We have Arrived

Jim and I left Reno, Nevada early Monday moring because we weren't used to Mountain Time yet.  Since we were ready so early we decided to take the longer route to San Francisco via Lake Tahoe and south.  I am so glad we did.  We got to see breath taking views of Lake Tahoe as we drove south of Reno.

I even had to do a short video of the Lake

 After Lake Tahoe, we started heading up in the mountains.  As Adalyn would say, we went to the snowy mountains.  Again, spectacular views. Though I am disappointed I didn't a picture of the frequently spotted Cow Crossing signs.  We still can't figure out what it meant becasue we didn't see any cows in the mountains. Here are some "snowy mountain" shots.

 After a few hours of up up up and then down, we were in the valley that was full of wineries and cherries.  We didn't stop for either if you can believe that, only because the wineries weren't open at 10 am.

Everyone arrived safely from Italy and we ending the day catching up and refreshing our Italian and English.

Today we headed into San Francisco via the BART.  The only one who doesn't speak fluent Italian has to make sure everyone gets the correct amount on their Clipper card and then gets through the turnstiles, while trying to make the train that arrives in 4 minutes.  It was close, but we made it.

It was a beautiful day in San Franciso. We rode one of the double decker buses called a Hop On Hop Off. 

Can you see I scratched my chin in my sleep last night, weird!

The Italians enjoying San Francisco 

We were able to visit the Painted Ladies

Then it was off to the Golden Gate Bridge and Lombard Street. Yes, we walked from Van Ness all the way up Lombard street so we could see the crooked part of it.

There are two more hills after this one!

We rode the Cable Car back to Powell Street to catch the BART back to the Airbnb. I will post those pictures tomorrow when I get them off of Jim's phone.  We are taking the BART, Metro and Ferry to visit Alcatraz tomorrow so wish me luck in getting all the cards loaded.  

5 States in 2 Days

We just arrived in Reno, NV after a long day of driving through Wyoming, Utah, and much of Nevada.  Saturday we traveled from Hays, KS, through Colorado, and on to Rock Springs, Wyoming.  A very uneventful trip.

The highlight of the drive on Saturday day was that Jim saw 100s of Pronghorn through out the entire drive and the speed limit was 80 much of the time.

It was difficult to get many pictures when your life is flashing by you at 85 mph.  Here are a few.

These are from when we stopped at a rest area in Wyoming, I think!

Today started off beautiful and cool at 51 degrees. We arrived in Utah and the scenery was amazing. We stopped at rest area that had a little trail and ground squirrels who wanted to be fed!

This one walked right up to me expecting me to feed him.  

Then as we got closer to Salt Lake City, it started hail and rain, this lasted for 5 hours.

 Notice the snow fences! Miles and miles of them.

After 10 hours of driving, which really wasn't that bad except for the rain, we made it to Reno.  A trip to the Riverwalk for a walk was our entertainment for the evening.  

Back at the hotel, Jim is camping out in the guest laundry room waiting for a washer.  Of course he is visiting with everyone in there. 

Tomorrow it is a 4 hour drive to airport to pickup Jim's cousins.  They leave Italy at about 1am our  time and will arrive here at 2:30pm our time. Hope to have time to post a few pictures tomorrow night of their arrival.  

San Francisco Bound!

We are driving to San Francisco to meet Jim's cousins from Italy.  We will pick them up and over the next two weeks, make our way back to Fayetteville via Sequoia National Park, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, and maybe a few other places. So just to keep you all entertained, I am going to try to remember to take pictures and write about our eccellente adventrue each day. Not sure if it will be ecellente, but it will be an adventure!!

And we are off!
We were a little late in leaving Fayetteville due to a mix up at the post office, that is for another time.  We headed out towards Tulsa, going a way we hadn't gone before.  Most of the drive was through Oklahoma and Kansas.  One thing I learned, Kansas looks a lot like Illinois, only with hills!

Jim saw more things than I did, my eyes were closed some of the time.  He spotted this little church out in the middle of nowhere.

We made it to Hays, KS.  They have a great pizza place, Gutch's.  Also they have miles and miles of cobblestone streets, reminds us of where we grew up!

Ignore the bug juice on the window, again just like Illinois!

Who Do I Love?

God's Word is so alive! There are days when we can actually hear Him speak. Sometimes it is an uplifting, reassuring message and other times it is a convicting, humiliating message. His Word is alive and should be changing us, purifying us. Today's verses are the convicting ones. How can we claim to love God when we can't love our neighbor or our fellow Christian? Most all of us are guilty of judging and condemning those who do what we don't like or rub us the wrong way, we just don't like them.  God doesn't say we have to like everyone, He says we must love them. Show respect, kindness, compassion even during disagreements. To love someone means to look past their faults and show them the love that Christ has shown us, people who are full of faults too! Who are you failing to love, ask God to help you love them the way Christ does.

1 John 4:20-21 NIV

20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

Is It My Best?

I was reading about the first woman Quaker preacher, she lived during the 1600s. She was imprisoned often and public beaten even in her old age, yet she never stopped preaching about Christ. She gave her best all the time and didn't let discomfort stop her. Reading about her caused me to ask myself, "Am I giving my best?" Or am I giving what doesn't cost me too much? God wasn't pleased with the Israelites who were giving left-over or defected offerings. How often do we give Him our left-overs, poor efforts, or complain that we are just too busy? God wants and deserves our best all the time. What are we holding back, where is our best going? Take a moment today and Google Elizabeth Hooton. Let's start today to work to give our best to God each and every moment of the day, because He does the same for us!

Malachi 1:8 NIV

8 When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty.

Who Are My Teachers?

There are days when all you want to do is pull the covers over your head and stay in bed! There are also days when you cry out, "will this ever end!" When you are having one of those days or moments, open your Bible and read Isaiah 30:20-21. We may have adversity or affliction, but our guide through it is not hidden! We have the Holy Spirit, we have church family, we have the words of Christ to guide us in the right path, to get us out of bed and on our way! Listen for that voice guiding your way, open your eyes to the teachers around you. They may not get you out of the adversity immediately, but they will get you through it if you just listen and look.

Isaiah 30:20-21 NIV

20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

What must I do!

In today's verses, the jailer saw the Lord at work as the cell doors were opened, but the prisoners didn't leave. He recognized a wonderful thing and asked how to be saved, the disciples' response was, "believe!" As soon as the jailer heard the words they spoke to him about the Lord, he immediately started serving. He washed their wounds, he didn't wait to be trained, he didn't wait to know more, he started serving right away. Often times we think we need to be more prepared to serve God, but really all it takes is for is to say, "what must I do?" Each morning ask God what he wants you to do that day and be ready to do whatever it maybe! Remember, what He asks of us may not make sense to us or others, but it is always the right thing if God is sending us.

Acts 16:31-34 NIV

31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.