Whosoever is an atheist has never been to the sea.
from: The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows...
by: Sandra Gulland
BFF Judy and I were off fairly early.
BFF Judy introduced me to Lola her Lexus.
This may be the closest I'll ever get to being 'one' with a Lexus...my dream car...being allowed to drive Lola.
And oh what a dream she was to drive.
(side note: HOW IN THE WORLD DID WE EVER GET ALONG IN THIS WORLD WITHOUT GPS!!??? )
The highways and biways of California were a piece of cake with Lola's GPS switched on! There was no stress! There were no rumbled maps to fold and refold. It was remarkable. And she spoke to us with such patience and in such a soothing manner. Remarkable.
And HOW did she know when it was raining?!?!? In Baker, when the skies started spitting at us, Lola knew it and turned on her wipers all by herself!!! Good Lola!!
This was Lola's maiden voyage and she treated us well. I felt bad this first night we had her in Cally, for we got sand on her carpets. But I was reassured that I had no need to worry, for Lola gets free detailing at the dealer whenever she wants it. Lucky Lola!!
But enough about the car... I got ahead of myself. Just know that Jude was so very generous in letting me do a lot of the driving. I relax when I drive. This was just one more beautiful thing about the trip. Driving. Driving a Lexus.
It had to have been the fastest 91/2 hours of driving.
Jude and I have been friends for forever! Since the 9th grade...thats forever, right?? We can and do talk about anything and everything...we covered it all.
She ate sunflower seeds and Hot Tamales and I enjoyed Swedish Fish and Pepsi's. Contentment.
Jude had us stop in Cedar City to see her darling son who just started college at SUU as a freshman. I had us stop in St George to visit my dear folks for a bit. (a visit with the Grands, and Bob and Ethel was planned for the return trip.)
Outside of Vegas we spied a most unusual phenomenon. A hillside covered in mirrors, with tall towers standing watch over them all. We were on an adventure, so we quickly pulled off at the next exit to investigate.
May I just say...the human mind is a wonderful thing. Here we were seeing someones idea to harness the power/energy of the sun!!
Ivanpah Solar Project
Acres and acres of mirrors all pointing the sun's rays to the towers, where water was then heated to boiling point, and the steam was then to turn turbines to produce enough energy to light up 700,000 homes!!
How do you say...C-R-A-Z-Y!!?? COOL stuff!! Here's to hoping this project works!!! What better use could be had with all that dull open space in the desert and with all that Nevada sunshine!?
Rock on Ivanpah Solar Project
More power to ya!! (pun intended)
Man oh man...if I keep rambling on in this fashion, it'll be weeks before I get to day 5 or 6 of this adventure! whew!
We made it to San Clemente in fine form and fashion. (do I dare admit to my shallowness..to say that driving a fine car improves ones self-esteem.? Shallow but true.) We made good time and we ???the evening traffic of the greater So Calif area without a glitch. GPS truly is a modern day miracle!!
We greeted our beloved hosts...Jenny and Steve...my dear niece and her awesome husband and handsome kids, dropped our bags, and then plead to get a quick look at the ocean before we went to bed. We could taste the salt in the air and feel the healing humidity...I just had to have a peek. We drove a few short blocks to a neighborhood egress to a beach.
How can I express to you..without sounding dramatic...how it felt to hear the ocean, to walk down a few step in the dark, and plant my feet in the sand? It must have been 10 or 11pm. There was a small group of folks sitting around a fire to our right, quietly talking. I walked to the waters edge and let the waves bathe my toes. I had made it!! I was so grateful.
The stars were mind blowing. We could see the Milky Way very clearly. Contentment was already washing over me.
Deep breathes.
Thank you God for such an amazing world to enjoy.
Now stay tuned for Day Three. Waking up to gunfire and bombs at dawn. No kidding.
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