Looks like we made it.

We worshipped with the fine folks at Christ Lutheran Palm Coast and the Magnell family this morning, and headed down the road to Orlando and Disney. So far this trip has been highlighted by side trips. Today was no exception. We saw the sign for Daytona Beach, and wanting to see the ocean one more time, to the beach we headed. Right past the Daytona Speedway (awesome) and to Atlantic Ave which runs through the town and along the ocean. After some walking in the sand, we drove thru Daytona proper. I mentioned yesterday that it was Bike Week - touted as the world's largest motorcycle rally. Think Sturgis with lots of sand. One street was so packed you could not move down it. Unreal. Pretty cool to see. After a 2 hour tour, we made our way to the condo and finally to Downtown Disney for some food and a little shopping. Met two guys from West DSM there with the Valley band, and saw lots of Iowa gear too. No matter where you go...

Tomorrow is Epcot with a forecast of 85 and sunny. Gonna be great.

Flagler Beach

We spent the day on the beach. Absolutely perfect. 80's and bright sun. Nice breeze off the ocean. Cold drinks and sandwiches. Waves and sand. Motorcycles and lots of people around for Bike Week and spring break. We got a little too much sun but it was awesome. Here is a rundown.

Photos from days 1-2

A quick look.

Road warriors

We made it to Palm Coast, FL. Plenty tired from 22 hrs on the road, but thankful for the time together and the amazing sites. Included are:

Blood red moon at 3:30 am Thurs. Beautiful.

St. Louis at 8:30, The Arch, Busch Stadium, at the morning rush.

Metropolis, IL. Home of Superman. Giant statue.

Nashville - The Parthenon, 5 Guys Burgers, Travis Patton, and the Opryland Hotel. We had a ball getting lost, eating with a great friend, and playing like Percy Jackson. A choir showed up and threw it down in the Parthenon. Our hotel was super sketch, but we made due.

Rain Fri morning and off and on all day. Bright sun and pushing 90, too.

Rural Georgia. It was super long but vey pretty.

Alligators in the wild at Okefenokee Swamp Park. Crazy.

A lovely sunset in Jacksonville. Here to dinner with friends in Palm Coast.

Day breaking in the Smoky Mountains. Wow.

All in all, so far so good.

Stuff I learned on vacation

Had a day or two back in flatland and thick air to consider vacation. It really was all a vacation should be - lots of fun, laughter, not as much sleep as I probably needed but totally worth it, a mind full of memories and a heart that was both sad to leave and ready to come home. Saturday in Estes Park, sitting by Sprague Lake hanging with Abner (the Sprague Moose),

I shifted gears. It was time. It felt like we had done everything we wanted/needed to do soul-wise, and it was time to return to the real world. I have found that time in the mountains really does refresh my soul. There is a free and easy, peaceful, no worries and no hurries ethos that permeates the little mountain towns we hung out in, that I really enjoy and desire to bring back here. This year it feels like that is possible, maybe more than it has for some time.

I learned a lot about the reliability of God, too. I had written about our prayer to be amazed each day, and there was something daily that truly did amaze us. More on that to come...God reminded me yet again that all we do is ask, and He will do some pretty cool stuff if we will only be open to what He does. I also learned that He is involved in details. It sounds nuts, but the very things we had hoped and prayed about seeing (bear, moose, sheep, beauty) we did see. In abundance, in surprising places, and often through an odd and I guess I think supernatural leading to the moment. The moose are a good example, I suppose. Each time we saw one of these beasts, Kari or I had a sense that we needed to be in that spot. No idea why...the first one, we had left the spot she came out of the woods, but Kari had a strong sense we should go back. We did, and this beauty pops her head out of the pines...

This happened again and again...too many times to be a coincidence. I still shake my head at some of this stuff. So crazy, but that is how Jesus works. Just when you think it is too crazy to be true, He shows up. Pretty sweet, actually.

So...lots to process and take home. The big one for this morning, as I look at the planner that filled with blue ink yesterday, is that He is reliable. To the last. He will allow us to work hard, indeed, it is necessary. But He will not drop the ball. Especially when it is His show. And He cares about the details. If He cares enough to reveal His presence and care through something as 'simple' as a moose or herd of bighorn sheep, won't He provide all I need to take care of the list that is growing by the moment. Dang straight He will.

Day 8, I think?

Home. That may have been the quickest 11 hr drive ever, honestly. Our kids were road warriors. The dogs seem happy to see us. Good to be in my easy chair. Tomorrow is my last day of vacation, which includes re-entry and preps for launch Tuesday. Hoping the Colorado free and easy lasts...today, a blessing on the way down Big Thompson Canyon. The elusive Bighorn Sheep. During our family worship...

Day 7.

Unbelievable. That's about all we can say about today. Brady and I hiked up Bible Point, a low mountain that overlooks the YMCA camp. At sunrise. He was awesome, we had some good conversation and man time, and I think may have established a tradition for us. We spent the morning in Wild Basin, a southern part of RMNP that sees a bit less traffic than the rest of the park. We hiked to Copeland Falls, which was beautiful. This was our last 'hike' of the trip, and that was alright. We all have pretty tired legs from a few days in a row of dirt! After lunch, we went up to Sprague Lake to see if the Eastside Moose was around. We parked at 3:15 pm; Emy was adamant we needed to be there by 3:00 cuz that is when someone else had seen him at the lake 2 days prior. We started out to the lake, and I went back to the van to get my fishing gear; I had just started back when Brady came tearing around the corner, saying, "Dad, come quick. The Moose!" We ran out as this big boy was starting out into the lake and proceeded to snap a ton of pics as he ate his way across the lake for an hour. The only drama was provided by a bunch of people that did not clear the way when he came out of the water looking for his usual path into the willow thickets south of the lake; it appeared as though he was getting antsy with all those people blocking his path, but eventually he calmed down and made his way through the willows and disappeared. That capped our trip, frankly. It was an amazing hour...then it was downtown for greasy burgers and hand cut fries at Penelope's, and back to the Y for mini golf and loading up the van. Planning on heading out tomorrow morning early, hoping for home later tomorrow evening. I think we all have a sense of sadness knowing it will likely be a year before we come back, but excited to have been amazed daily and even more to come back and further explore parts of RMNP/Estes Valley that we have not yet...and maybe even MORE excited to see our pups and sleep in our beds.