Cali Bound - Day 7

As you read in my last blog, we made plans to meet Jennifer this morning and stop by Sweet Cakes to buy some treats for the road. We wanted to help them get some more business because their treats are delicious, so we made this video to post all over social media.



Their treats were great fuel for our trip and we needed it because we decided to stop at Zion National Park to do some hiking before our last stop before Thousand Oaks. The hike was exactly what we needed to be out of the car and in God's creation just listening to Him and being with Him in preparation for our arrival in TO. Here are a few shots from the trip. There will probably be more on Facebook later.

These 3 peaks are called The Patriarchs - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

I love climbing rocks!

Panorama Fun! Click on it to make it larger.

We arrived in Las Vegas tonight to stay with Gessica's aunt and uncle. We've shared lots of laughs to night. We'll have a leisurely morning here and then head on to Thousand Oaks. We're almost there.

Cali Bound - Day 6

Day 5 ended by arriving in Salt Lake City, Utah to stay with our Impact U staff. I decided planning a rest day in the middle of the trip would probably be a good idea and SLC seemed like a great place to do it. Here is a look at some of our adventures.

Brett gave us a tour of campus.

We got to help out with some "tabling" on campus.

After lunch Tommy took us to the Mormon Temple and taught us a little bit more about what it is like to reach out to a campus and community that heavily influenced by the Mormons. It was a powerful time connecting with the heart of Impact U's ministry and the very eye opening to the culture in SLC. As we debriefed the experience, Tommy surprised us and took us to Sweet Cakes, a completely gluten-free bakery. It was amazing!

We spent the evening hanging out at Tommy and Jennifer's house eating an amazing gluten-free feast and sharing lots of laughs. Tommy managed to capture one of my crazy story telling moments.

Of course I brought gifts for Tommy and Brett so they could drink their coffee from a proper mug.

This morning we'll head over to Tommy and Jennifer's again to make a trip to Sweet Cakes to buy some snacks for the road.

It was so encouraging to spend time on campus with our staff and see up close the work they are doing. It was fun to spend time praying with them about the new adventures in Cali and learn from their team leader about going into a new place and planting a campus ministry. I absolutely love our Impact staff and the Impact U team is doing incredible things!

Cali Bound - Day 5

Today we took a little trip off our path to meet a friend, Tyler, from the South Bend area who recently moved to Ft. Collins, CO. It was great to catch up with Tyler and see a little bit of the area. Bakeries with gluten-free cupcakes and the coolest coffee shops.

We also decided to check out the Colorado State University. It was a beautiful campus and we met a very cool lady in the bookstore.  And the rest of the day was spent in the car trying to convince Little Gray Car it could make it up the huge Utah mountains.

Cali Bound - Day 4

Today was a long day so it will be a short post. Our 9 1/2 hour trip became 16 hours due to some unplanned trips to pray on three different campus. We stopped at the University of Missouri, the University of Kansas and the university of Nebraska. We were also able to meet some campus ministry staff at Mizzou and KU, which was really cool. It was a fun adventure.

Cali Bound - Day 2-3

It was a great weekend. We spent Saturday with my sister, Anna, shopping and visiting the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. I may hate shopping but I love spending time with my sister.

On Sunday afternoon we drove to Columbia, MO to visit my aunt and uncle. We even got to spend some time with my cousin and her kids.

Cali Bound - Day 1

Gessica and I in front of the old 5824!

It has certainly been a long day. Packing was pretty stressful trying to get the few things I still own to fit in Little Gray Car. Fortunately, my parents came to help with the moving out craziness.

We all had lunch together and then Gess and I were on the road west. The first leg of the drive was to Quincy, IL to spend the weekend with my sister, Anna Lee. We arrived safely but not without some fun along the way. There are a few things we are trying to do in every state to add some excitement to hours of driving.

1. Take a picture of the state sign.
2. Take a picture of something that represents the state's nickname.
3. Meet someone new.

Our time in Indiana was very limited and we were wondering how we could find something to represent the Hoosier state in such limited time. We stopped for a cup of coffee a little disappointed with the situation. I grabbed my cup of coffee and simply asked God to help us find something. (Silly I know, but I did it.) Literally as I was praying a man walked in with a Hoosiers shirt. Gess and I started laughing out loud. I'm sure the man thought we were crazy. Gess briefly told him the story and asked if we could take a picture with him. He loved the idea and said, "Sure. My shirt will make history!" We made a new friend and got a picture of something about Indiana.

Meet our new friend, Thomas!

I'm hoping to blog each night on this trip and share some of our stories with you. In the mean time, you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Use the hashtag #caliskoutz to send us messages, ask questions or give us a picture challenge.

Thank you for all of your prayers on this great adventure.

California or Bust

The time is finally here and tomorrow starts the big road trip. My roommate, Gessica, will be traveling across the country with me. We are planning to visit family, friends, supporters, potential supporters, and fellow Impact staff along the way. Here is our itinerary; we would appreciate your prayers during our adventure.

• August 23rd - 24th: Quincy, IL
• August 25th: Columbia, MO
• August 26th: Sidney, NE
• August 27th- 28th: Salt Lake City, UT with stops in Ft. Collins, CO and Rawlins, WY
• August 29th: Las Vegas, NV
• August 30th: New home in Thousand Oaks, CA

Gessica and our Impact students have created a hashtag (#caliskoutz) for those of you who are on Facebook or Twitter.  You can follow this hashtag to get updates on our adventures or send us messages along the way.  

Many thanks to all of you who have been praying, sending words of encouragements, given special financial gifts and cooked wonderful meals for me this last week. I am incredibly grateful to be partnering with you to Impact the U. Impact the World.