October 10, 2011
Christ United Methodist Ministry Center
“Christ in the Heart of San Diego”
3295 Meade Avenue
San Diego, CA 92116
(619) 284-9205
Pastorgraphs: “A Wayside Sacrament”
Monterey, California has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. It also has to be one of the most difficult destinations to get to, at least from San Diego. There is no major airport at Monterey. You have to fly into San Francisco or San Jose and find a way down to Monterey. So after checking with the airlines, Amtrak, and even Greyhound, I decided the seven-hour drive from Spring Valley might not be the worst experience of my life.
It was my second trip to Monterey. This time, rather than driving up the Pacific Coast Highway (Big Sur and all), I chose to take the mainland route right through downtown Los Angeles and up Interstate 5. It was my first excursion over “The Grapevine”; where you drop from 4000 feet to the floor of the great California Basin, the closest thing to the vast, flat Mississippi Delta I have found in the Golden State.
After 13 years, I continue to be surprised and amazed at God’s wonderful creation, and the awesome diverse beauty of California.
I was surprised at how much of California is unpopulated. San Diego, some say, is the most densely populated city in America. Last week, I drove for what seemed like an hour without seeing a single house. I was also amazed that there are few roads to get someone from Interstate 5 to the 101 freeway. The major route to Paso Robles is a mostly two-lane road. Beautiful, but somewhat surprising.
My trip to Monterey last week was to attend the annual meeting of the Municipal Information Systems Association of California (MISAC); the association of Information Technology Managers and CIOs of city and municipal governments in California. In my tri-vocational life, I am winding down my eleventh and final year at Otay Water District as IT Manager. It was an honor to accept the MISAC “Excellence in IT Practices Award” for Otay’s IT Department as one of my final duties.
Internet access in Monterey, however, was almost non-existent at the Hyatt Regency where we “professional geeks” were staying, so I apologize for no E-Vangel last week.
It is good to be back home (and “circling the airport”, so to speak) as I prepare to be retired from ALL of my jobs by the end of the year. I’m ready to get on with my new career at Christ Ministry Center.
May God fill us with an awareness that His love includes placing us in the most beautiful corner of the universe. Where ever we are today, God has planted beauty all around us; the gift of His handwriting and love.
Devotedly,
Parson Bill
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