Mt. Shasta

The day after I got my wisdom teeth removed, my family and I began a road trip to Shasta with Christian Edition. The first stop was Placerville, and I so enjoyed seeing Grandma Anabel, Aunt Doreen, and Christian Edition again. CE presented us with a bouquet of beautiful red and orange flowers in Justin's honor. The concert was so inspiring; I actually felt a tear roll down my cheek at one point, and usually I'm so used to hearing the guys sing, it doesn't affect me like that. It also moved me to sing, and not just when I joined Dad at the piano--even though this probably was not the best thing to do, with my mouth still healing from the previous day's extractions.

The next morning we visited Justin's grave, taking great care to lay out the orange, yellow and red flowers beautifully, and to give some to Grandpa Leonard's grave as well. We also went to the Veteran's Memorial at the to of the hill, and looked up the brick there devoted to Grandpa Leonard. It was a beautiful place, which filled me with deep respect for all the men and women who have fought so hard for freedom. After a long while on the road, we reached Paradise, our evening concert appointment. As usual, I joined my dad at the piano for "Kids of the Kingdom," and afterwards, a lady actually asked me if he was my husband. Doesn't that just take the cake? I laughed and corrected her as politely as I could.

After breakfast the next day, we hit the road. Hills gave way to mountains until we reached the snowy base of Shasta itself, snow swirling all around the car. The parents of one of CE's non-singing members have a cabin there, and we shared an incredibly delicious meal there. I enjoyed it in particular, as it was full of a wide variety of soft things I could enjoy with my sore mouth. Somehow, my mother convinced me to go out and play in the snow like a child again, sledding and crashing with great delight. Giggling with glee, I convinced my father to join me in the snow, and we had a wonderful time--he's really good at sledding, actually.

I just really had to admire the scenery on the way to the evening concert in Yreka--the sun was peaking through the steel-gray clouds in the most amazing way, highlighting the volcanic cindercones all around. There, with all my CE uncles and the rhythm of the bus, I felt rather happy. The concert went very well, though I spent most of it outside helping get tables and the like set up. The night was cold afterwards, and we were all very hungry, but the restaurant we selected refused to serve us at that hour, much to our distress.

Fortunately, the next day was full of good food. The Mt. Shasta SDA Church was kind enough to serve us all a generous breakfast, after which Dr. Taylor spoke with me at some length. Wow, the things to learn from him--he had so much wonderful advice, while being encouraging at the same time. I did tables after the concert, and was deeply impressed by how incredibly nice the people were. We had a delicious meal, and then went on our way. We saw the mighty Shasta Dam, with its incredible expanse of concrete stretching from shore to shore of the Sacramento River. It was a truly breathtaking sight, it being twice the size of Hoover Dam. Dad and I also got out and walked the Sundial Bridge, a beautiful structure of glass and white steel.

That evening, as my dad came out and started playing at the top of the concert, I started to cry, realizing this may be the last time I hear it in a while. As the concert progressed, I couldn't stop, not even during "Kids of the Kingdom," of all things. I did not want to go back to PUC so soon, as the previous quarter had been so rough. . . but then, afterwards, as I spoke with another PUC student who had attended the concert, I realized that there are still good things to look forward to this quarter, and hey, I'd better enjoy them.

Now that I am back at PUC, I laugh that I'd felt that way. The weather is incredibly gorgeous, causing me to use every excuse to study outside. I got to see my parents yesterday, so my paranoia regarding that was also unfounded. My plans for the summer are falling together beautifully, with the first half studying Greek in Greece, and the second half working at Wawona again before I take off to Spain for the year. I know I haven't written very much from here, but that is all going to change when I start traveling again. I will also start posting pictures at random intervals on the blog from here, even if there's no post to go with them. The campus here is too beautiful for me to keep it to myself.

Sorry for the length of this one, and thank you for taking the time to read it. I wish you the very best, and hope you have many bright horizons ahead.