Amazing!!!

After 59 days on the road, in my opinion we have had our first perfect day today. Not that any of the others days haven’t been magnificent and wonderful, but this day was the closest thing to perfection outside of heaven. We are in a State Park in a little town of Westport, California, population 60, but once held the title of the largest city on the west coast outside of San Francisco. It is a wonderfully quaint town and with incredibly odd and beautiful residents.

So what made this day so perfect? The fact that we did nothing at all. Well, nothing but sitting by the sea, whale watching, reading, writing…and now, at 5:00pm Pacific time, listening to some wonderful Jazz station out of Eureka, California. I’m telling you all…this is a day to be remembered by me for the rest of my life.

It is a bit difficult being “still and quiet” in the Lord, but that was our sole purpose for the day. We didn’t want to get in the car and do one of our marathon drive days, but just sit here and savor what was offered to us right before our eyes. This State Park is truly awesome. I am no more than 15 steps from a cliff that over looks the ocean…with black sand. It is called “black sand” but it is really more like a very dark gray or brown, but regardless, it is amazingly beautiful. We are probably 35 feet above the shore and beach below, with a large grassy area for Peanut to roam around and be comfortable (those who know Peanut know that the does not like the water…he really can’t see it). I look to my left and to my right and I see jagged coast line with crashing waves…the sun sparkling on the water and I can’t help myself but sing Incubus’ song “…blue diamonds strewn ‘cross a blue blanket.” It is so true.

Remember how excited I was to see the whales in Bodega Bay? Well, the whales make an appearance here on an hourly basis. Amazing is all I can say. If I could point to one place, one moment, in my life that I felt described Heaven, today…this place…would be pretty darn close to it.

We are completely “primitive” here in the sense we have no electrical outlet to plug into, no water to use, no sewer to dump our waters…but, we really don’t notice the difference, or we don’t care because of the true beauty surrounding us. We have to “live” a bit differently this way than when we are in a “full service “ RV Park in that we watch our water usage and don’t put on the lights or use electronic devices unless needed. I certainly do not feel deprived in any way, but free in a strange sense.

We have spent the entire day here at the edge of the ocean, with the exception of when we drove to into Westport for some sandwiches and soup. We ate outside at the Westport Inn (the proprietor made the soup…Clam Chowder) and enjoyed the wonderful company of Smokey, the resident cat. James, being a sucker for all animals, though he won’t admit it, gave Smokey a bit of his sandwich. Seriously, the town of Westport consists of maybe 3 commercial buildings and 30 houses, all lodged on the edge of the coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. After lunch, we headed back “home” and spent the rest of the day in our chairs, watching the whales, enjoying the waves and soaking in the moments as they passed by. See what I mean in it being a perfect day?

We will tonight, as we did last night, enjoy a wonderful fire by and watch the sunset and moon rise. At first, the silence is almost eerie, but then it grows on you like a warm blanket fresh from the dyer on a cool day. We sat outside by the fire until 10:00pm or so and then turned in. The cool, very cool, air made for perfect sleeping conditions with the windows open…plus the sound of crashing waves. We look forward to the same tonight. We do have a few neighbors…one neighbor in particular we have gotten to know…they are Al and Marie, a couple well into their 70’s who live about an hour away and love to visit this park…we now know why. Last night, Al had his guitar out and was singing and playing…it was wonderful.

Thank you all for your payers for safe travels…the roads were curvy and winding, but James did not find them daunting at all and provided us with an incredible drive up the coast. We look for more of the same as we journey Northward to Oregon and Washington. Wow…just typing those words amaze me. I never dreamed I would see these places! I can’t wait!!!

We continue to lift you all up in prayer and thank you for your continued prayers and words of encouragement and love. We can’t wait to be reunited with each of you! May God bless you all!