Days 6 and 7 of our road trip took us out of one old home town, to another, and gave us the opportunity to spend some time with my family.

On the way out of town, we stopped by my old house briefly.

Good old Girard, Kansas…

On the way to Wichita, we passed the ruins of an old church in Greenbush.

I had forgotten how many trains crisscross the mid-west.

No frowning here!

In Wichita, we were able to get together with some of my family. Aaron is my cousin, pictured here with his wife Becky, and…

Another cousin, Shawna, and my Aunt Sydney and Uncle Mike. It was so good to catch up with them and remember fun family times. Thanks for a wonderful meal and a great evening everyone!

Just south of Wichita is the little town where my dad was raised and where my family lived until I was 5 years old. We took a little time in the morning to go see the old farm where my grandparents lived.

My sister and I used to give concerts on the tornado shelter, so I gave a little concert for Matt.

And we used to ride the silver horse, so I took the horse out for a little trot!

This picture is for my Dad – Bluff Creek. =)

My dad’s Uncle John and Aunt Donna still live in the area, so we stopped by to visit them for a little bit. We were so encouraged by their testimony and their very evident walk with the Lord and love for him. Thanks John and Donna blessing us with your encouragement and example!

And last but not least, the final picture in the series of former homes – my home until we moved to Girard at age 5.

Western Kansas and Eastern Colorado coming up next!

Welcome to Kansas! We were able to be in Girard, my little hometown, for 3 full days, so I took some pictures just to remember. Here’s the tour…

Smallest town to have a Carnegie Library.

Many summers were spent working at the good old Girard National Bank.

My dad worked at Crawkan Telephone, so I feel like I grew up in that office. We stopped by and got a chance to catch up with Irene and Cheryl.

Matt liked the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on our town square.

I don’t think I’ve ever found a post office that measures up to the amazing Girard Post Office – it’s such a cool building!

February 13th was Matt’s birthday, so Randy and Kimbra Brunk invited us over for a wonderful meal. The steak was Randy’s own corn-fed beef, so it was of course the best meat we’ve ever tasted! Top that off with the fact that Kimbra is one of the best cooks in all of Kansas, if not the entire USA, and we ate very well! Their daughter, Josie, and her son Conner joined us for dinner (as did Kirby, Kerri, and Addison, but I was a little slow on the draw with the camera, and didn’t remember until after they left). Conner was sporting a nice shiner that he got helping Randy around the farm – everybody needs a good black eye at one point in their life!

Matt and I went for a walk early one morning, and he discovered that Kansas has a lot more hills and ponds than he had thought.

For lunch on Saturday, Jami and Jim Perona met us for lunch at the Mall Deli. Jami and I grew up together in Girard, but hadn’t seen one another for probably 10 years, and it was SO good to catch up with her! Thanks for taking the time to meet up with us Jami and Jim!

After lunch, we headed to a park that Jami and Jim had recommended. It had an old metal merry-go-round, and we got to be kids again for a few minutes.

This picture is for my sister – Erin, can you name this building?

On another tip from Jami and Jim, we headed to the Wilderness Park. This area used to be open coal mining, but has been stabilized and is full of trails, ponds, and creeks. If I had known about this place when I was growing up, I would have been here several times a week!

Matt, hanging out with his good friend…

Martin and Sandra Schifferdecker hosted us during our stay in Girard. They are a couple very dear to us, and we benefited not only from a great place to stay, but also from their counsel and encouragement. We love you Martin and Sandra!

Chicken Mary’s and Chicken Annie’s are right next door to each other, and it’s been a bit of a competition for years. People usually have favorites, but at lunch time on a Sunday, both parking lots are full! Southeast Kansas is famous for its chicken!

We were able to share about Malawi with Girard Bible Church, and after church, we got to go to Chicken Mary’s for lunch with Martin and Sandra, as well as Pastor Don and his wife Theresa. Good food, and great company!

Last but not least, you shouldn’t really visit Southeast Kansas without stopping to see the world’s largest steam-powered shovel, Big Brutus.

Over the next few days, we’re making our way across Kansas and through eastern Colorado, connecting with family and friends all along the way – more road trip updates coming soon!

For those of you who think we’ve been to some beautiful and interesting places on our road trips, you’re right, but don’t take don’t take my little point-and-shoot camera’s pictures as the best evidence. Matt has been documenting our travels as well, and for those of you who are already familiar with his photography, he loves travel and nature photography and is very, very good at it! He has posted his pictures from the last Roadtrip as the “Pacific Coast” collection.

So click here and take a look! Matt Floreen Travel Photography

Thank you for reading my unabashed advertisement of my husband’s work. =)

And now back to the Roadtrips! Day 3 was our final long run. We started in Amarillo, TX, and ended in my hometown – Girard, KS.

1188.5 miles: Hal Carpenter was one of my dad’s best friends growing up in Kansas, and he and his wife Rita graciously hosted us in their home overnight in Amarillo, TX. They have worked with Child Evangelism Fellowship for years, so we enjoyed talking with them about the ins and outs of ministry. Thanks so much Hal and Rita for your wonderful hospitality!

1200 miles: I love the Great Plains!

1200.2 miles: We had to backtrack a little bit, but visiting Cadillac Ranch – just west of Amarillo – was well worth an extra 10 minutes.

There’s a total of 10 Cadillacs, all different models, buried in a pasture. They’re all graffitied, and so bizarre!

1246.3 miles: The wide open spaces give me room to breathe. I don’t care what others say about the midwest, I still love flat land!

But let’s not get distracted! Back on the road.

1280.6 miles: The great state of Texas has great rest stops. And tornado shelters, because this is tornado country.

We tried so hard to take a good picture on the ground next to the Route 66 medallion. The sun was so bright that this is the best we could do!

1637.2 miles: Vinita Oklahoma is home to one of the world’s largest McDonalds. It is kind of odd that the only building for miles had to be built right over the freeway, but hey, it is interesting!

1704.9 miles: We had almost made it to Girard when the sun set. The cloud cover made the whole sky glow!

Coming in at just under 1725 miles, we had finished the 3-day mad dash to Kansas. Now we’ll get to catch up with people, and we’re looking forward to sharing about the ministry in Malawi with Girard Bible Church on Sunday morning!

Day #2 of the long drive to Kansas… the feeling of “I’m back in the car and I’m going to go insane!” had passed for the most part, and we were really able to enjoy the mad dash of Day 2.

572.4 miles: We had spent the night in Flagstaff, Arizona, with my good friend from college, Laura Vaughan. It was so good to hear about her life right now and how the Lord has stretched her and is blessing her immensely! Thanks for a great time to catch up, Laura, and for sharing all that the Lord is doing in your life!

Flagstaff is the desert, right?! Suffice it to say that I got a little practical lesson in geography, topography, and meteorology.

Our little car did some slip-sliding around on the streets, but we did manage to stop within reach of the gas pump.

659.3 miles: This picture is for my good friends Sam and Noah Keller. Holbrook, Arizona, and the Wigwam Motel made an appearance in the movie “Cars,” and as we drove by, I couldn’t help but notice that Mater had gotten a new paint job. I have another picture to prove that Luigi really is selling tires right across the street…

680.1 miles: As we headed east we were coming across fewer and fewer National Parks, so we decided to take a 30 mile detour to catch one last Park that included the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert.

Quartz crystals grew in the logs throughout the park, turning them into stone, but maintaining their shape. Iron and magnesium mixed with the quartz to add reds, blues, yellows, and blacks to the wood/rocks. It’s really beautiful!

Aw!

The Painted Desert was fascinating too, with the reds, blacks, and tans of the park highlighted by the remaining snow and really cool cloud cover!

Still bothered by the jackrabbit experience of the night before, I noticed that the only evidence of the sad encounter were a couple smudges in the dirt on the bumper of the car. Poor bunny!

841.8 miles: A seemingly uninteresting picture, this is the first point in our trip at which we looked around and couldn’t see snow.

908.4 miles: Southwest architecture in Albuquerque…

And our final shot for the day: what in the world are they trying to tell me with this sign? I feel like I should cross-stitch this as a memento of our trip!

At this point, we’re over half way through the long days of driving! This is such an interesting country, and we’re having a great time seeing it fly by our car windows!

And we’re off again! We hit the road on Tuesday the 10th and began the mad dash to eastern Kansas. It’ll take us 3 days to get there, at 8-10 hours of driving every day, but we’re on our way!

Leaving the Tatlock’s house at 7am to get on the road early!

Roadtrip #2 – 0.0 miles: Here we go again!

As we left the Santa Clarita area, I noticed that the hills all around us were covered with snow. As we drove through the day, the snow stayed with us – for miles and miles and miles…

77.6 miles: A quick stop alongside of the road to see the Joshua trees of the California high desert.

Being back in the car brought on a mild form of insanity.

Somewhere around 200 miles: still seeing snow!

311.9 miles: Matt ordered a foot-long double stacked “Feast” sub, double stacked. That’s right, he double stacked a double stacked sub. And ate the whole thing.

Somewhere around 350 miles: Still seeing snow, and even more snow now!

382.3 miles: As we stopped to fill up on gas, we quickly learned that Route 66, Indian arts, and Restrooms are three big favorites on this route.

480.4 miles: Matt had never seen the Grand Canyon, so we spent about an hour and a half enjoying the view.

With snow on and in the canyon, it looked quite different from what I had seen before, but so very beautiful! Need I say that Matt got quite a few pictures?

509.9 miles: As we headed back to Flagstaff, we had an unfortunate experience – we hit a very large jackrabbit, almost the size of a medium-sized dog. You can see my reaction… Matt informed me that if he were on a road trip with a bunch of guys, they totally would have gone back and gotten a picture of the rabbit. Hmmm, no thanks.

More to come – we’re just getting started with Roadtrip #2!

The last day of our first roadtrip! We left my parents’ house around 9am, and decided to take Hwy 1 down the coast. I’d never done it before, so Matt played tour guide and we saw some beautiful sites!

2558.6 miles: Thanks again, Mom and Dad!

2565.6 miles: A bit of Costco gas to get us on the road.

2611.6 miles: On a whim, we stopped to see the Carmel Mission.

The building and the grounds were fascinating, maintaining much of the old-world charm.

2622.0 miles: We skipped over the Pebble Beach / 17 Mile Drive, but the coast is so pretty in the Monterrey and Carmel area that we couldn’t help stopping for a picture or two!

2625.0 miles: Bixby Bridge and the beautiful coastline!

2635.6 miles: We stopped for lunch in the Big Sur area. Matt said it’s prettier in the summer, but it was still a great spot to sit by the river and eat lunch!

We haven’t washed our car since we left on the trip… it’s getting a bit dirty now, and more gray than green.

2649.2 miles: Julia Pfieffer Burns State Park. What can I say – just go if you ever possibly can. It’s one of only 2 spots on the Pacific coast where a waterfall lands right on the beach.

2701.5 miles: Getting closer to sunset, we stopped at Hearst Beach to check out the pier and listen to an elephant seal bellow.

2718.3 miles: Climbing the mountains going inland on hwy 46, we stopped for a last look at the ocean and the beautiful green hillside!

2908.1 miles: Santa Clarita and our last stop for gas. We’re a little tired by this point.

2911.2 miles: The end, back at the Tatlock’s house in Placerita Canyon.

We’re cleaning our apartment out today and running errands all over the place. Stay tuned, because Roadtrip 2 begins next Tuesday!

Day 12 was my day of rest. It was a Sunday, we were at my parents’ cabin, and it was a great day. We went to the morning service at First Baptist Church of San Lorenzo Valley, and then enjoyed a pot luck before we got to share with the church about Malawi. It is such a great church, and our souls were so refreshed by the message and the time with these great people!

Days 13 and 14 were a wonderful time to relax and hang out with my parents. It was my birthday too, so we got a little bit spoiled…

My parents’ awesome cabin in the redwoods! It’s on the grounds of the Mount Hermon Conference Center.

Dad and Mom took us to Shadowbrook for my birthday dinner. Thanks Dad and Mom – it was soooo fun!

I got a hot fudge sundae for my birthday.

The restaurant has a hillavator – somewhere between a gondola and an escalator.

Hanging out with Mom and Dad meant we got to do some “normal” things, like grocery shopping.

And a little bit of just sitting next to a warm fire.

As great as the cabin is, the surrounding area is just amazing!

Redwoods and creeks – hiking and exploring.

In the Jr High camp area, we found a great picture spot. Now, it’s kind of hard to take a self photo in one of these things… =)

It was a great time of resting and catching up with my parents. Thanks for the hospitality, fun, and rest, Mom and Dad!

Day 11 involved a great opportunity to make new friends, share about the ministry in Malawi, see a little more of the beauty of God’s creation, and make a long drive down the coast.

2072.2 miles: Meet our travel agent – Ed Schreiber. Ed and his family have a very evident love for missions and missionaries. When he heard we were traveling through Oregon, he told us to stop by – so we did! They have a busy and fun home in Brookings, and though Ed and his oldest daughter were flying out Saturday morning, they welcomed us into their home Friday evening.

After Ed left in the morning, his wife, Linda (on the far right), hosted a group of about 30 people so that we could share with them about Malawi. There were a number of families and lots of kids there. We had a great time with them! Matt and I both remember hearing from missionaries when we were kids, and our hope is that the Lord will stir their hearts to love Him more and serve Him more fully! Thanks Schreibers!

2084.2 miles: On a tip from the Schriebers, we headed back north just a few miles to check out some scenery we had passed in the dark the night before. Along the way, we made a wrong turn and ran into a little rural life. We didn’t challenge their right to the road, just turned around and headed for the beach.

2085.7 miles: And what a beach! Pistol River Beach is part of that truly beautiful south Oregon coast, and we loved it!

A father and son were out riding horses on the coast.

It was so cold that I bundled up in a ski jacket to stay warm!

2108.0 miles: Heading south again, we made a quick stop at Radio Shack. With all the pictures Matt has been taking, we were in search of an adaptor that would allow us to plug a battery charger into the cigarette lighter in our car. We totally scored when we found an adaptor that gives us an additional lighter and a regular outlet plug. Know what I’m excited about? This will work in our car lighter in Malawi, and it’s 110 volts, so I can plug in all my USA kitchen appliances in Malawi! Just in case I’m making dinner in the car… =)

2109.6 miles: A quick lunch at Zola’s a wood fire pizza restaurant

We were able to talk with the lady at Zola’s for quite a while and enjoyed the comfortable, friendly familiarity of a small town. Thanks Zola’s!

2167.6 miles: A last stop before sunset – Fernbridge.

2248.0 miles: We stopped at a Safeway grocery store along the way to get a little dinner. I felt a little weird taking a picture in the grocery store, so thought I’d take one outside the store. However, when we got outside, there were a bunch of men watching a couple of dogs fight and it was really a bit scary. Safeway didn’t feel so safe, so we decided to skip any pictures at that point.

And then, our mad dash through the darkness to Mount Hermon, California, and my parents’ house. It was 11:30pm by the time we arrived, but we made it, and are looking forward to a few days of rest and the chance to spend some time with my parents.

These days are so full and fun! For a little variety, we spent the whole day in Oregon enjoying an amazingly beautiful state.

1706.8 miles: The day started out nice and wet and gray.

1728.0 miles: Breakfast on the go!

Around 1800 miles: We had seen a couple semi-trucks with these mud flaps and finally got a picture of them. If we were getting $.44 per mile, we would have made almost $800 by this point!

1843.9 miles: Before we lost all the fog, we stopped for a little forest exploration between the cities of Eugene and Florence.

1854.4 miles: A little bit further down the road, we stopped again for more trees.

1854.4 miles: This face cannot convey how much I’m enjoying the warmth of the sunshine!

1895.5 miles: On a tip from Jeremy and Jaime Phelps, we checked out Heceta Head Lighthouse, just a little north of Florence.

This is the best lighthouse I have ever seen. It’s still functioning, and the assistant lightkeepers house is a bed and breakfast now.

Thanks for the tip Jeremy and Jaime!

1934.1 miles: Oregon has more than trees – they have some great lakes and rivers too!

1979.3 miles: As the light started to fade, we started looking for a great place to watch the sunset. We stumbled on the Coquille River Lighthouse and enjoyed a spectacular sunset!

What a beautiful day! After sunset, we still had another couple hours to drive before reaching Brookings, OR, and the home of the Schriebers… more coming soon!

Back on the road again! On Day 9 we left Lynden and headed south. We felt so loved and cared for in Lynden that it was like leaving home. We’re already looking forward to our next trip there!

Next time I go, I’m counting how many windmills I see in Lynden!

Bye Lynden!

1418.8 miles: On the way out of town we stopped by Rite Aid to pick up some medicine for a little cold that was starting to bother Matt.

1433.1 miles: We checked out downtown Bellingham, and stopped at Starbucks to take advantage of their wireless internet and get a warm drink.

1521.1 miles: Lunch with Marcus Tabert in downtown Seattle, and a great time for Matt and Marcus to recount the old days and catch up on the new ones.

1521.7 miles: After lunch we realized that we were close to the REI flagship store, so we stopped by to see where it all began. The bug helmet was tempting, but we did pass on that one…

1525.2 miles: On the way across the West Seattle Bridge, we saw some container ships. It made us wonder where our container is – probably on a ship, probably in an ocean, but other than that, we don’t know!

1531.0 miles: Sterling and Rachel Culbertson took us to dinner at a cute little deli called Husky’s in West Seattle. Matt grew up with both Sterling and Rachel so there are lots of stories, particularly about homemade movies, raising baby birds, and all kinds of unthinkable antics with Sterling. Along with the great stories, we really enjoyed talking with the Culbertsons about life, ministry, making decisions, and loving the Lord. Thanks for a great time to connect, Sterling and Rachel!

1534.6 miles: We couldn’t pass up Alki Beach, a great view of Seattle, before we left the city.

1644.4 miles: We drove all the way to Portland this night. This pic is at the rest stop where Matt demonstrated what it means to rest, and Rachel took over driving.

1704.8 miles: Jeremy and Jaime Phelps (and Zuri the Rhodesian Ridgeback) let us crash at their place for the night. They have a great little apartment right downtown in Portland, and from the sounds of it, an awesome opportunity to be involved in ministry in the city. We were so glad to be able to connect with the Phelps, and we’re excited to see where the Lord leads them in the next couple years!