Tripping Thru Recovery

My son, Joseph came to say goodbye and wish me safe travels this morning.  It was a very sad moment for me and I did not want to leave him or San Francisco but, it was time.  As I said farewell, I prepared myself for another day on the road.  The trip home was not planned out at all, in fact, I didn’t sit down to plot my course until the night before. 

My 1st goal of the day was to finally see the Golden Gate Bridge.  After last hugs from my boy, I headed out to complete that mission.  I was a little nervous about driving through the city but it turns out, it was a piece of cake, especially compared to finagling my way through Los Angeles.  I drove over the Golden Gate Bridge with ease and even managed to take pictures (shhhh, I’m sure it was highly illegal). 

After crossing the bridge, I made my way to Muir Woods which is known to have some of the tallest and oldest redwood trees in the country.  Since it was such a gorgeous day and a Saturday, the roads going there were packed, so it took a little longer than I expected.  It was well worth the wait, such a tranquil place with trees lining the streets like umbrellas.  After soaking in the scenery, I looked at the clock and was shocked at how late it had become.  Now I had a slight dilemma.

My objective was to reach Reno, Nevada to spend the night.  I had to decide if I wanted to drive to Yosemite, which I really wanted to see or head straight to Nevada.  I didn’t want to be driving into the night so, I made the tough choice to forgo Yosemite.  “Disappointed” would be putting it lightly but the decision was made.  I programmed my GPS for Reno, not even looking at the route it would take and hit the road.  

As usual, I was talking to God along the way, telling Him how sad I am to be leaving California and how bummed I am that my adventure is over.  I mean, I’ve already seen all the cool places I planned to see, it felt kind of like Christmas as a kid.  You know how excited you got about Christmas, counting down the days.  It seemed to take forever to get there, then when the big day arrived and all the presents had been opened, you were sad it was already over?  That’s the way I felt.  No joke, about 10 minutes later, I came around a corner and I think my jaw dropped to the floor.  All around me were snow covered mountains, I’m talking about a 360 degree view.  I actually, said out loud, “God, you have got to be kidding me!”.  I was in Lake Tahoe, surrounded by the Tahoe National Forest and it was incredible!  

I guess my point is, life truly is a journey.  Just when you least expect it, something new and beautiful appears.  Now, instead of being disappointed that my quest to reach San Francisco has been completed, I’m keeping my eyes out for the next adventure!  I’m just going to enjoy the ride.