Bakersfield, Hollywood, Oxnard, Oceana and back again!

On September 29th we embarked on our first cross California trip. The plan was to go see Mark Schultz in Bakersfield, CA and then head down to the San Diego Zoo, whip around LA meet some friends in Santa Paula and Oxnard, and then head back home. However, we quickly found out that there was no way we would make it to San Diego. We scratched San Diego out and decided upon Universal Studios in LA.

As we headed out on Thursday morning hopes were high. Our destination--THE KERN COUNTY FAIR where Mark Schultz would be taking the stage at 8pm. As you can see in the picture Jon had his caffeine and was excited to see Mark Schultz for the first time.

After driving through the endless sea of brown, I mean "golden" hills. We saw Bakersfield and pulled into the Holiday Inn Express at 6pm. After unloading our stuff, we headed over to the fairgrounds, with enough time for each of us to enjoy a Baked Potato as we waited in line to get seats. Finally the gates opened at 7:15pm and Lani got 3rd row seats!! Jon was in search of Ice cream at that time, but came up empty handed because get this, they were out of MILK, a county fair and they were out of MILK!! We couldn't believe it.

The concert was a blast! We sang along with just about every song that Mark sang. We were treated to an exceptional performance due to a great audience, it seemed like Mark didn't want to leave the stage. He played extra songs which included "RememberMe" and a song that means a lot to the both of us "He Will Carry Me" we were so blessed to sit there and listen to this man sing, joke, and tell his story about how God has and continue to use him. We also were surprised at the end of the concert when Mark decided to sign autographs and meet with his fans even though he wasn't planning on doing it before the concert due to the fact that he had an early flight the next morning. We decided to wait on line and got to meet Mark and also had him sign a song book with the song "He Will Carry Me." We also congratulated him because he had just gotten married the Sat before. (Lani noticed during the concert that Mark was playing with his wedding ring while he was singing, something that she told Jon that he was doing when they were first married)

Jon also got to buy a new T-shirt at the concert. If you've heard the song "Running Just to Catch Myself" you will appreciate this shirt, if not you might scratch your head! But Jon certainly loves it! We also got the songbook that Mark signed and which Lani is going to try to learn how to play some of the songs on her guitar. We also bought Mark's new CD and sang it all the way back to the hotel and on the road the next day as we drove from Bakersfield to the heart of Hollywood.

On Friday, as we got closer to LA/Hollywood we saw signs about fire hazards and danger. We saw firemen on the side of the road putting out hotspots. And while we were at Universal Studios later that day, we saw the Burbank fire start. Universal Studios was fun, but it wasn't as great as Jon remembered it when he was younger. He was quiet sad to find out that the ride he was most excited to ride "Backdraft-the Ride" was broken and under repair until Thanksgiving. But we didn't get to take the Studio tour, ride Shrek 4-D, Mummy the Ride, Jurassic Park, and Back to the Future. We both got to enjoy being attacked by Jaws, driving through the Flood, and parting the sea! All-in-all it was a good day! And we enjoyed just being together, and Jon enjoyed reminiscing about his ffirst time there as a child!

After we got back from Universal Studios we walked down Hollywood Blvd and saw some of the stars and also found a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant where Jon enjoyed a gyro and Lani enjoyed and Philly cheesesteak sandwich. Jon also stopped into Mel's diner to get a Mixed Cow (chocolate and vanilla) shake.

The next day we headed off early in the morning to make it to Santa Paula and Oxnard and visit with some of the people that we worked with during our Mission trips to those churches. Unfortunately there was no one around in Santa Paula, but we did get to visit with a family from Oxnard. Marcillino is a deacon at Pastor Marco's church and will start working on being a pastor through the seminary in St. Louis starting next year. We went out to eat lunch with them at a REAL Mexican restaurant.

After leaving Oxnard, we headed to our destination for that evening. A member of our congregation offered to let us stay at at her family's beach house. How could we refuse. So Saturday we spend the afternoon and evening in Oceana. We also decided that it would be fun to walk to dinner that evening. We thought that it would be a short walk from the beach house to the next town up the beach, however it turned into about a 2hour walk in our sandals. By the time we got there, we were exhausted, but we did get one of the best tubs of clam chowder that we had ever had in our lives. Jon also got to eat fried oysters, and Lani had scallops. Probably not the healthiest dinners, but yummy.

The next morning we woke up to a beautiful morning. And enjoyed the scenery before we headed off for lunch back at another restaurant in the area. Lani had chili and Jon had a great burger. From there we took off for Vacaville up 101 and got home around 7pm that night. All-in-all the trip was fun. Not as relaxing as we had wished, but we did enjoy the relaxing time we spent at the beach house, as well as getting to see Mark Schultz. We also enjoyed the fun of Universal Studios and the fact that it wasn't nearly as busy as we were expecting.

For our first in CA trip everything went well, and we enjoyed the diverse culture and terrain as we experienced CA first hand.

I hope you enjoy the pictures our next trip was to Fresno and Yosemite. Look back for more on that!

We Miss You All!

At the Foot of the Cross

Jon and Lani <><