A Few Days of Reflection

San Diego

Sharks Tooth Cove near Davenport

San Francisco

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reflections on the Pacific Coast

And All of Its Splendor

Raeray’s Great Adventure nearly ended in tragedy. After eight days of riding shotgun with his 26-year-old daughter Morgan Rae, Michael Ray returned to Nashville via United Airlines on Sunday evening and caught a shuttle bus to his car on Murfreesboro Pike. This long-term parking lot was on the divided highway’s south side, and Ray would have to navigate two lanes to find a crossover in the median to backtrack toward home. The road had no street lights, and the turn lane was at the top of a small incline. As he pulled into the opposite lanes, headlights appeared over the hill and horns began blowing. He had nowhere to go. Somehow, the car ended up in park, and headlights kept coming. Oncoming traffic  stopped abruptly, as Ray jerked the gear shift into reverse and backed toward a car waiting also to cross the highway. He paused for a moment, trying to understand how he had avoided a horrific crash. There was no explanation. Someone was watching over him. He never told anyone about the near-death experience. Not until now.

The week had been a blessing for Michael Ray. He had spent almost every waking moment with his older daughter. Together they saw indescribable scenes he had missed in his 66 years of living. Each morning, he had written a reflection on the previous day’s travels and sorted through dozens of photographs to illustrate that 24-hour experience. The chore was quite invigorating for a retired newspaperman; it was like writing a daily column, editing and publishing it on the internet. Most days, he could find no free wi-fi, so he would use his cell phone as a hot spot and quickly upload the information. Most of the time, he completed the daily blog in their motel room, but he did at times plug the computer into an inverter in the car cigarette lighter to write. The pictures and story were uploaded once outside of a public restroom on the 17^th tee at the Pacific Grove Golf Links. Monterey Bay was just across the street.

Raeray drove the Pacific Coast Highway, California’s Route 1, much of the way from San Diego to San Rafael. Directions show that to be a drive of 512 miles, but twisting and turning along the shoreline highway makes travel slower and farther. We strayed from the beach road only for about 130 miles from San Luis Obispo to Salinas. The Pacific coast changes from its barren stone formations of Southern California to green meadows wrapping over the stony cliffs in Northern California. Nearing San Francisco, pine trees begin to sprout on the ridges, and north of the city gigantic redwoods decorate the landscape. Photographs can’t compare to the picturesque memories that fill Raeray’s mind. It was an experience of a lifetime. God is good.