Cold and Wet

I guess a lot of words and phrases could be used to title this entry. We could say that grandkids are made to tire out grandparents. We could say this has been a fun and busy week. We could say Souplantation is my favorite place to eat. All these are true.

In reverse order, we ate again at Souplantation (known in some places as Sweet Tomatoes). We went there for my birthday right after we got here. And then again yesterday after church. It is a salad and soup place set up buffet style. They also have baked potatoes, muffins, and a few things like that.

What a fun week this has been. Jana came with the kids and their bikes last Thursday and stayed two nights. The bigger RV sure was nice. Everyone had a bed!!! Oh, an explanation here… the couch is a hide-a-bed and the table breaks down to be a bed. Anyway, we rode bikes (I rented one because I didn’t bring mine), and toured a Conservation Center. We didn’t know if this would be kid friendly but it turned out to be great. Also the weather was nice. It promotes the conservation of the estuary that eventually becomes the harbor.

Then we went to the Fun Center on Balboa Peninsula. Not much there except a Ferris wheel, arcades, gift shops, and restaurants. The kids were interested in the first two. Now, as if we hadn’t had enough, we decided to go the Rain Forest Restaurant a few miles away. What a place. It is built like a jungle with vines hanging from the ceiling, wild animals posted here and there, rain dripping down, and lots of screechy jungle sounds. About every ten minutes or so the elephants go into a frenzy and yell and scream, then the gorillas do the same. We were seated next to the gorillas. These are animated of course and the vines are plastic. The rain drops into designated troughs. Jeyanthi doesn’t like loud noises so she wasn’t too fond of the gorillas. But she can imitate their noises and chest pounding.

The next day it rained so we did some inside things and looked at a nautical museum. It wasn’t all that great. The next day it was back to the Taylor house. Joyce and I spent the night there and went to church with them Sunday morning – Marina Christian Fellowship in Culver City.

Saturday afternoon I watched the Alamo Bowl. For the uninitiated this was a football game between the Oregon State Beavers and the Texas Longhorns. OSU should have won it easily – they led (or tied) for 58 of the 60 minutes. Unfortunately is was the last two minutes when they did not lead. Texas came back from a 20 to 10 deficit to win 27 to 31.

I think there is a couple moral lessons here. On the Texas side of the picture the lesson is never give up. Keep going. Keep on keeping on. Keep doing what got you there. Or to put it in common slang, “dance with what brung ya.” They did and it paid off. I canNOT imagine the talk among the players was, “we’re beat,” “they’re better than us,” and “I’m tired; I just want to go home.” Oh no. I think it was just the opposite: “we can do this,” keep your heads up,” stay focused.” The point is that to come out on top you don’t give up. Texas made mistakes early in the game but they kept coming back.

From the Beaver’s side of things the moral is don’t give up a big play. OSU did. Especially the one that let Texas score the go-ahead touchdown. OSU did really well early in the game, they led most of the time. But one little mistake, one miscalculation, one oversight and the pass was over the defender’s head and into the arms of a Texas Longhorn. The previous 58 minutes were good but ended up being all for naught.

Let’s merge these two in what really matters – everyday life. It comes out like this. When the going is rough keep your focus and keep on truckin’. Be careful to prevent one mistake from being your downfall. Lose focus for one minute and it could be bad. Now, you can take this and put spiritual implications on it. You might use Philippians 3:13-14 if you want. Or find your own applications.

It has been off and on rainy – mostly at night but some daytime stuff. It is also cold. By cold, I mean in the low 60s daytime and low 40s at night. We keep a little electric space heater going all the time. In some parts of the greater LA area it is below freezing – east and higher elevation. The ground around our RV is some kind of sand – kind of like decomposed granite. It isn’t really muddy but kind of messy with lots of rain on it. I’ll be glad when this blows over.

This RV park is huge – 362 spaces plus cabins. This map is kind of small but here is an explanation. The entrance is on the right. You will notice there are three sections labeled Premium, Deluxe, and Standard. We are in Standard – less expensive. So are a lot of other people. Our spot is a red one on the far left – sort of across from the “t” in Standard. The lagoon is off the harbor and the ocean is to the left. See the little bridge at the top of the lagoon? There is a walkway that goes all the way around and crosses that bridge – about a mile or so. Joyce and I walked it the first day and Jana, kids and I biked it. The Back Bay Bistro at the top right is a nice place to eat – spendy!

Well, happy New Year to you all. Enjoy. Until next time. I’ll have a surprise to share with you.

(I tried to send this Monday but our WiFi at the park was way too slow to upload it. Sorry)