My Deliverer Is Coming...

Dear friends,

I began this blog in the fall as a way for all of you to follow my escapades as I drove across America. I loved almost every second that road trip. I loved that I was able to experience America in a whole new way. I was able to take pictures, both with my camera and my mind, that will forever connect me to the spots I had traveled. I read an article about something in Idaho and I see Idaho. I watch a news program about a bomber in Spokane, and my mind takes me to Spokane. I watch TMZ and recognize most of the filming locations as places I've walked around, eaten at, or tried (unsuccessfully, I'll happily admit) to also stalk famous people. Heck, I play Oregon Trail and now know exactly how far it is from Ohio to Oregon. (Thankfully, I never had to caulk my wagon and try to ford a river hoping that little Timmy was rested up enough after the snake bite that we wouldn't lose him but only 2 sets of clothes!)

Mostly, though, I've loved this blog because I was able to take you with me. I know that you don't have all the same tangible memories that I have but maybe I was able to tell you enough about something that you are able to identify more as well. Maybe you now love Washington State a bit more because of my urging. Perhaps, you now want to visit Oregon and shop in their amazing sales-tax-free-ness.Or perhaps, you, like me, can now visualize a real buffalo when hunting on Oregon Trail. (too much Oregon Trail?)

In the same way, during this wintry doom that is upon us ("Snowpocalypse 2011," if you will) my mind instantly goes from worrying about the blizzard in Chicago to the ice fields of Indianapolis and Cincinnati.

Why?

Because I've lived there. I know the cities. I know the people. I worry for friends. I worry for strangers. I worry for the homeless. I know what the cities are. I know that, as good ol' Midwestern cities, they are relatively used to and definitely know how to brace themselves for weather such as this. I've received photos from friends and family of inches of ice, feet of snow, and empty store shelves. I'm sure this is not much unlike your experience. (Even if it's not, it now can be...after all, you care about me, right? well, I'm stuck right in the middle of Chicago and Cincinnati with 6 inches of ice, snow, and our friend sleet. ugh.)

We know these places because we've been there. Our hearts break because we care personally about the welfare of the citizens and the land of the places that we have come to love.

I'm writing all this not to remind you of those places that you are attached to, but to tell you, once again, from a personal point of view, of another place that I love, I have seen with my own eyes and that I am heart broken over:

Egypt

In the fall of 2009, my mom and I had the unlikely opportunity to travel to land of the Pharaohs and stay for 3 weeks. We visited Cairo to marvel at the pyramids, experience the Cairo museum, and have dinner on the Nile. We ran played ultimate, real life Frogger as we ran across lanes of unyielding traffic. We hung out with Bedouins (one even offered my mom camels in exchange for my hand). We got to know Cairo. Now, I cannot say that we fell in love with Cairo. We saw a lot of corruption. We were worried for those we got to know.

After a few days in Cairo, we went to Alexandria. Here was we really got to know Egyptians. Sure, we took in the sites in Alex too, like the Library and the bazaars. But here we got to know Egyptians. We got to go on crazy car rides. We got eat dinner with new friends. We got to pray together and play together. I learned a few silly phrases and even picked up the nickname "magnoona" which translates to "crazy." haha. It was a good time. There were a small group (4-5) of guys I befriended.

Last night, I saw one of those friends on the news. He was carrying a sign protesting. Knowing that it was risky, I sent him a message on the computer last night saying that I saw him and that we are praying.

This morning I got a response:

"yah (my name) plz pray for egypt and for us this is hard days no safe at all at all"

And so, I'm sending that message on to you. Please pray. Please pray for Egypt. Pray for my friends. Pray for the country I have seen and walked on. Pray for the country that you have read about here, online, and in your Bible.

I don't know what is right here. I don't know if the president should step down. I don't know if democracy would be better. I don't know much about this. But I do know the One who does. I do know the One who has heard cries from Egypt before. I know that we need to petition before Him to have His will done.

Egypt can be a scary place. It doesn't have to be. But I can tell you, that Egypt falls to the Brotherhood, it won't just be Egpyt that is a scary place. Egypt will just be a launching pad for much worse things. Please pray. Pray for the Egyptians. Pray for the Coptic Christians in Egypt. Pray that they can bring Light to this dark time.

When I first came back from Egypt, I posted these lyrics from Rich Mullins on my old blog as they resounded with me in a way they never had before. I'm going to post them now, because, hopefully they'll resound the same way with you...

Joseph took his wife and her child and they went to Africa
To escape the rage of a deadly king
There along the banks of the Nile,
Jesus listened to the song
That the captive children used to sing
They were singin'

My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by

Through a dry and thirsty land, water from the Kenyon heights
Pours itself out of Lake Sangra's broken heart
There in the Sahara winds Jesus heard the whole world cry
For the healing that would flow from His own scars
The world was singing

My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by

He will never break His promise - He has written it upon the sky

My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by

I will never doubt His promise though I doubt my heart, I doubt my eyes

My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by

He will never break His promise
though the stars should break faith with the sky

My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming.

**I know this isn't my typical lighthearted, silly post. It's a little political. It's a little religious. It calls for drawing lines in the sand and praying to the the God of the Universe who knows and understands. I don't normally do things like this but enough is enough. I can't sit by anymore. Please join me in prayer.

3 sisters + 2 days of straight driving = 1 crazy adventure

Hello again friends,

I'm writing to you from the backseat of my faithful Ford Focus. She's a beaut, she is! (I like to refer to her like she's a boat. Also, sometimes I refer to "her" as a "him", never, ever an "it".) I began the driving today around 9 am and, aside from Catie's hour drive in the Redwood Forest and the hour of my life I'll never get back thanks to Subway, finally traded drivers about 30 minutes ago. It's currently quarter to 6 pm. That, my friends, is a long day!

The day has been a good one. I was able to cross off and thing or two off of my bucket list. We awoke in Cresent City, CA and started down the coast.

I'll let you guess if we spent the night in a tent.

Here are some hints.

1: It was raining last night and this morning.

2: We heard seals from our sleeping quarters.

3: It was cold and dark.

4: I didn't care.

5: We did not camp in a tent.

The coast was breathtaking. Yesterday was a day filled with the Oregon's trees and coastlines. I'm fairly certain we squealed the first time we saw the ocean. We learned yesterday 3 reasons why no one would ever leave Oregon.

1. It's gorgeous!

2. They pump your gas and it still costs less!!

3. No state taxes!!!

Sadly, even though we learned these things, we still left. (Fear not, we didn't leave before we took Catie to 3 different stores to find an Oregon keychain. ugh. Everyone ask to see it, please.) Leaving Oregon was rewarded by entering California. I'd love to say it was all sunshine and rainbows but yesterday was a day of dark rain clouds. The Oregon coast was lovely but gray. And once we hit California the clouds outside did been replaced my own grey clouds. What can I say? I like my space. Actually I can say more. Please humor me...

This paragraph can be skipped because it doesn't deal directly with the trip but more me as a person. Feel free, I won't be upset...ok? .... .... Okay, that was your warning: So I have a problem. I can admit it (at least most of the time). I'm a performer. constantly. a constant performer. This means sadly that even with my family and close friends I often feel like I have to be "on". Truthfully, while this is second nature (first nature?), it is exhausting. And when I get exhausted, I get snappy. And when I'm exhausted and hungry, I get extra snappy. This happened last night. We didn't eat dinner until about 9 pm after being in a car cracking jokes and throwing silly dance parties for/with 2 people for 8 hours. Needless to say, it was a lethal mix. I got quite mean over the fact that I no longer have conditioner on this trip because someone else had used mine and my big, beautiful, Costoc-sized Dove shampoo and conditioner got left behind in Seattle. sigh. It's not a big deal. It's not a big deal. It'snotabigdeal. I just wanted craved alone time. Thankfully (?) my sisters didn't listen and drug me to dinner. (Though honestly, at that point I don't know if they really wanted me to come along or just my debit card.)

After dinner at The Apple Peddler, where I had the waitress rolling, thankyouverymuch (especially when I compared Catie's head to a goldfish bowl that could hold 3 goldfish), we went to our hotel. It was a lovely hotel. We were given the bay side and could, in fact, hear the seals from right outside our door. Not bad for $70. The weirdest thing was the television that would automatically turn itself on and automatically switch channels. Oddly enough the remote would change channels but not turn the stupid thing off. ugh. Needless to say, I fell asleep with the tv on but the volume way, way down. Who wants to get out of bed at a hotel?

Oh, I should include here that I'm slightly freaked out at the idea of bed bugs. I don't care if they bite me and I'm not "afraid" of them. I just don't want them in my stuff. It can cost tens of thousands to get them removed. I don't have tens of thousands. This issue is so big that I've included it on the list of questions that I ask potential hotels (along with "Do you have any taxidermy", of course). Last night, I stopped and asked a hotel clerk if they had any. He basically laughed at me and told me they were a made up things that parents used to scare children. I corrected him on this matter post haste. He then told me I was welcome to look in the rooms and show him any if they had some so he'd know what they'd look like for the future. Needless to say, we stayed in a different hotel. That's not to say I didn't dream about bedbugs last night. yuck!

This morning, once we got on the road, we continued our drive down the 101. (We discussed the 1 and all decided we'd rather a shorter trip with redwoods, then a long trip with beach...we'll beach it later.) I'm so glad we spent the night in Crescent City last night. Everything was more beautiful this morning. The sun was actually out. We were able to see the beach and rocks and trees.

For the sake of time, I will skip ahead to the Redwood Forrest. I love trees. When I was 6 years old I convinced myself that my best friend was the tree in my front yard that I stood by/talked to everyday while waiting for my little first grade bus. I cried the day it was cut down. Ask my mom. It still pains me to see a tree get preened. And, yes, I have been called a tree hugger more than once in life. All that is to say, those redwoods are amazing. I wanted to hug every one. Honestly, reflecting back, I don't think I hugged one. I did, however, hug a bear made out of a single tree. I also took numerous pictures with trees, by trees, on trees, and even in trees. I want tress back in my life. There aren't really trees in Chicago.

I drove halfway through the Redwood Forrest and then Catie took over. She was a rockstar. This was her first time driving on the trip and she could handle those wooded curves with ease. The thing that really, truly makes her a rockstar though is the fact that she (the only one of us!) drove through a tree! She is my hero.

I feel I need to quickly clear up some Redwood confusion.

Are they big? yes!

Are they tall? yes!

Can you drive a car through them? barely.

The opening for your car is only 7 ft wide and 7 ft high! Catie, like an expert, guided my car through the tree. It fit like a glove. She will always be the-girl-who-drove-my-car-through-a-tree to me. And I will always be proud!

We left the Forrest and headed for the first exit we saw. (I'll skip a major sister fight here. Kelly was smart and just went inside as Catie and I duked it out.) Little did I know as I entered that Subway/gas station that this was about to be the most adventurous hour of today's trip.

So...to set the scene: Catie and I aren't talking to each other, Kelly is trying to stay out of it, there is one guy working at the counter, and a group of people all ordering footlong subs. As I get into line this is the first thing I hear:

"No, sorry we are out of meatballs"

"They're out of meatballs!" "Oh man, I wanted meatballs. Okay, how about Ham and Swiss"

"Uh...sorry we're out of swiss" Then someone in the back room calls out, "We're out of steak too!" The sandwich maker adds on "oh, and we don't have a toaster."

Already I can tell this is going to be awesome. By "swiss" Catie and I had apparently made up because we were snickering at each other. It just keeps getting better and better as 4-5 different people keep coming in and out with this order, all passing down the same, "they don't have ____" information. Seriously, this went on a long time. So long, in fact, that I took out my Droid and begin yelping for other places around Garberville, CA. Unfortunately, neither "Nacho Mama" nor "Getti Up" held any appeal of any of us. So we waited...for about 25 minutes.

Finally it's our turn. Kelly's up first. By this time, two workers come out. Still no idea why only one guy was making all of the footlongs. She orders a tuna sandwich. "We don't have tuna." He quickly adds, "but we could make some." Off goes guy number one to make Kelly's tuna fish salad.

Catie is up next. Oven Roasted Chicken with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. Hers gets put together nice and easily. Some may even say "fast."

By this time, the first guy is back with Kelly's tuna. The second guy is finishing Catie's. And third guy is finally ringing out the big order.

My turn has come. After staring at the board for the past 30 minutes, I'd realized that the club was cheaper was turkey. "What's on the club?" I asked when my turn finally came.

"Turkey, Roast Beef, and Ham"

"Can I get it with no Ham. I don't eat eat pork."

"Sure," and then, no lie, he whispers "are you a Jew?"

"No. I just stopped eating pork in 5th grade. It's gross."

"Okay, because, I mean, it would be ok"

"Well, sometimes I tell people I'm a Jew but I'm not really..."

This conversation continues as I tell him, in my ridiculous, public, effervescent way, that I want all of the toppings except the hot ones, like peppers. So he was chatting about the fat cucumbers that had been hand sliced so they were too big, and I was making stupid jokes about it being redwood country so every thing's bigger, when he asked me what sauces I wanted. "Light mayo and spicy mustard."

As he lifted the mayo, I could see a dead fly on the bottom on the bottle. ugh. Before I could even say anything, he squirted it on the sandwich...dead fly and all! blech! I froze. Kelly yelled out, "hey, there's a fly!"

He looked down, "Where? I don't see it."

Seriously? It was easily one of the biggest flies I've ever seen. I'm not accustom to seeing flies in mayo on my sandwich so perhaps I'm exaggerating on the size a bit. But it was a HUGE horsefly. ugh. yuck. yuck. yuck!

Thankfully, he quickly made me a new sandwich as he apologized and apologized. Apparently, he was legally blinded and didn't like to wear his glasses. uh...what?!? At any rate, I got a free sandwich, which I barely had the stomach to eat (but I did because it was well into the 2 o'clock hour and I had been waiting for it for 45 minutes!).

And that, friends, is the perfect way to get over a family fight. After a disgusting adventure like that to bond other who can even remember who started what about what? no one. We are just all happy to get out alive. Oh, and I almost forgot about the creepy guy who was telling Catie he was going to go get drunk for the first time in 12 years because he was tired of getting high. He even showed her the 12 proof substance he was going to use. Oh, northern California...

So after the Subway fiasco, I continued driving toward Oakland, CA. We are spending the night with a college friend's best friend. I will let you know all about San Fran next time we meet here in the cyber world.

- the nomad

PS> At the insistence of others, I added ads. What do you think? I'm I now a sellout? Can you be a sellout if you've only really been a blog writer for two weeks?

PPS> Happy 10.10.10