The California poppies and the purple lupines are the most popular among the blooms. The entire Bay Area is visible from the top of that mountain. You can see the Golden Gate Bridge, the ships on the bay, forty of California’s fifty-eight counties, the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, Half Dome in Yosemite, and on a really clear day you can see Mount Shasta. By the time we got off the mountain, it was supper time, so we decided to take everyone to our favorite Indian place in Concord. Naan and Curry. Sadly it was overrun with people and there were no tables to accommodate our large group. We ended up walking down the road to Skipolini’s for pizza on the outdoor patio.

This year, the tract meeting was held in Bonners. We were very excited to visit this area as neither Brent nor I had ever been there. Plus, who can ever say no to a good road trip? On the drive up, we stopped at Colby and Tonya’s place in Burns for lunch. It was so much fun reconnecting, as it had been years since we’d been together. We also stopped in at Vince and Moni’s for a night in Ontario. Arrived in Bonners with just enough time to find our host’s home and get ready for the evening service. This tract meeting was twice the size of the last one. We really enjoyed it and came away quite inspired to keep on with our tract work. The western district is so huge. There were couples there from Alaska to Arizona. And just a note on Bonners, you know how you always hear how beautiful Bonners is? Well, it's true. And really February isn’t even their prettiest month. Can you imagine? It.gets.prettier. It reminded me of Alaska very much. Talk about living in the mountains. We headed back toward Vince’s on Saturday afternoon and made it just in time for the night. (Eight-hour drive.) We got to go to church the next morning in Ontario. That was really fun to see all those good folks again. Two thousand eight hundred miles later, we arrived back at our home in the Bay Area. Just slightly frazzled after so many hours in the car with three boys three and under. Leo was just six weeks old, but he did really well. He only had a few crying spells because Mama would not take him out of his car seat and he was quite certain he needed cuddles.

We had a few sweet days at home before wildly packing clothes, loading the van, and hitting the road for Los Angeles. We had been putting this trip off for a long time. Brent has wanted to visit another tract post for some time now. He has never been to another tract post and when we came to set up the SF Bay post, he really had nothing to go off of. Plus, Seth Parker just so happens to be residing at the LA unit and we wanted to visit him before he heads home. (Wendell and Kandis Geisbrect’s boy from Macon.) We made it to the Santa Monica Pier just in time for supper. Enjoyed some delicious seafood on the pier with a side of ocean views. There is a small amusement park on the pier, including a solar-powered Ferris wheel. The sun set over the water and a few minutes before it sank beneath the horizon the beach became crowded with people watching and filming. It is rather impressive how God calls the attention of throngs of people to his creation and the beauty of a giant glowing orange ball sinking into the sea. We piled into the van once again and headed for the tract house. Paul and Natalie Jantz from Scio were there filling in for a few months. They spent two years in LA some time ago, so they were very familiar with the area. We had some tea and popcorn before finding ourselves nestled in a comfy bed.​Santa Monica Pier

Brent and Paul set out on a tract route the next day. Natalie and I took the kids to the park. We also paid a visit to the mission house, which is just down the road from the tract house. (And just in case you ever want to spend time in LA, I will say, the mission house is lovely. It’s decorated beautifully, has fruit trees, an in-ground pool, and a hot tub.) We were invited to the unit house for supper. Josh and Kristi from Hazleton are the houseparents there right now. We met them once when they were visiting in Glenn, so it was really neat to be with them again. It was so good to see Seth as well! Pretty cool to see where he’s at there and meet the guys he’s with. It seemed like a good place to give six months of your time.

We took the Hwy 1 route most of the way home from LA. Starting at Laguna Beach.

Laguna Beach.

I’m not sure how much time to spend telling you of the sights we saw. It’s feeling a little overwhelming to me to do so. Just know, that you need to put Hwy 1 on your bucket list. I promise it won’t disappoint. Brent was only slightly annoyed at the traffic, but the scenery mostly made up for it. (California’s Highway 1 was just named one of the World's Greatest Places of 2026 by TIME Magazine.) We made a quick stop in Huntington Beach before heading inland to Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive. (I think I’m very happy with a simple, quiet life in the country.) We drove through Malibu just as the sun was setting. Haven’t you heard of the sunsets in Malibu? They really are a quintessential Southern California experience. We landed in Santa Barbara for the night. We awoke the next morning to the bluest skies that ever existed and walked out on one of the longest piers on the West Coast. It offered panoramic views of the coastline, Santa Barbara, and the Santa Ynez mountains. We also visited the Old Mission Santa Barbara that was founded in 1786 and primarily used by Spanish Franciscan friars to convert and educate the Chumash Indians. Santa Barbara has a Spanish Colonial Revival style architecture featuring white stucco, terracotta roofs, and courtyards. Beautiful place.The Mission Santa Barbara.

Santa Barbara.

We made a slight detour to Montaña de Oro State Park. It is named the mountains of gold because of the golden flowers that bloom all over the mountains in the spring. We enjoyed a little picnic on the beach there. Definitely worth the detour. 

Montana de Oro State Park.  

Another small detour was made to quickly explore the town of Solvang. Solvang is known as the Danish Capital of America. It has unique Danish-style architecture, windmills, and lots of little streets lined with quaint shops and bakeries. We enjoyed some rich Danish chocolates, the famous aebleskivers, and the best raspberry cream cheese danish in the history of ever. Aebleskivers are a traditional Danish delicacy that is a cross between a doughnut and a pancake. They are light and airy, shaped like doughnut holes, covered in powdered sugar, and dipped in tangy raspberry jam.

Solvang.

Back on our Hwy 1 route, we stopped for coffee in Pismo Beach. I fell in love with that place. The town, which was fairly crawling with spring breakers, is nestled between the mountains and the ocean. The mountains were verdant, the palm trees were waving tall, the water was so sparkly, and everything was drenched in the purest California spring sunshine. I imagine Hawaii looks similar. I wanted to stay for a while, but home was yet a long way off. 

Pismo Beach.

We ended up hopping off of Hwy 1 and taking a shorter route home that led through HUGE vineyards. There were miles and miles of vineyards disappearing ore far horizon to the green foothills that lay in layers at the mountain’s feet. I felt as though I had surely fallen asleep and awoke in the countryside of France. And on the far side of said mountains, lies the ethereal Big Sur. I’ll say, both sides of the mountain contain breathtaking beauty. It is always good to be back home in our city by the bay. Los Angeles was 101° and slightly more populated than the Bay Area, so although we enjoyed LA greatly, I was glad to come home to the Bay Area’s cooler temperatures.

We were invited to Ballico’s school benefit supper one Friday evening. Jonathan and Krista Dyck invited us to stay with them for the weekend. (Yay.) The benefit supper was pretty cute. All the kids were dressed up in old-fashioned clothes and there were little booths with activities like throwing darts at a balloon wall, a coin toss, a spelling bee, a pie-eating contest, etc. The next day Jonathan’s suggested we go to the zoo, so we boarded Am-Track and headed for the Fresno Zoo. We managed to get seats together in the snack car. (Unlimited free snacks and drinks.) The boys loved it. (The snacks and the train.) We zoomed along through the countryside for about an hour before arriving at the Fresno station. There we had to call a couple of Ubers to pick us up and drop us off at the zoo. Quite an adventure.😊 It was a very warm day, but aren’t all the best zoo days pleasantly sweltering? We enjoyed the zoo very much. The bird show was my favorite part, although Krista said it wasn’t as neat as she remembered. By late afternoon we were back on the train and heading for home. We snacked and chatted in between a few colorful altercations with unruly children. Isn’t life great? Just when you think you are going to rest your weary bones and enjoy a peaceful train ride home, you are mercilessly reminded that after all you have three boys three and under, and the tides of relaxation really aren’t in your favor at the present moment. Benny and Sher called and said they’d like to take us all out for supper, so we went to a taco place down the road from Jonathan’s and feasted on amazing authentic tacos. Memorable day. Sunday we were invited to Calvin and Becky Dyck’s for a delicious lunch, and Brian and Deb made us pulled pork sandwiches for supper before we hit the homeward trail. A fun, full weekend with such good people. (A sinister voice in my head keeps taunting me that we must leave this place and these people in a few months and I’m quite sad at the thought.)

Brent has been putting in some really long days with the tract work. He is going over every one of his routes and adding lots of stops. He came home from LA with some new ideas and he has been enthused. He’s getting into places we’ve never been and the reception he’s been met with has been amazing. One lady at a Mexican restaurant that he went into had tears in her eyes as she thanked him for the work he’s doing. She said there are not enough people telling the world about Jesus. Others moved his tract box to a more noticeable spot and told him people needed to be able to see it when they walked in the door. One guy walked him down the road to another place he owned to make sure they let him put tracts in there as well. But the best one of all, was a man he met in a doughnut shop. He asked Brent what he was doing and Brent told him he was handing out gospel literature. He wanted to know if it was the tracts that came from Kansas. He said he used to order tracts years ago and when he moved to California he lost GT’s contact and hasn’t been able to order since. So he took down the information Brent gave him and was very enthused to order tracts again. It is just so interesting how God places us in the right place at the right time.

Just the other day Brent took an Uber somewhere and the driver was an eighty-year-old man named Sherman. He had a head full of pure white hair and round spectacles. He does one hundred push up’s every morning and only needs four hours of sleep. He puts eight thousand miles a month on his Tesla driving for Uber. He is a Southern Baptist originally from Kentucky. He grew up there on a tobacco farm. It wasn’t long before he started talking religion. It turned into a three-hour conversation that had Brent sweating in his boots and praying for answers. Sherman told him afterwards that he had never been shaken in his faith until his conversation with Brent. (“For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaketh in you.” Matthew 10:20) At eighty years old, Sherman is going back to school to hopefully become a Christian psychologist. He hopes to help people who suffer from religious trauma because they belonged to homes or churches that lived by religious rules instead of by the Holy Spirit.

We went with Brent the other day on his Pacifica/Daly City route. Daly City is made up of oodles of very colorful houses. The town is built up the mountain overlooking the sea and Pacifica. The views will summon your gaze in every direction. We ate lunch at the Taco Bell in Pacifica, which is rumored to be the most scenic Taco Bell in the world. I believe it must be, for it sits directly on the beach. You can sit outside and watch the surfers rise and tumble into the sea. After our route, we drove to the Great Highway for a nice long walk by the sea. (The Great Highway is a 3.5-mile coastal road in San Francisco running along Ocean Beach. It was just recently converted into a car-free park named Sunset Dunes.)

Daly City.

Our homeward route took us right through Sausalito, so we ended up stopping there for supper as the traffic going home was very backed up. We sat in the park and listened to a homeless man strumming aimlessly on his guitar while singing “This Little Light of Mine.” We watched the sailboats sailing serenely on top of the sparkling bay waters. We took in the San Francisco skyline. We enjoyed a cappuccino and wood-fired pizza at Taste of Rome. After that, the road home was cleared out and we zoomed off into the sunset, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge at the golden hour.

Just another cool picture of Sausalito and the San Francisco skyline.  

We spent a lovely Easter weekend in Glenn with Shawn and Eddie. The warm and gentle weather was glorious. Shawn took us on a long boat ride. Maria and her girls came with us. We grilled hamburgers for supper. We slept with open windows and sweet bird song floated in on the morning air. Sunday lunch with Shawn’s family, a walk to the river, an Easter egg hunt for the kids, and a familiar road home to the city.

Until next time.