As soon as school ended on Friday, my family jumped into the car and raced (at the legal speed limit, of course) to the Christian Edition appointment in Whittier, several hundred miles south. We made it just in time; Dad literally walked out of the car and sat down at the piano. Needless to say, after all the stress of getting there, we slept well that night.
Sabbath morning was another CE worship service, and I had the joy of sitting next to Tricia Klebba, who is pregnant and expecting her first child in less than two weeks. Please keep her in your prayers; it's an exciting and scary time for her and her husband.
At the afternoon service, our Moen relatives pleasantly surprised us by coming out to hear the group. Afterwards, we took off towards Desert Hot Springs (it's near Palm Springs), where we would spend the rest of our time. First, though, my father and I stopped in Anaheim to look at my brother's memorial brick in the Disneyland Plaza. It was wonderful to see the charming lights of Anaheim once more, and to see Justin's name a part of it.
We were welcomed warmly by my grandparents in Desert Hot Springs late that night. The next day, we went to see The Living Desert, a zoological garden featuring plant and animal species from desert climes all over the world. My eyes feasted upon the ostriches, giraffes, servals, leopards, warthogs, meerkats, hawks, acacia trees, fever trees, saguaro, and all kinds of cactus. They also had exhibits of native cultures to the different desert areas, which I found absolutely fascinating.
That evening we sat down to a large, wonderful Thanksgiving dinner (the first of two for me). There was sweet potatoes, holiday roast, green beans, cranberry relish, asian coleslaw salad, wheat rolls, Martinellis, pomegranate juice, stuffing, and gravy. As good as the food was, however, the company was better; it was an excellent opportunity to learn more family history.
On Monday, we went swimming in the clear, crystalline waters of the Palm Canyon Resort pool. They have water slides there, which my father and I appreciated duly. We ate as a family again that evening, and had a traditional round of Hand and Foot, a great game played with Rook cards, that Grandma Lorraine and I won. It was great.
Yesterday, my grandparents, the Moens, and my family all parted ways with a prayer for safe travel. While we were headed home, my grandparents were headed to Yosemite and the Moens to the Grand Canyon. The day after all three families were standing in the same room, they are hundreds of miles apart.
Well, we made it back up north safely, taking our time to get here. Tomorrow we head out again, to another celebration of Thanksgiving. Personally, I'm grateful for all of you--you have taken an interest in my life and given me a reason to keep my travel interesting. May God bless you all this holiday season.
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