The majesty of jellyfish and seahorses.

Do you ever have those times in life where you feel like you're in a snowglobe glued to the hands of a small child that won't stop shaking it? That's how I've felt since I landed back in America just over two weeks ago. I have had absolutely no time to let the flakes of my life settle.

So here I am, in Carmel by the sea, letting my flakes settle.

So I got back to America and the night I landed my car got broken into...you know how I wrote that fat blog about getting my joy back...well I'm quite sure that as I was writing those words, some really fun person was breaking my car window, relaxing, having a cigarette in my front seat, and deciding to take my fat life collection of cds. Which is a testament to the fact that each and every one of us has a decision to make in every circumstance. We decide how we are going to react in the face of everything that happens to us. I admit, I was quite bummed that I had to buy a new window, but alas, at least I have a car to break into. There's always a bright side. No matter which way you twirl it.

From landing in San Francisco that Thursday night to the treacherous drive to Riverside, after having no sleep the previous night, to quick goodbyes to family, to spending a rapid week and a half in Santa Barbara, wrapping up loose ends and enduring the hardest of farewells, to endless miles on the open road on the way to Oregon, one thing remains the same, and that's the realization that joy is always present, it's a matter of altering your mentality so that you become aware of it.

I'm not gonna lie, I've had some really hard moments these past couple weeks where I have seriously doubted God and this absurd plan He has for me in chucking me into the middle of nowhere in central Oregon. Spending 10 days living on the Mesa in Santa Barbara in a house with five gorgeous, wonderful, exuberant Jesus loving YoungLife leading gals might have been a poor decision on my behalf. I coveted, I envied, and I doubted. I realized how much I desperately wanted to live in that house and keep my pleasant life in Santa Barbara. But alas, that's not the master plan. So I pried my hands and heart off the people I love in that place and said goodbye to what has been my home, my haven, my playground, and my spiritual garden for the past four years. I'm off to the Northwest where it rains and it's cold and there's not a grocery store within an hour radius.

I left Santa Barbara Thursday midmorning and after crying for about a half hour I plummeted into a somber and somewhat blank and dejected mood. I drove from SB to Riverside where something magical happened. I wasn't planning on going back home home before my trip but boy is it a good thing I did. I had one last night with my family, one last night to feel warm and to truly enjoy the presence of the people I love with all my heart. My sister came over after school and I got to have homemade tacos around the table with my family and laugh and play Boggle and just be. It was simply magical. And the perfect way to start my epic journey to Oregon.

I left Riverside Friday at noon. I drove to Malibu to go visit a couple of my YoungLife girls that just graduated high school and are now freshmen at Pepperdine. Another magical moment. I watched these girls grow from girls into beautiful young women and there's something majestic about reflecting on that. I had lunch at the caf with them...epic. And we just talked and laughed and they told me stories about their college lives and I got to see their dorms and I felt like a proud little mama.

I stopped in Santa Barbara for a brief moment on my way up to San Luis Obispo. I drove the streets of downtown one last time and picked up my new phone, since my other one was defective...and hit the open road again, destination SLO.

Stayed the night in SLO with my best friend Chrissy and she grilled up the most amazing hamburgers I've had in a long time. Thanks Faf.

Saturday morning I hit the road, destination Salinas. I took the 1 all the way up and I wish I could use the words breath-taking and gorgeous without being cliche, in order to describe the views. Besides the beaches of New Zealand, I've never seen anything like it. I've lived in Southern California pretty much my whole life and the beaches of SoCal can never compare to the beaches of Central California. Glamorous. Stunning. God has a keen eye for attraction. I couldn't keep my eyes on the road.

I nearly ran out of gas and had to stop at a little station in Big Sur, where I reluctantly paid 3.86 a gallon for gas. I only bought 3 gallons. Enough to get me to Brent's house in Salinas.

Which brings me to my next adventure. I arrived in a valley with a view of Steinbeck's famous Castle Rock. The house was out of a storybook and the family was beautiful and overwhelmingly hospitable.

So I met Brent through some YoungLife friends earlier this year when they were on a road trip and they all stayed at my house. He returned the favor 10 fold. I got a little bit lost on the way to his house even though he supplied me with superb directions. He walked out to the road to help me out. I got a quick tour of his beautiful home and then we headed out to eat.

Henry's BBQ. On Lighthouse Ave in Monterey. Go there. The tri-tip is astounding and the service is staggering. Our waitress Miss Shelly was the sweetest little thing. She made sure I had everything my little heart desired, and then some. Brent and I caught up on life and then we booked it to the Monterey Bay Aquarium where we had just under an hour to enjoy the depths of the ocean. Jellyfish and seahorses have become my new obsession. I used to love unicorns. I still do. But I think I'm a little more captivated by these creatures that actually exist. There was a leafy seahorse that looked like he was trying really hard to be a plant. I was almost convinced. After petting a sea cucumber and watching male seahorses give birth our hour was up.

Brent continued to re-iterate how I picked the worst weekend to come visit...not only had he been up all night the previous night for a church lock-in, but it's Monterey's Cherry's Jubilee car show all weekend. The streets were flooded with middle aged men with their priceless car creations and women, children, oh and more middle aged men, drooling all over them. Fantastically entertaining. Someday I will restore a car of my own.

After oogling the cars, we went back to his pretty house for game night with the cousins. I learned how to play Pit, a game where you trade commodities in order to obtain a corner on the market. Brent's a finance guy. Seems fitting. We played some Cranium of course and we won with a Cameo Club Cranium...answer was lavalamp. And then I learned how to play Farkle, which is a rather mundane game of dice.

I had a glamorous guest bedroom with a bed fit for a princess. Haven't slept that well in ages. Woke up to the sunlight streaming in my window, which on any other day would have been a nuisance, but today I appreciated it, considering the view of the valley was staggering.

Had french toast and eggs this morning, breakfast of champions, or tall blonde roadies headed off on another big day of adventure. I went to church this morning with Lauren Adams, my fun friend that I went to India with. She's up visiting her pops in Monterey so I got to bid farewell to her after she dropped me in Carmel. My current location.

And that's the road trip thus far. Tonight I'm driving to Walnut Creek. Tomorrow heading across the state to Tahoe, then Reno, then hopefully through the Redwood Forest and on up the Oregon Coast and then into Corvallis by Tuesday night.

I've yet to determine where I'm staying Monday night. Should be pretty epic. I might sleep on top of my car on the side of the highway. Nothing like sleeping under the stars in a land of uncertainty. That's one thing I learned in the past 24 hrs. Brent was a fantastic host, but he repeatedly stated that he wasn't ever sure of directions....which was great. He was humble and honest and I just learned again that life is littered with uncertainties. And that's a great thing. Why do we ever need to be certain? The best days, the best moments, the most memorable instances always occur off the cuff. The details become alive when they're not printed in perfect penmanship in your daily planner. Brent, I wish I would have made you stop at that park. I'm regretting it now but how fun would that have been to go play on the playground that you grew up exploring. That's what life's about...unveiling the mysteries that live within adventure. I'm convinced. If you can reap anything from this wordy and all too drawn out online diary of mine, it's that you all have dreams. Make them real. A wise man once said, If you can dream it, you can do it. His name was Walt Disney and we all know where that statement got him...so heed his advice. Life's too short to not do the things we love and love the things we do.

Time to go lay on the beach in glorious Carmel. See you all on the other side of the rainbow.