The ride begins in Huntington Beach, California!

After spending the night in Blythe, CA; we drove west at 7:30 am on Tuesday, June 12.  We traveled on I-10 through Thousand Palms.  Much of the scenery was dry and desolate.  Near Thousand Palms were MANY, MANY wind turbines...maybe the name of the town should be Thousand Wind Turbines!

As we drove on to LA via the busy freeways, we experienced heavy traffic on 91.  Russ' phone rang and someone that saw us on the road called the phone number on the sign on our trailer and told Russ, "God bless you!!!" Just the kind of encouragement we needed.  At this point I was feeling like I could throw up with anxiety of the big city, traffic & the enormity of it all.  Russ was driving, so I really had nothing to worry about, but I knew soon I would be behind the wheel!  We arrived safely at Huntington Beach State Park, we parked down the street on Brookhurst & got out the bikes.

 I rode down to the beach with Russ so we could take pictures.  The temperature was a comfortable 70 degrees.  The water looked beautiful as we rode toward the beach.  We walked through the sand the last 50 feet or so after the pavement ended to get to the water's edge to get our ceremonial picture dipping Russ' back tire in the Pacific Ocean.

We held hands and prayed on the west shore of this vast country and thanked God for getting us here, and prayed for His hand to guide, protect & be upon us in all that we do.  As I write, the tears stream down my face as they did as we prayed.  The enormity of the whole adventure can feel overwhelming, but we know it is in God's hands. Now the adventure truly began as I put my trust in God to guide Russ on the Santa Ana River bike trail as Gene and I made our way through the streets of LA.

Here we are, ready to head out! Russ left the beach at 12:30 pm Pacific time.  Gene (Russ's dad) and I miraculously had a non-stressful drive to Corona, where we found our hotel, (Ayres Suites West) checked in, & brought our bags to our room.  As I returned to the van for Russ' bag, here comes Russ, pedalling into the parking lot, looking like he had just ridden around our neighborhood! It was 3:30 pm and he had traveled almost 40 miles.  Praise the Lord! We all ended up in the same place! 

Tonight he has been working on "map my ride" on Google to lay out the details for tomorrow. Please pray for our safe travel as we continue out of this heavily populated area.
It's just after 8:30 pm Pacific time as I post this, but both of my boys are sleeping.  I don't think we've adjusted to the time change and we are worn out!
Thank you so much for praying for us, we can certainly feel it!
Blessings to you!
Russ & Carol