Andrew and Lisa

So begins our last day of traveling across this beautiful country. We are driving in the middle of the desert and have reflected on how amazing the geography of the USA is SO different. Each part has a beauty all its own. Last night, we enjoyed driving into the sunset as we approached Flagstaff, AZ. I hope my pictures (on the F100) turn out!

We left Greg & Tammy’s house yesterday morning and were ready to be in California. I think that’s what inspired the thoughts of driving straight through to Reedley. Despite the long day yesterday, I’m glad we only have 6 hours today!

I am looking forward to seeing our kitty boys and having a house in which to live. If all goes well, the trailer with our belongings will be delivered late this afternoon and will be unloaded tomorrow. I would like to get settled and have some down time as the last month or so has been a little stressful. As I think about getting settled in Reedley and trying to start a new life there, I am constantly reminded of two things. (1) I am thankful for our incredible friends we left behind in the Boston area. We truly were blessed to have a special community that functioned a lot like a family at times. I miss them so much already. AND (2) God is faithful and has provided Andrew and I with SO many good things. In these times of uncertainty, I need to trust He will provide as He sees fit.

I leave you with these thoughts and an odometer reading of 2,944!

Lisa

Had a good time at Greg’s house. We were road demons yesterday and drove about 1200 miles. We wanted to drive all the way home but decided not to. We stopped in Laughlin, NV for night and had a good night’s rest. Our last leg will seem like peanuts compared to the day before. The Saturn has done very well on the road. It is getting about 39 miles to the gallon. I’ve had a good time together with Lisa but it’s time to be done. I would not want to drive this road in the near future!

Signing off, Brad

P.S. According to Steve Raymond, we should arrive in Reedley around 3 PM. We’ll make it to Brian’s playoff game this afternoon.

Since Lisa and Brad haven’t posted (ahem!), I guess I’ll have to go out of turn. That is, if anyone’s still reading these updates.
I feel like I’m on a non-stop roller coaster. The seas as so large that everything shifts probably 60 degrees from side to side every few seconds. This is more what I imagined when I thought about crossing the Atlantic Ocean. From the mess deck windows, you can watch the waves crash against the side of the Cutter and drench the glass every few seconds. It’s kind of like the movies. In fact, I think I’ll go shoot some video and make my own movie of it.

I hope you’re having calmer seas today,
Andrew

During dinner tonight I heard something vibrate. I got nervous, thinking I had a cell phone call or a page coming in. But no one reached for their pockets or even thought twice about it. It left me with a nervous, twitchy feeling like I’m not reachable or somehow shirking my duty. That feeling’s gradually subsiding, and all that’s left is a peace and a desire to live more in the time and place in which I find myself.

I sat outside and watched the sun set over the sea this evening. Not a few minutes of it, but the whole thing. For about an hour and a half. Part of that time I was talking with another Coastie named Ian. Not a deep conversation or an agenda-laden networking time. Just small talk for a long time because neither of us had anywhere to go. It was a nice feeling.

May you find such sunsets,
Andrew

We’ve received a few comments from the previous post about hamsters being in the car. This was meant to be a joke about our car. It’s a plastic car–Saturn. We aren’t REALLY traveling with hamsters in the car; Andrew and I always joke about it because our car has so little power. So, here’s a quick translation of last night’s quick post.

Translation: Our car is doing well on this journey. I wasn’t too sure how well it would do or if it would break down along the way, but it’s done well. We’ve only filled the gas tank five times. I’m pretty impressed.

I chatted with Tricia this morning and she said, “The hamsters are running on horse power!”

If you were wondering if the cats are traveling with us, here’s a quick update on Sam and Max. I flew them to California a couple of weeks ago when I flew out for Mike’s graduation. They did surprisingly well on the plane and the ride to Reedley. My mom is taking care of them until early next week when I move into our new house. I’m planning on moving them into the house once all of the boxes have been unloaded. I think that will probably be on Monday and Tuesday.

Enjoy!
Lias

Life continues apace on the Coast Guard Cutter Bear. The crew is settling into a routine, eating, sleeping and working on schedule and conducting drills and training randomly. The seas are slightly larger than before, but still pretty calm. Last night I cut my head on something while I was asleep in the rack. With no hair to guard my head, my melon becomes an unprotected target. I counted about 4 sharp corners it could have been. It probably won’t be the last time.
The Chief’s Mess invited me to dinner tonight. The Chief’s Mess is an ultra-exclusive club for Chiefs only. It’s kind of a lounge area/dining room in which all the Chiefs hang out. There Chiefs are served their meals on fancy glass dishes instead of the plastic ones the enlisted folks use. On a Cutter, the Chiefs are the ones to go to to get anything difficult accomplished. The Chief’s network controls resources and moves around pieces synergistically to make things happen. More information to follow.

God Bless,
Andrew

The hamsters in our car have been doing a fabulous job! They have only been fed about 4 times so far this trip and they continue to amaze us.

L

We were traveling so fast today that we saw Dorthy flying ahead of us! For those of you who enjoy the wonderful world & treasures of Starbucks, we are sitting here enjoying drinks and their WI-FI connection. Oh, the joys of modern technology that keeps getting better!

This has been the longest day yet. We began around 8:30 this morning and have stopped for the night (8:35 Central time). Actually, we covered three states on HWY 70–Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. What a trek! The odometer on the car is 1513 to be exact. We will spend the night in Overland Park, Kansas, which is a suburb of Kansas City. Dad’s hope was to spend more time driving today so we would have more time to spend with his brother Greg’s family tomorrow (Wednesday). Their town is only about 3.5 hours away from Kansas City, so we will have a relaxing day tomorrow. We may not have time to update the blog tomorrow, but we’ll make sure to send an update on our way to New Mexico.

The only sight-seeing stop we had today was in St. Louis, Missouri. Miles away from the city we were able to see the Gateway Arch. It continued to get bigger and bigger as we got closer to the city. It was easy to navigate to it! 🙂 The arch is 630 feet tall, and we had a hard time getting the whole thing in a photo. There was a museum underneath the arch that housed a couple theaters and the tram to go to the top. We just walked around and used the facilities. This is the place in which Lewis & Clark are supposed to have departed on their Western Voyage. It’s sorta cool that we have now been to the starting place of their journey and we lived in the place of their final destination (Astoria, OR).

Driving along the Mississippi River we saw a tug pushing a huge barge that looked like it was carrying coal. This was our first look at the Mississippi River. I didn’t realize our journey was going to take us across this river but it was a nice treat to experience.

We’ve had a successful day and will have a couple more long days after we visit with family in Kansas.

Dad and Me

We are on the road this morning and had a successful day yesterday! We start this morning with an odometer reading of 897.

Monday we enjoyed seeing Amish & Mennonite buggies as we drove through Lancaster, PA toward Intercourse, PA. It was intriguing to see a horse & buggy driving down the street alongside a Hummer. 🙂 We stopped at a quilt shop on the side of the road. It was owned by a family and the matriarch did most of the work with a couple friends. I purchased a wedding ring table runner to help remember the stop.

From Lancaster, PA we drove northwest to Hershey, PA to visit the Hershey Factory Museum. This ended up being a short trip but we were able to learn how chocolate is made and got our chocolate fix. The Hershey Factory in Hershey, PA is the largest chocolate producers in the world. They also use California almonds exclusively.

As we drive through the western part of Ohio, it is VERY flat and gas is VERY cheap. We just passed a gas station where gas was $1.93/gallon. Dad continues to be in awe of the prices here versus California.

We will update tonight and look forward to hearing from you. We have both Andrew and my cell phones and are checking email.

Dad and me

… on the Coast Guard Cutter Bear. We’re underway en route to Spain and Africa. The ride’s pretty good so far. King Triton rocked me to sleep last night, and I slept very well. Everything about shipboard life is cramped and inconvenient, but I’m adjusting fast. It’s a rather spartan existence. I forsee a problem for myself: working in the same 270 feet that I live the rest of my life, I don’t quite know when to stop working. I guess I never fully stop, but I’ll be groping about for more balance for the next few days.

Champagne wishes and caviar dreams,
Andrew