Donna and I have just returned from a four week vacation. We have never taken an extended leave like this before, but it was an incredible blessing and we made some wonderful memories and actually checked a couple items off my bucket list.
The vacation began to take form when I was invited to participate in an all-expense paid golf tournament at Pebble Beach to raise money for Fire Bible - An organization that prints a powerful Pentecostal Study Bible in the language of unreached people groups around the world. It is often the only Bible training the indigenous leaders of these people groups will have access to! Playing at Pebble is one of those bucket list items I mentioned, but the thrill of playing such a prestigious golf course pales in comparison to the thrill of helping place this incredible training tool in the hands of those reaching the unreached. Earlier this year, Crossroads gave $10,000.00 to Fire Bible! Here's a pic of my dear friends Scott Holmes, Gary Sapp and I at Pebble Beach. Scott and I placed 2nd in the Grand Champions category! The tournament included a round at both Pebble and Spanish Bay!
After I accepted the invitation to participate in the Fire Bible Summit at Pebble Beach, I received another invitation to enjoy an all-expense paid Alaskan Cruise with another incredible organization called Convoy of Hope. Convoy is the Christian equivalent of the Red Cross, coming to the aid of disaster victims around the world. We had always supported their work, but when we saw it up close and personal a few years ago in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it became one of the ministries we support most as a church. They do incredible work! Alaska was another bucket list item, so Donna and I immediately accepted the invitation to go on the Cruise. The Pebble trip was the first week of July, the cruise was the last week - So it just made sense to make a month-long vacation out of it!
After leaving Pebble, we drove down the Pacific coastline on Hwy 1 and took in the beauty of Monterey Bay, Carmel by the Sea and Big Sur. The scenery is breathtaking! We also enjoyed a visit to the Monterey Aquarium with all of it's amazing sea critters! Next, we struck out for a visit to the Sequoia National Park. The big trees are absolutely amazing! The one named after General Sherman is the largest living thing on earth!
After enjoying the beauty of the Sequoias, we headed to San Francisco. I've got to be honest with you, I've never really had any interest in visiting the Bay area, but after spending three days there, I can absolutely see what all the fuss is about. It truly is one of the most beautiful cities I've ever visited. We did all the tourist stops: The Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Pier 39, riding cable cars, etc. We enjoyed a lot of good food including a stop in China Town for some of my new favorite cuisine: Dim Sum!After taking in the sights and sounds of San Francisco, we were off to see more Redwoods - This time the towering giants of Northern Cal. We made our way to see these beauties by the scenic route called Napa Valley. Gorgeous vineyards and orchards line the landscape there and Donna and I decided we definitely could live there. It is almost as pretty as my beloved Colorado! After reaching the Redwoods National Forest, we discovered it is as spectacular as everyone says it is. The enormity of these legendary trees leaves you in awe.
Our next stop was in Redding California so we could spend Sunday morning at Bethel Church, home of the renown Worship Groups Bethel Live and Jesus Culture. They had just hosted their annual School of Worship and Martin Smith, formerly of the group Delirious was there leading worship. It was a powerful service and we were so glad we made it part of our itinerary. An added bonus was a stop at McArthur/Burney Falls, a beautiful cascading waterfall that was as peacefully tranquil a place as I can ever remember visiting.
From Redding, we made the long drive to Seattle where we would board the cruise ship. We arranged our timing so we had a couple days in Seattle before boarding and took in all the tourist attractions of this great American city as well: The Space Needle, The Market, The original Starbucks, The EMP Museum, etc. We even visited Seattle's Chinatown for, you guessed it - More Dim Sum!
We enjoyed our cruise with some of our very best friends, Doug and Rachel McAllister. Alaska is as marvelous as everyone says it is. We had great weather and enjoyed two Port stops in the 49th State, one in Juno and one in Skagway. In Juno, we did a Whale Watching excursion that was amazing! We got a rare glimpse of 18 Humpbacks bubble feeding. Together, they blow out underwater, forcing an upward jet stream that sends fish to the surface of the ocean where they arrive with mouths open for feeding. The big pod of whales surfaced not more than ten to twelve feet off our starboard bow! In Skagway we took a raft down the river to an eagle preserve where we saw twenty-five to thirty bald eagles. What a thrill it was to see our national symbol of strength there in their native habitat. So majestic! Our last port stop was in Victoria, B.C. where we enjoyed beautiful gardens in this old historic Canadian city.
I don't know if we'll ever get the chance to do another extended vacation like this one, but we sure enjoyed it and we are so thankful for it. I've figured out that one of my wife's primary love languages is travel and this trip said "I love you" loud and clear!
