Spread The Better: May 2015

We had a few stops over the past few days that were surprise visits to the donors. Luckily, they were kind enough to open their doors to us without notice. The first was Wilma in Santa Cruz. She is a lovely 93 year old woman although her age would shock you if you saw her. She is spry and active…and a lady ahead of her era. The story linking her to Yarnell is a fascinating one. On June 30, 2013, Wilma was on a bus traveling from her home in Santa Cruz to Prescott to visit her dear friend Joan. When passing through Yarnell, she encountered thick black smoke coming from the mountains to her left. She thought about that scene for the duration of the drive. When arriving to Prescott she was informed of the fatalities of 19 young firefighters known as the Granite Mountain Hotshot Crew. Shocked and distressed, Wilma shared with Joan that she had just driven through the smoke from that fire. Her disbelief and heavy heart created a call to action. While in Prescott, she made a donation to the families who lost loved ones. It was an honor to embrace her today and express gratitude for her thoughtfulness and sympathy for the visual from that fateful day that remains in the forefront of her memory. God bless you Wilma.

Wilma and Juliann

After leaving Wilma's house, we took advantage of the gorgeous Santa Cruz weather and explored the town a bit. There was beauty to be had everywhere you looked.

Juliann

Morghen

Juliann

Tate, Shiloh, Juliann, Choice, and Ryder

We even spent awhile at The Hook watching the surfers ride the waves. The kids were fascinated by their skills.

Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, Juliann, and Choice

Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, Choice, and Juliann

Our next pop-in visit was in San Francisco. We knocked on the door around dinnertime, on a Sunday, while it was raining. You couldn’t have picked a more inconvenient time for visitors. Bless her heart, a lovely lady named Arden opened her door. She and her husband, Larry, reached out and donated to the Granite Mountain families shortly after the fire in 2013. Even though our visit was brief, we were grateful to be able to thank her for being one of the extraordinary ones. She understands the value of charity and supporting those who sacrifice.

Shiloh, Ryder, Arden, Choice, Juliann, and Tate

Choice, Ryder, Shiloh, Juliann, and Choice

Before leaving San Francisco, we had a couple of must see places. The first, of course, was the home where the sitcom Full House was filmed...

Shiloh and Juliann

Morghen, Shiloh, and Juliann

And...the Golden Gate Bridge!

Ryder, Shiloh, Choice, Juliann, and Tate

Ryder, Shiloh, Morghen, Choice, and Tate

Golden Gate Bridge

Our last short visit in California was in the city of Bakersfield. When looking through names of donors and creating our route across the United States, Bakersfield immediately popped out at me. I was blown away by the generosity of this town. In Bakersfield alone, there were 129 different donations made toward the recovery of the Yarnell Hill Fire. I sat humbly, contemplating the good nature of this town and how they lovingly served our community during our time of need. I wanted to recognize them and tell their elected officials of the magnificence of their great city. To accomplish this task, we paid a visit to the City Hall. We were blessed to meet Mayor Hall’s assistant, who sweetly received the cards, bands, and shirts we brought for them. This expression of compassion from the city of Bakersfield sets the bar high for the rest of us. May we all strive to spread the better as they have done. Many thanks to the residents there.

Ryder, Tate, Shiloh, Choice, Juliann, and Mayor Hall's Assistant

Tate, Choice, Juliann, Shiloh, and Ryder

Following Bakersfield we wrapped up the California leg of our trip with two beautiful places. The first was driving through the Lake Tahoe area...

Juliann

And the second, was an incredible trip to Yosemite National Park. Words can not do justice to the majesty of this park. We hiked three different trails with the kids and they were quite the little troopers. In fact, they would've loved to keep hiking when I told them it was time to hit the road.