I threw myself into the preparation process. Swimsuit - Check, Sunglasses - Check, Oil Change, Lodging, Car Cleaned - Check! Pumped, stoked, ecstatic, I was all of these. I was never hesitant or fearful or anything but sure that this trip was the best decision I'd made in a long time.
Thursday at 4:30 pm we left Provo, windows down, music on, spirits at an all-time high.
"On the stereo,
Listen as we go,
Nothing's gonna stop me now.
California here we come,
Right back where we started from"
Brian's road trip mix played on & on, but we never tired of laughing about doughnuts & barking dogs, racist dragons & sweet, sweet sandwiches. On we went, breaking shortly in St. George to visit the infamous In & Out, passing uneventfully through the thoroughly eye-scarring Las Vegas, and finally settling for the night in podunk Victorville, California.
As spontaneously daring as it sounds to sleep four adults in a 5-seater car, practically applying the theory is a lot easier said than done. I curled up in a ball in the front passenger seat, pillowless & cramped & attempted to get some shut-eye. I never knew there were so many sounds in the night. Barking dogs (not so funny at 4 in the morning), ambulances, and snoring carmates in the end yielded about an hour to an hour & 1/2 sleep for me. A couple of the inhabitants of the other car attempted to sleep on the ground outside. I'm not sure they realize how lucky they were to have picked a spot that was just far enough from the hugenormous anthills that sporadically spotted the ground. And yet, as I finish this segment of the story, the thought that immediately comes to mind is - "Good times, good times!" There is a part of me that can't help but secretly enjoy every minute of it just because it was different & exciting & a mutual experience among friends, one that can be looked back upon and laughed about for years to come.
Friday began at 6:00 am with a random stray barking in the face of one of our outdoor troopers. We drove the remaining distance to Magic Mountain, just north of LA & arrived with time to spare for the opening of the amusement park. Within the first hour we had ridden on enough rides to count as the equivalent of what would normally have taken an entire day of standing in line. This included the oh so frightening & adrenaline inciting Tatsu during which ride my friend seated beside me screamed "If I don't make it through this I just want you to know that I love you!!!!!" Hahaha. The funny things adrenaline brings forth in us. After a few hours I grew so overwhelmingly dizzy that I couldn't walk straight after each ride. I decided to take a break. For the first ride I sat with Gary & Derrall, watching the people pass by. Oh the amusement. There was purple checked pants man, recycling boy, and the "I can smoke here, right?" lady. Gary told her she couldn't because, well, he said so & she didn't take that very well. After the a couple of sat out rides, Derrall & I both sat down in the mulch & promptly fell asleep. I was out for about an hour amidst the blaring intercom, roaring coasters, & passersby. Just so you know, I am a notoriously light sleeper so this feat was of epic proportions. I was already utterly & blissfully exhausted.
Saturday was our day at the beach. I had forgotten how much I love the water. It's been over 3 years since I last went swimming. Why on earth I stayed away for so long is beyond my comprehension, but I made up for it this weekend. Water rides, the ocean, swimming pools, and hot tubs - after all that, I'm surprised my skin isn't still wrinkled and prune-like. No,no,no - it is more sensitive and lobster-like than anything else. Apparently the sun doesn't like me as much as I like it. On the beach we swam (some among dolphins), made sand castles, buried Derrall in the sand, played Frisbee (until the waves captured it), and generally burnt to a crisp. It was spectacular. That evening we had a barbecue & and the boys told ridiculously funny jokes while we relaxed in the hot tub. The hot tub, by the way was ridiculously hot & those in the water quite reminiscent of Bugs Bunny being cooked alive in a seething pot of carrots and potatoes. The braver of the group (myself included :) decided to cool off by jumping in the swimming pool which was deliciously refreshing.
Sunday we, of course, attended church at the local singles ward. I managed to stay awake for most of it. This was representative of the group as a whole. We were all pretty much beat by that point in time. Sunday afternoon we lounged on the beach again. We constructed an entire sandcastle city, complete with pyramids, hilltop houses, and (just what every city needs) a giant pit of doom. We watched as the tide slowly conquered even the strongest of our fortifications. I think I remember hearing something once about a foolish man building a house on the sand. I don't think it turned out too well for him either. That evening we played games until entirely too late & crashed for a few hours of dreamless sleep.
Monday, we had little choice but to return. Life must go on, you know. On the way out though, we stopped by the most wonderful place of all - the San Diego temple.
I can not with words describe the beauty, the peace, the lifting of burdens that the temple offers. After we had completed a session, I walked by myself around the temple grounds. The temple is right off of Interstate 5, and on the backside of the building is a lookout over this busy road. It is there I chose to sit, alone. I shed a few tears over the juxtaposition between Zion & Babylon. Only a fence separates the well-kept beauty of the house of the Lord & the world at large, hustling and bustling about in their useless pursuits. How is it possible that something can be so close and yet so far away? I'm not certain that I am capable of understanding it.
The long drive back was entirely too short. There is something about vacation and isolation from day to day life that magnifies and clarifies the purpose of it all. You realize in the most peculiar ways the exact composition of those whom you travel with. There is no hiding your true self after 5 days being constantly in the presence of another. There are parts of myself that I might have wished to hide for a bit longer but I suppose we are equally vulnerable & equally bonded by the ties of this trip. I wish it did not have to end, but now that it has I'm excited to see what we really learned from it & what has changed as a result of it. I know, at least in some small way, that things can never be as they were before California.
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