Pics From Orcas Island

The newest boat at Outer Island Expeditions, Blackfish III, and Mike, a Salish Sea resident male Killer Whale.

If It's Tuesday Night It Must be California

I had high hopes for Patrick Point State Park in northern California, and I wan't disappointed.  The view was amazing and the raccoons were clearly Harley fans.

Sunday, May 24: Dreary in McCleary

Sunday was cold and wet.  Big surprise, right?  After all I'm riding the largest temperate rain forest in the world.  Finally, I decided I needed a break in McCleary, WA, home of the Bear Festival.
Stopped at the Rain Country Restaurant for pie and coffee.  The name says so much.
I asked my waitress about the Bear Festival, the community's annual mid-summer gathering.  "Well," she said, "it's not as big as it used to be.  There's a competition for the best Bear stew and a nice community gathering. (I'm sure local bears are grateful that it's diminished in size).

Monday Night on South Beach (not that South Beach!)

It took less than 15 min to set up camp Monday night at South Beach State Park, near Newport OR, and the jet boil brewed the coffee flawlessly tues morning. Of course I got a nice dousing of rain just as I was making my breakfast.  There was plenty of room in my campsite, not so much inside my tent.

Wednesday Travel - May 27

After leaving Patrick Point State Park, I was gifted by incredible vistas, sweeping curves, tight twisties, sun, wind rain, more rain and fog.  The Avenue of the Giants transported me to another place as I was surrounded by majestic redwoods.  The road extends around Hwy 101 for 32 miles and it feels like you become a character in the kind of fairy tale that has an enchanted forest, inhabited by giants.  Luckily, I had my trusty steed, with 96 cu in of American V-Twin power, and I galloped through the forest without encountering any troublesome creatures.

Life has no shortage of forks in the road.  Most of them are metaphorical, but this trip had a substantial choice to make just outside of Leggett, CA.  Would I stay with Highway 101 through the mountains and redwood forests, or pick up the Pacific Coast Highway--the "PCH?"  I had originally planned to travel the PCH to San Francisco, but on this day the mountains were calling my name.  I chose the 101; the Redwoods were amazing, it allowed me to ride through one of my favorite places, Sonoma County, and I wasn't sure how the cloud cover would be on the coast.  For the first time since riding out of Seattle, I was warm on the bike, in fact I even took off my jacket and rode in long sleeves and vest.  What a welcome feeling!

Tuesday at Lunch: Maple Street Grille, Florence, OR

In Florence Oregon, I stopped for lunch at Maple Street Grill, in their historic Old Town.  It's a cute, local place with about six tables, small bar and a couple of high tops.  Ordered Kurt's Killer Pot Roast Dip sandwich.  The pot roast absolutely melted in my mouth.  It was a wonderful break from the road.
They have some fun martinis on the board, including lychee for Karen.  Diet Coke for me.
50s again, mostly cloudy. Rained sprinkled on the bike while I ate.

http://maplestreetgrille.com

Some Sabbatical Basics

A couple of friends have asked about what's supposed to happen on my sabbatical, so I thought I'd post an excerpt from the SOTH newsletter article I wrote before my sabbatical began.  Here you go!

I hope that being on sabbatical can be a time of rest, study, and re-energizing for me, so that I can return to Shepherd of the Hills ready to step into a renewed, vibrant ministry.  Ministry is a wonderful career; I am fortunate to share with you the joys and the sorrows of our community of faith.  I am grateful for the opportunity to share God's word with you each Sunday, and I enjoy the challenge of creating a sermon each week that helps you to reflect on and grow in your faith life.  I hope that sabbatical will "refill the tank" a bit, to be able to work with new energy and creativity.

The highlights of the sabbatical are two motorcycle trips, one along the west coast from the San Juans to San Francisco, and the other through the Alps in Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy and Austria.  I will be blogging throughout the sabbatical at ontherideofmylife.blogspot.com, and I hope you'll read it and stay connected with me.

I'll be reading and studying as well, asking questions about the best practices for reaching post-modern, non-churched folks with the gospel.  I will meet with two well-known practitioners, Dr. Len Sweet and Deaconess Sara Miles, to experience their particular ministries.  I will also have time for prayer and reflection.

My hope for SOTH is that we can continue to enrich our ministry together--to experience the love of God in Christ, to participate in a grace-filled community together, and to learn to speak the language of love and grace to people who have yet to hear the message of Abundant and Eternal Life.