Today was another great day as we completed a beautiful ride from Santa Cruz to Monterey. We were fortunate to be able to start riding a little later this morning, giving us some extra time to sleep in. We started off the morning with another marine fog layer keeping us cool and allowing us to stay well hydrated. After leaving Santa Cruz, we passed through the beautiful coastal farms of Watsonville and were greeted with the sweet scent of strawberries and endless fields of green vegetation right against the beautiful Pacific Ocean. Again, our amazing support drivers Colin and Kayla met us at our first 20mile mark for some rehydrating and refueling. Throughout the day we kept in mind words from Psalm 113:7-8 “He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.” The rest of our ride brought more beautiful farmland, fragrant coastal flora, and soft sand dunes as we made our way into Monterey. We were blessed to be able to ride along a bike path for the last 10 miles which allowed for added safety and a wonderful view of the bay.
Our second day of riding was filled with great fellowship both during the day and in the evening as Lydia’s grandmother and relatives were gracious enough to host us for an amazing home cooked meal. Today's devotional speaks about the ministry of hospitality. As we were recipients of such amazing kindness we are challenged all the more to consider how we can offer our gifts to other.
Linnea
Thanks for your posts. I'm glad the riding is going well and that you are getting to enjoy the beauty of the Monterey Bay area in a way that only cyclists get to do. The Monterey/Salinas/Watsonville area is significant not only as Steinbeck country but also as the place where many Japanese American families in Long Beach got their early starts in America, such as the Yamaguchi, Takeshita, Hayashi, and Ninomiya families (Ninoymiya is Sharon Sugiyama's family - she is the wife of Dr. Raymond Sugiyama, daughter-in-law of Kimi Sugiyama, and the founder of A3M, Asians for Miracle Marrow Matches, http://www.asianmarrow.org).
ReplyDeleteWhen you see all that beautiful farmland you can think of Lydia's ojichan and great-grandparents farming in Salinas, and all the other issei and nisei who lived there before the war and camp.
And how nice it is that you got to have dinner at grandma's house in Salinas! I'm sure she loved it.
Have another beautiful day riding that gorgeous coast.
- Steve Y.