California Dreamin'

Our album cover

Victoria & L

L and Lisa

Joe, on our bicycle built for two

Christian Perry

Ahhhh....what a week. One of the benefits of working for myself is the wonderful opportunity to be on-site for client events, which is how I found myself at another Harvest event last week--this one in Anaheim, California. Thanks to all for your prayers for the Harvest; it was challenging in many regards, but we saw God's hand throughout each and every detail. More than 102,000 people attended the three-night event at Angel Stadium.

Joe joined me in California in time for the Sunday evening program, and was delighted to find himself sitting in the Angels' third base dugout next to Raul Ries, one of his favorite radio pastors!

After wrapping up work on Monday, Joe and I grabbed some yummy Mexican food from Rubio's and jumped in the car, making our way to Elizabeth Lake to visit our friends Lisa and Chris Perry and their kids, Christian and Kiana. After a fairly traffic-free drive from Orange County, we arrived at the Perry's to find that Chris had been bitten by a stomach virus, an ailment that kept him out of commission for the four days we spent with the family. What a bummer for Chris! We certainly missed having extended time with Chris, but we thoroughly enjoyed our time with the rest of the family. Tuesday morning we all piled into the car and headed for the beach in Ventura/Oxnard, where we had the opportunity to stay in (long story) a condo owned by Lisa's former brother-in-law, Brian. The condo was stunning--brand new and beautifully decorated, looking over a marina. And it was only a couple of miles from the beach and just a short ten-minute walk from The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Yay!

We laid low on Tuesday with some time at the beach and hoped for a speedy recovery for Chris. Wednesday morning came and Chris felt a bit better, so we made the 40-minute drive to Santa Barbara. I happened to mention on the drive up, "Hey, doesn't Oprah live in Santa Barbara during the summer?" which started a conversation about how we could find her house. Lisa thought she actually lived in Montecito, just outside of SB, so we decided to cruise the streets hoping for a glimpse of some palatial estate with the "dog whisperer" lurking outside. Hey, I can dream...Well, we didn't find Oprah's house, but we did happen upon a broker's open house for a hillside home, so of course we pretended we were in the market for a beachside estate and went inside to take a look. With Lisa playing our trusty real estate advisor, Joe and I barely hid our expressions (of shock) when we found out that the four-bedroom, 2500 sq foot home we were touring could be ours for a mere $3.4 million! But we learned a lot about the real estate market in Montecito and how realized how lucky we are to live in Evanston, where the four-bedroom houses are starting at just $600,000. Lucky for us! Ha.

Our relaxing day ended pretty early when Chris had a bit of relapse that put him in bed and then on to Urgent Care on Thursday morning. Running a fever of 102, Lisa took him in and dropped Joe and I off at the beach so they could do their thing. Again, such a bummer for Chris. Joe and I decided to have an adventure and rented what looked like a little carriage with pedals and took a bike ride on the beachwalk and through local neighborhoods. Afterward, we jumped in a local pool and then met up with me friend, Victoria, for lunch. Sadly, all without Chris and Lisa, but the good news is that the doctor hydrated him and gave him some shots that seemed to help.

But you know what? These are the kinds of stories you look back on with friends and laugh, whether it be weeks or years later. Afterall, it's making memories together. Feel better, Chris!