At home in TEJAS!!

WE arrived in Texas about a week ago. Kristen and the kids flew to Houston, while Charlie and I drove the minivan down. It was probably the best road trip I've ever had. (Although, it can't rival the danger of the Samara-Moscow road trip of summer of 2004). We saw some spectacular sights along the way: Mt Shasta, Mt. McLoughlin, California wine country, the Pacific ocean from Carlsbad, CA., and the harsh landscape from central California through El Paso. Wow! All very exotic and beautiful. It was also great to see family in Fullerton, CA. Van Horn, Texas was a treat as well. Interesting to note that along I-10 through Texas they are stopping traffic and doing vehicle searches for illegal immigrants...Portland felt like a long ways away from the views of Ciudad Juarez from I-10 through El Paso. Great time with the bro! Now we are in Texas. Feels good to be home with family, to have the sun everyday, and the prospect of exciting times of ministry ahead...

Rain Vent

Oh, so tired of the rain. Rain, rain, rain. Everything is wet. So so tired of the grey, cold, wet, rain. Wet streets, grey skies...UGH!!! Sometime soon I'm going to read about how the rain affects people here in Portland. On balance, it can't be good. There is probably some scientific data or a study somewhere that shows some ill affects. There are nice people in Portland. There are good people too. (btw, I don't think the two are necessarily the same...do you?) So, the effect of months of rain isn't something that JUMPS OUT at a person. I think its definitely a negative influence on the culture, just in a subtle kind of way. People do seem a bit more melancholy in comparison to people in say like southern California. I'm going to find a study. I really don't like this much rain. My soul is wet. Why did I post such nonsense? I have no idea!