the journey to camp and beyond

I left San Diego yesterday around 3 PM and headed north to Los Angeles and then over to the 101. The 101 follows the Pacific Ocean for much of the northern route. Coming out of Los Angeles towards Santa Barbara is simply beautiful. It was a clear sky and the ocean was magnificent.

First coffee stop: Camarillo. Had to use my pocket pc to find the closest Starbucks. Second coffee stop: King City.

After leaving King City, my next intended stop was Salinas -- the lettuce capital of the world. Nearly bought the farm before making it to Salinas. A mattress fell from a truck in front of me, causing the first car to swerve off the road. The mattress then bounced over the hood of the next car and landed directly in front of me. I ran over it with my left front tire and dragged it for just a little while. Fortunately, I never lost control of the car and everyone was ok. This all happened while talking on the phone to Tonya.

I decided to spend the night in Salinas -- which turned out to be a good idea. Arriving about 10:45, I thought I'd see if I could find a spot to eat. Not a good idea. After driving down what appeared to be a crack street, I decided I wasn't all that hungry and returned to the hotel. Unfortunately, I had consumed mass quantities of coffee en route from San Diego and had trouble falling asleep.

The next morning I enjoyed a fine country breakfast just outside of Salinas in a little diner that reminded me of Covington, Georgia. From there I was at camp in less than an hour.

Gave my first talk this morning about Jesus coming to serve. The theme for camp is "The One-Liners of Jesus" -- looking at various statements of Jesus. The camp is smaller and younger. I believe we have 101 total campers and the oldest of them is only 14. A younger camp has it's challenges but getting beat up is usually not one of them.

I'm hoping to post each day but don't hold me to it.