Life itself can be a tortuous journey, so today’s blog is about how we have gotten to this place and this point in life.

How we got to this place today was right up the California coast on highway 1 from Morrow Bay to Monterey. I know some of you have driven this stretch of the coast and as my old Grandpa would say, “you have to keep a tarp over the wagon to keep the mule from eating the hay out of the back of the wagon as you go around the switchbacks.” Actually it was a beautiful drive. The weather was a little windy, the surf was up, the sun was warm and the scenery was delightful. We had about twenty miles of slow careful driving to get through the tightest section. I must compare this highway to the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec Canada. This road was a piece of cake in comparison. The road was mostly wider. It was definitely smoother and the grades were milder. Finally it was about 200 miles shorter. The rugged coast was similar in each case, but the Gaspé couldn’t hold a candle to the surf on the Pacific Coast. In one short section of highway the surf was actually splashing across the highway, and yes we were caught by a wave.

I am also thinking of the twists and turns that brought us to this point in our lives. Today we were celebrating a birthday with our first born, our son Glen; in Gilroy California. Now I won’t embarrass him by telling his age, but I am now 63, and I was 23 when he was born. It is hard to imagine balancing that precious little bundle in my two hands when I look at the current six foot six model. Some of the mile stones pop into my memory. Sending him off to kindergarten; Buying that first car with him; a Ford Fairlane, I wanted plenty of sheet metal around him. His wedding to Barb and then he was 24 and also had a new-born baby to support.

We all just finished a weekend of camping at Morrow Bay. We rode bicycles with our grandchildren, walked on the beach and collected seashells. We studied the elephant seals at San Simeon and tried something new, Geo-caching. This is the new sport of seeking out hidden treasures using the GPS. The location of the cache is recorded in geocaching.com, a clearing house of locations that individuals set up all over the world. The latitude and longitude of the cache location are provided, and you use your GPS to lead you to that location. Our grandchildren got quite a kick out of poking around the indicated rock pile alongside the beach and finding a sealed plastic food keeper. Inside were all kinds of treasures and a log book. We signed the log book and added a couple new treasures to the cache.

It all brings me back to the theme of this blog, twists and turns. Yes, life is full of twists and turns, roads that loop back upon themselves. Cycles of life, as one generation tries its wings and another generation tries to offer guidance. Yet we all have to find our own way. My philosophy, as always, is “Life is a journey.” Share the good times; work your way through the hard times; let the Lord take care of the things you can’t control and take the journey one day at a time.

Until next time, we send our love to all. Goodbye from Gary and Judy.