To California (Las Vegas tonight):

We are off. The morning went well. Packing complete, and I don’t think we left anything behind. Our first big trip is here, a full month in California, nine National Parks, Disneyland, and Alcatraz. But first we have to get through this crazy day. The four of us are flying to Las Vegas together, and then I am flying on to Fresno, California as they check in at the Vegas Hampton Inn. Why, you wonder? Why am I flying to Fresno and then driving 5 1/2 hours back to Las Vegas all in the same day? Well the answer is simple. It’s the only way I can rent a Jeep Wrangler for our month in California. We are traveling to nine beautiful national parks in 4 weeks. I want to be able to take it all in through a roofless vehicle. Remember, we are visiting the great Sequoias, Redwoods, Golden Gate Bridge, Yosemite Valley, etc. Thus, as they rest in the hotel, I travel on to Fresno and then back to Las Vegas. Maybe I am crazy.

Amber, Eli, and Josh got checked in at the Hampton Inn flawlessly. My plane landed, and I am in Fresno. It has been an ordeal to get this Wrangler. Booked it 6 months out. Three months out, the Enterprise location expressed doubt that a Wrangler would be available. I am not flying this extra trip to rent whatever car is available. Thankfully the area manager got involved. The Friday before we left, I received a call, a Wrangler has been secured for us. I pull in to Enterprise, there it is, and I begin my long drive back to Vegas.
About 3 hours in, I begin to feel a bit anxious. Is it the long day? Yes, I am tired. Is it the anticipation of the huge trip? It is now here. It’s got to be a once in a life time trip. Can it live up to that much anticipation. I wonder, is it easy to make things bigger than they are? I remember thinking about my first post, about Sabbatical. For the last several weeks, to express my ease of schedule and lack of stress, I have often responded, “It’s Sabbatical time!” For example, Amber asks, “Danny, do you want to go to my mom and dad’s for lunch or dinner for Memorial Day? My response, “I don’t care, it’s Sabbatical time.”

Here, I am driving, getting a bit anxious about the long day, drive back, and the big trip coming up. It’s beginning to take away the joy of the moment. But why? I am driving through California in a Jeep Wrangler, and it’s an absolutely beautiful day. Do we make things sometimes bigger than they are, put pressure on the moment? Yes, I am a bit nervous about all the details. Right now, the drive today seems too long. In my anxious moment, I sing the Doxology. Don’t worry it’s only me in the car. No one can hear. I pray the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer is mostly about the moment, the day, right now. “Give us our daily bread.” God help me get back into the joy of the moment. Take away my worry and anxiousness so that I can better enjoy the day. As it says in the sermon on the mount. “Do not worry about your life. Can you add a single hour to your life? Consider the birds of the air and the flowers. Does not God take care of them. Seek first God and God’s kingdom.”
Thirty minutes to go. Las Vegas is close. I am now back in Nevada. It’s evening, 9:00pm Nevada time, 12:00 am back home in Avon where I began the day leaving our house at 8:00 am. Yes, it’s been a long day, but I am enjoying it now. Very soon I will see my family.