We Be Rollin'.
Back in August, I checked off a bucket list item when I roadtrip'ed up the Pacific Coast Highway from LA to SF with a dear from of mine and her brother. It came as a much needed break from reality and allowed time to process through the recent heartbreak. You always hear of others going on soul-searching hikes or escapes into nature, but I didn't ever think I'd end up on one myself. Yet, here I stood on the opposite coast from home, hoping to come out of the journey a little more grateful, with a heart a little less shattered, and an improved clarity on what the heck was happening in my life.
-Santa Monica-
-Wandering LA with Lindsey, a true California beauty and old
SF friend.-
A funny thing happens when you are stuck in a car with a stranger and friend who just "gets" you. Our topics of conversation ranged from superficial to deep with sporadic inside jokes only 2/3 car occupants understood, but caused everyone to giggle. We talked about music, shared things that made us most joyful, gave family updates, and encouraged each other on finding peace among the brokenness. But I think deeper than the conversation was the understanding present when I couldn't articulate answers to gentle questions. When asked "What did you learn?" I couldn't then face the ashes to find the lessons. I wasn't there yet, but that was okay in the car. The car was our conversation sanctuary, a refuge for those with or without answers.
-LA rooftop hangs-
-Santa Barbara-
-Pismo Beach-
Our trip up the
PCH wasn't about finding the answers or arriving at our destination in San
Francisco. Don't get me wrong, I was absolutely excited to be back in a city
that stole my heart in just 10 weeks when I lived there in 2013. I desperately
craved to be back in the Mission District eating the best ethnic food, hugging
old friends, being loved on by family I rarely see, and being reunited with the
mesmerizing Bay. Not often in life do we actually get to know our destination.
We mostly envision aspirations, dream jobs, Prince Charming making his debut,
but fail to actually know if that is where we will or are meant to end up.
Heading to SF, as locals and now I affectionately call it, I was gifted with
knowing I was returning to a place I knew I adored and felt at home.
-Anna Lisa, road trip partner/driver extraordinaire.-
-Somewhere on the PCH after I lost cell/map service-
-Lighthouse magic-
I had planned the PCH roadtrip, not to arrive at a place I loved, but to experience the awe of the journey. Literally around every coastal bend there was an audible gasp or "ooo" or "whoa!" or name anything else and we probably exclaimed it. It was a struggle throughout the day to decide to soak in each spot a little longer or excitedly jump back in the car to anticipate the breathtaking view around the next bend. And it was a reminder that God wanted to invite me into a similar journey back towards Him. Looking back in life, I desperately remember Him being a place of comfort, of home, of knowing I am loved, but I couldn't seem to know the best way back. I was so focused on the destination of where I wanted to be again that I ultimately forgot that I am meant to enjoy the process and journey.
-Just south of Big Sur-
-No filter. No edits. Just a surreal, majestic sunset-
-The joys of ice cream and photo bombers-
-Close up of this photographer's dream location, Big Sur-
I am so thankful that this physical journey down the PCH helped me see the spiritual and emotional journey I needed to take. I'll spare you the details of my journey in the past year, but know it was a hell of an emotional roller coaster. It was full of curves and hills, but also full of breathtaking moments of realizing the beauty of what God has created in my life. I am not yet to a destination of perfection (that would be reserved for Heaven), and I won't ever be able to predict what's around the next corner of life, but I can declare that over and over again my journey will lead to a place that I know I'm absolutely meant to be.
