Tour Scrapbook

Sunday, March 9

Today we enjoyed the Lord's Day just having fun with family and friend (Dinina Sharber) at Disneyland.

We took a break from the crowds to enjoy the afternoon at home (bus!) and then returned to the park to see the Parade of Stars.

Monday, March 10

We again returned to the Disney Resort area, but this time to Disney's California Adventure. Alec was so excited to take Dinina on his first loop roller coaster, "California Screamin'"!

My dad's favorite ride from Disneyland almost a ¼ century ago was "It's a Small World" and I can still hear his little music box playing that tune. But it truly is a small world as evidenced by our group running into the Rue family from Whitesboro while at California Adventure!

Tonight Pat & Sharon had a date night, which ended up at you know where....(wrong...not at Walmart this time!) a hotel with no kids! What a treat! Thanks Dinina - the world's greatest baby-sitter!

The kids finished a movie and then all crashed hard after 2 days at Disney!

Tuesday, March 11

We moved the buses to the northwest of LA to Camarillo, and got Dinina and the kids settled in at the church. Then, we adults headed back to Hollywood for the taping of "Frazier"...or so we thought! After standing in line for almost an hour, we were told that the studio had filled up with VIPs and had no room for us. I guess they did not know that 2MOMS was in the stand-by line!!!

So, instead we enjoyed a quiet dinner at a Hollywood diner. That is, "quiet" until Laurie & Sharon spotted an actress on ABC's "The Practice". So they went to tell her how much they enjoyed her role in the drama. (She was the short, spunky, female judge.) And L&S were also able to work in what 2MOMS is doing....that is, until Pat & I "rescued" the actress from our wives!

Wednesday, March 12

This morning Abby was sick (high fever & sore throat) and stayed in the bus with Dinina while we shared with the MOPS group at the Camarillo Evangelical Free Church. A nurse practicioner from the group graciously examined Abby and the other kids after the meeting. And another "sweet" lady brought us a flat of the largest and sweetest strawberries we have ever laid our lips on! Additionally, the owner of a Mexican restaurant attended the meeting and gave 2 individual gift certificates to her restaurant which the Autrys promptly redeemed! We in turn took Dinina on her first In-N-Out Burger experience.

We all then headed further north to Santa Ynez, CA. The maps don't always indicate how difficult a climb it will be for buses, and this trip was no exception! The only consolation was the awesome beauty we experienced while climbing to the Santa Ynez valley!

We settled in our buses in time to go exploring (Charles biked to a nearby vineyard [where he witnessed how the grapevines are pruned to make them more fruitful], and the kids and Dinina to a school playground). Then the MOPS ladies prepared a scrumptious pot-luck dinner for us which afforded us time to get to know the ladies and their husbands better before tomorrow's meeting.

Thursday, March 13

The MOPS group at Santa Ynez Valley Presbyterian Church was awesome as usual! Laurie met a fellow home-school mom and was encouraged by their visit, and I met a neat lady who is a web designer with many good ideas for me! We wished we had a couple more days to enjoy these ladies and their beautiful area. But our schedule demands that we move on....just like Davis!

But before heading out to the next location, Alec & I did some exploring in the Dutch community of Solvang which was just down the road. We all then headed down the road by an easier route to the coast. After "refreshing our water" on the way, we took a "direct" route via Highway 1 to Pacific Palisades - not advisable at night - not a view in sight and plenty of item- and people-throwing turns! (As we travel through Ventura and Pacific Palisades and other SoCal cities, for some strange reason the juke box in my head keeps replaying Beach Boy tunes! Anyway…!)

Friday, March 14

We awakened at Calvary Church in Pacific Palisades to share with their MOPS group. The group's coordinator, Leslie Clark, has been excited about our coming for over a year! So, it's neat to finally get to meet her and the group. I even got to run the sound for the meeting and was brought to tears by "These Days" and the privilege of getting to be on this big adventure with my family.

In the afternoon, Ann Nan joined us as we toured The Getty Museum which overlooks LA. This is a phenomenal museum created by J. Paul Getty and his estate. The kids especially enjoyed all of the hands-on children's areas and gardens!

After feeding the kids and Dinina at Subway, Laurie & I enjoyed seafood at Gladstone's in Malibu then headed to the Beverly Hills Residence Inn for a night away! (Thanks Pat for the vouchers!)

Saturday, March 15

Of course we slept late! And then we made our way through a heavy rain for lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen before heading back to the buses. However, when we arrived at the church, our bus wasn't there. Come to find out that our buses were in the path of a mudslide. So, Pat had to move both buses in shin-deep muddy water! What a guy!

After the weather cleared a little, we all headed south to Orange County, where we parked the buses and our bodies at a Hilton Hotel near the John Wayne Airport for a couple of nights (again, thanks to Pat and his points!)

-- Charles