Purple Roadtrippers—Praying Across America
As promised the long-awaited blog…
When one sets about with their
plans one never knows if those plans will come to fruition, and if so, how they
will play out. When Lana and I started our plans for our cross-country trip we
very excitedly planned to see many sites and do wonderful things to proclaim
our nation for the Kingdom of God.
As we prayed and planned God gave each of us scriptures to commence our journey. Reflecting on how our trip progressed and ended one scripture stands out as I write this: Proverbs 16:9, “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” (NLT). All things did not go as we planned, and we felt as if we did not accomplish for God what we set out to do...which is probably why He gave us Pr. 16:9. We made our plans...we have yet to determine what His purpose was in the way our steps progressed while on the road.
Our journey had some ups and downs
but in the long run it was an enjoyable ride praying and taking in the
beautiful scenery of God’s creation. So sit back and read how we saw this trip
unfolding day by day.
Day One - Friday, Sep 10, 2021
We left San Diego around 8:00am. The drive to Los Angeles was uneventful yet filled with excitement of what was yet to come.
Our first stop:
Azusa St
We were fortunate to find parking right at the site marker
with time already on the meter (a little nugget from our Provider). Though we
used most of the time looking for a restroom we returned at just the right moment to feed the meter. A quarter gave us 8 minutes, 2 quarters gave us
15…15 minutes to pray and claim that area of LA for the kingdom. The sign
ironically is located near a Buddhist temple in a section of town known as
Little Tokyo. Let’s pray this area is reclaimed for Jesus!
Next stop:
Bonnie Brae House
Again, we were fortunate with parking, found a spot right in front of the house. Unfortunately, it was closed and gated; calling the number posted on the house revealed we had just missed the person that was there and could have let us in. We prayed outside on the sidewalk.
FYI: Information on Bonnie Brae house: Charisma Magazine
We then set our GPS for Big Sur and the long-awaited drive up the Pacific Coast Highway! And what a thrill it was! The first stretch of Highway 101 is a four lane highway also considered Hwy 1 Pacific Coast Highway, that portion took us an eternity to get to the thrills of the two lane portion that brought the most joy. We wondered several times if we were on the right road. Asking for directions works wonders even in the age of GPS and Apple maps. The friendly young fellow we asked directed us right back to where we took the exit to continue on the route we were traveling. Patience is a virtue.
The views on this Highway were awesome! Well worth the
drive. Winding roads with deep snake-like curves overlooking a huge drop down
to the ocean on our left and mountains to our right…a thrilling experience
equivalent to a roller coaster ride with lead-foot Lana operating the controls
(fortunately the Holy Spirit operates her). It was interesting to see large metal nets covering the mountains as we passed through the rockslide areas. The best
views were in the most dangerous stretches of the highway with no place to stop
and take in the beauty of God’s creation. Beauty was also seen in the sky; in
the distance in one stretch the clouds in the horizon looked like waterfalls
cascading into the ocean. The magnificent majesty of our Creator was seen on
this highway! Photos do not do it justice because as mentioned some of the most
majestic views could not be photographed.
Our first chosen inspirational destination was sort of a bust, the town wasn’t really a town; just rustic cabin-type buildings nestled in the trees along the highway between the two parks that were on our list for this area (Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park and Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park). Not a city or even a small town—a quaint little drive-thru town without a mayor.
Seeing a waterfall was big on our list, as we passed Julia Burns excitement clamored inside us both to see the sign for the waterfall. Several miles down the road we saw the Pfeiffer Big Sur sign and knew we were in for a treat once we found lodging. When we passed the log cabin post office sitting among the trees, we had no idea we had reached the town and was leaving the town when we stopped at the River Inn that had no vacancies…lodging full. To our dismay we drove 30 more miles to Monterey and stayed at a Super 8 motel. Our weary bodies had no desire to drive backwards on the snaky highway we had traveled with intrepid excitement filled with some very nervous moments. We settled for the night in Monterey and set our sights for Pacific Grove, CA aka ButterflyTown, USA!
(Sorry, no photos in the town of Big Sur...night had fallen. Although, the shots of Pacific Coast Highway is considered Big Sur according to the labels on my iPhone.)
That completes Day One.
Until next time, enjoy your time in the presence of God,
The Purple Roadtrippers 💜
