California Vacation ... second stop.

We arrived in Visalia a little tired and hungry. We checked into the Marriot and had two rooms. As you know, five people in a room for the two previous nights were fine, but it’s good to have a little privacy. The Marriott was awesome. It was the best of the thirteen hotels that we stayed at. We drove through the streets of downtown Visalia that evening. It was neat. Visalia has a renovated downtown with several restaurants, unique shops and a movie theater. We ended up at the Brewery (for food only). The food was good and the wait staff was kind.

I knew about Visalia because Jack Bauer on 24 had gone to Visalia during one of the seasons and secondly, Patty serves two churches in Visalia through SecureGive. On Monday, we stopped by Gateway Church to say hello. The church was much larger than I envisioned. We said hello to the office staff and then drove over to Visalia’s First Assembly of God. The moment that we walked in we felt like family. The receptionists, the assistants, the executive pastor and the youth pastor all made us feel welcomed. Their facility was very impressive. They have over 2000 on a typical Sunday. It was funny that during our conversation Phil Luna, the Executive Pastor, said, “Oh by the way, our Pin Pad is not working.” So, I had an opportunity to help them out. I replaced their Pin Pad and added a driver that they were missing. It took me about an hour to diagnose the problems. As I was working on this unit with a Phillips head screwdriver in my hand, I laughed at myself. As that moment I was three thousand miles away working on a computer. Does it ever stop? You know, I did not sign up for that kind of work when I entered the seminary, but for whatever reason the Lord has allowed me to use a geeky part of my brain to help people. They were very appreciative of a fully functioning Pin pad and I left feeling glad that I could help in a small way.

We left First Assembly and had lunch down the street at Tahoe Joes. It had incredible architecture! We loved the design of the restaurant, but did not enjoy the food. It was so-so. You know when you see a great place, you expect great food. Tahoe Joes did not live up to our expectations. After lunch we headed to Sequoia National Park.

The temperature in Visalia was hot and in the mid to upper 90s. As we drove toward Sequoia, the temperature started to drop. We arrived at the entrance of the National Park, paid the $20 entrance fee and headed into the park. A few miles into the park, I had an ah-hah moment that will always be with me. In fact, in retrospect it was the most significant moment of the trips. We were driving around curvy roads and then we saw it or saw them. Giant Sequoia trees! WOW! I have never seen one. They are incredible. Seriously now, I felt like I was a part of “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” and I was the one who was shrunk. Looking at these massive trees reminded me that God is so much bigger than we imagine. I have seen pictures of Sequoias, but pictures do not do justice. They are huge.

Our car was loaded down as we drove into the mountains. With each turn, I watched the gas hand go down faster and faster. I quietly started to fret. I asked Patty to look for a gas station on the map and there was one about 30 miles away or so. No problem. Well, I think that must have been thirty miles as the crow flies, but around mountainous roads, it seemed a lot longer. I got real stressed. I tried to remain calm and in my mind I was thinking that I could hitch-hike to the station and back to the SUV. I thought that if they did not have a gas can, I would buy gallons of milk and use those containers. I had a plan. The fuel light was blazing and I was praying for God to have mercy on my stupidity. I reasoned with God saying, “God, I had a 1/3 of a tank left. I thought that I had enough.” In some ways, it was like the parable of the 5 foolish virgins and the 5 wise virgins in the New Testament. (You will hear a sermon on that passage on November 15, 2009). Five of these folks were prepared. They had enough oil. Five were foolish … they ran out. At that moment, I did not know which category I would land in … those with enough gas or those out of gas. The Lord had mercy and we made it to the station and I was glad to pay $3.39 a gallon.

I did have a few minutes of awe and wonder during my low-gas stress episode. We stopped and walked down to see the Sherman Tree. It’s the largest tree in the world. This Sequoia was massive. I was admiring this wonderful tree and then I got a little mad. This is the largest tree in the world and they named it, “The Sherman Tree.” As a Southerner, I was offended. Do you remember General Sherman? From September 2 until the second week in November 1864, he occupied the city of Atlanta. During this time, he ordered the destruction of Railroad yards, workshops and warehouses, culminating in the destruction of 35% of the city. He marched through the South torching everything in his path. As I looked at this tree, I thought about Sherman and realized that winning has its privileges and maybe I am a sore loser, but maybe they should have named this tree something else. I knew that I had to come to terms with this quickly because we were scheduled to see the second largest tree in the world the next day. Do you know the name of that tree? The Grant tree. Yes, another Yankee General. Where’s Robert E. Lee’s tree?

After seeing the Sherman tree, we drove to Moro Rock. Totally awesome! We climbed up the 400 plus steps of this rock to see an incredible view. They say that on a clear day you can see the Pacific Ocean four hours away. They say that but we could not see it, but regardless, the view was impressive.

After climbing Moro Rock, we headed to the camp site. This was very interesting. We rented a tent cabin in the Grant Grove section of Sequoia National Park. This cabin did not have electricity, but it did offer community restrooms. It was very different than the Marriott that we stayed at the night before. The rooms had plywood floors with lapboard sides. The roof was made of canvas. It did not have any insulation. It did have beds but again the sheets were not 400 thread count … maybe 100 thread count.

When the sun went down, the temperature dropped. By sunrise the next morning, it was 48 degrees. Brrrrr! I know that Ecclesiastes 4:11 says,” Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?” I was appreciative of Patty’s attempt to keep me warm during the night, but in all honesty, I could have used another blanket.

We got up early, had breakfast, went to see the Grant Tree and then headed to Kings Canyon National Park. This National Park joins Sequoia National Park. One would think that it would be similar, but it’s totally different. I have not see the Grand Canyon, but I would imagine that it would be like Kings Canyon but of course “grander”. We took a tour inside a cave a Kings Canyon. It was neat to hear the story. The tour guide was a great example of a person operating out of his giftedness. He said everything that needed to be said, but he did not have the ability to connect with people. He was young and very mono-toned. It was painful.

We left Kings Canyon and headed toward Yosemite. I knew that we had to go through Fresno, CA. Do you know what Fresno has? A Claim Jumper Restaurant. Stay tuned for further details.