Thinking about God while keeping my feet (& wheels) on the ground!
Georgia Bound!
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Got up this morning and walked around down by the marsh. Needless to say it was beautiful. After I broke camp, I loaded up. Not liking the look of the hazy sky, I put the rain covers on the bags. Wet luggage is something that I learned how to deal with the hard way in 2017. I took off for Georgia headed to Kingsland which is south of Savannah.
I road to Mt. Pleasant and decided to have breakfast. I met up with Jim Brown who recently moved to Mt. Pleasant from Greeneville, TN and was a member of St. James. We chatted over breakfast and enjoyed some coffee. It was great to see him again.
When I got to West Ashley, I stopped for gas and it started to spit rain. (Glad I covered the luggage!) I donned my rain suit and off I went. The whole ride was periods of wet, dry, rain, wet, rain, dry, rain (you get the picture).
I was able to connect with another friend from my past, Amy Cadawader and her family. Amy and I have known each other for at least 53 years. From elementary school on. We’ve kept up over the years. The last time I saw Amy and her family was 2015 on a vacation to Florida when I came through Kingsland. They picked me up for dinner after I had a chance to dry off, have a much needed shower, and change. Seafood! Yummy, coastal, Georgia, seafood!
I’ve said before that this sabbatical is about re-connections and relationships. It’s not just about reminiscing about the past. I am intentionally connecting with folks, who through the years have supported me, prayed for me, cried with me, laughed with me, helped me, as well as people who I’ve influenced, prayed with, cried with, laughed with, etc.
As followers of Jesus, we are “communal,” which means our relationships with one another matter to the point that our faith depends on it. I’ve heard it said that people are in your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Many start out as reasons for a season, but often end up lifetime connections. I cherish these connections in my life. They give me great joy.
This past few Sundays, we’ve heard the bulk of the farewell discourse in the Gospel according to John. (Chapters 14-17) Jesus prays… “As you Father, are in me and I am in you, may they (speaking about his disciples / followers) also be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me.” As believers, we are part of one another in Christ, part of the movement or faith community we call the church. We are part that is left in the world to prepare the world for reconciliation, when all creation will be made anew.
Challenge to St. James: Think about creative ways to build long lasting relationships. If we are truly part of one another in Christ, it should be pretty easy to find a starting point. I’ve seen several new faces on Sunday morning. Please make sure that we take the time to get to know them and they get to know us.
Challenge to Self: Continue to reconnect throughout the sabbatical and throughout your life. The people you are connecting with are made in the image of God and you are part of them and they are part of you and you both are part of God in Christ.
Today (7/19), I rode "inland" up into California rather than hug the coast. It was my plan, as much as possible, to go up Hwy 1 as far as I could. Mother Nature had other plans. The recent land slides at Big Sur and the Forest Fires kept me off of the southern coast of California. It was disappointing, but I decided to do other stuff instead. I set a course to the Pinnacles National Park in central California. I was contacted by Ruth Greer, who wanted to catch up with me on the journey. I worked for Jerry Greer who was the Radiological Controls Operations Supervisor at Westinghouse/Bettis Atomic Power Lab in the early 90s at NPTU Charleston. I haven't seen the Greers since I left Westinghouse in 1994, so it's been 23 years. I thought originally that they lived in Utah, and was planning to see them on the return trip, but they had moved to Bakersfield, CA a few years ago. So, I routed today's trip through Bakersfield and had lunch with Jerry and Ruth Greer. It ...
I feels a bit surreal, having completed 2,400+ miles of the "first" route west from Chicago to Santa Monica. Riding out onto the Santa Monica Pier was a feeling of exhilaration and fulfillment! The road reavealed to me much more than I thought it would. It was truly an icon, showing me something more profound through it. I was glad to be able to travel Route 66. When I arrived in Santa Monica, another connection from my past was waiting for me. Bob Motamedi and I went to Frederick Military Academy together and graduated in 1985. We ate dinner together and caught up from the 32 year gap since we have seen each other. After dinner, Bob walked me back to the bike, where I realized that a 3 year old battery and the heat and stress of the desert don't get along too well. After calls to AMA and HOG, we figured that it would be good to try a local parts place. We found one open till 9pm! They were able to bring me a battery. Because it was late, Bob invited me to stay with him, ...
I am trying to do things on my sabbatical that take my mind off the millions of things I deal with in my normal routine. What I have noticed, so far, is that I am a creature of habit. I like routine. I appreciate rhythm. So, what happens is that I get into the rhythm for the task... Packing, riding, cooking, camping... it's all a process. What most people probably don't realize is that I like to camp. Kelly and I like to camp. Kelly grew up camping. I grew up camping (thanks mom & dad who are in there 70s and still camp). I also like to ride. However, motorcycle camping is much different. It's like fast backpacking! :) That's the closest description I could come up with. It is a it out of the comfort zone (intentionally). But, I'm getting the hang of it. We do what we like to do, but we should always push the boundaries a bit... Get out of the comfort zone. I'm not sure it was easy for Peter, Andrew, James, and John to leave the fishing trade and...
May 4, 2022 We spent the day in Dahlonega, GA. Woke up VERY SORE with heavy legs. I had to shuffle to the other room. At breakfast, we met up with a man that was Ken's age who had spent the last year preparing, backpacking trips, and practicing and who had also come off the trail for similar reasons. He was having issues with heat exhaustion and extreme cramping. I didn't remember a fun fact until our shuttle driver yesterday reminded me. An old Army Ranger saying goes, "Sassafrass will kick your ass!" It refers to Sassafrass Mountian, which is the assent that we didn't make yesterday before calling for a shuttle. On the other side, the Army Ranger School is at the bottom of Sassafrass Mountain. Now, it all makes sense. 😦 We have spent the day walking around Dahlonega, trying to work the soreness out of our muscles. Ken took his pack to the Wilderness store in Dahlonega to have the woman evaluate his gear. Mostly he was in good shape. We could have both shaved a...
After speaking to two Gentlemen at St. Andrew's, today (7/31) I decided to take the route through the Northern Cascade Loop. This would require riding to Port Townsend and taking the ferry to Whidbey Island on Route 20 and staying on 20 over Deception Pass through the Northern Cascade mountain range. That is exactly what I did!! What a beautiful ride. Plenty of turns and twists, elevation climbs. Lots of other bikes! I stopped at the Northern Cascade National Park Visitor's Center, then I rode all the way to the little town of Winthrop, WA where I set up camp at the KOA. I met a nice young couple and their two children at the campground. My thoughts today are on perception. I love the fact that people don't expect me to say that I am a priest. I don't know if you have noticed, but my beard is in, I'm mostly in rider neon, or a Harley t-shirt and jeans. It was very cool talking to this young couple, and then (inevitably) the topic comes around "what do y...
Yesterday (7/20) I set a course for the coast! Starting at San Francisco, I started up Hwy 1. I came to San Francisco via San Jose where I stopped in and visited the Manager of the Spartan Bookstore at San Jose State University, Jesse Nelson. Jesse and I went to Frederick and graduated in 1985. He and I roomed together Sophomore year and remain great friends to this day! It was great to catch up with him and have some lunch. I went from San Jose through San Francisco to pick up Hwy 1. I got to cross the Golden Gate Bridge on my motorcycle! That was very cool 😎. Once I got through the traffic and got on Hwy 1 is was AMAZING! North of San Francisco I followed Hwy 1 up to Salt Point State Park. Today, I went from Salt Point SP to Arcata, CA. Salt Point was COLD last night! It was good to get up and get moving this morning. I tried something a little different with the GoPro. I mounted it to the bike and shot video. I thought the scenery it revealed was awesome. My though...
The last couple of days have been interesting! I left Niagara Falls on Thursday 6/29 and rode to central Ohio where I stayed at Lake Wapusun Campground in Shreve, OH that is run by my wife's cousins, Mark & Lisa Everitt. The night there was rough!! Right after I made camp, a storm front came through about 8:30pm and it RAINED and THUNDERED until 7:00am. My little 2 person REI tent is a CHAMP! I emerged nice and dry. However, I had to pack wet again. (It seems like it's becoming routine!) - see the reflection on packing wet Nonetheless, the ride to Toledo on 6/30 was outstanding! The weather was not too hot, not too cool, not raining. I rode to Signature Harley Davidson, where I met up with General Manager, Kris Friar (another of Kelly's cousins). I was able to spend the evening with Kris and she took me to Tony Packo's, a famous Hungarian Food place in Toledo, OH. I stayed over at Kris' and left the next morning. Guess what... another storm came th...
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