Quick Trip to the Coast

This week we had the opportunity (tough job, but someone had to do it) of traveling out of our mission boundaries to Santa Maria (3 1/2 hours away) to teach the Career Workshop to members of that stake. We had to receive permission from President Gelwix to leave the mission. We left Friday before noon and arrived around 2pm at Pismo Beach and got to play around on the beach and eat fish chips at a local favorite shop.

 

Pismo Beach is a great little beach town with a variety of seashores. First stop was the rocky, craggy beach and then on to the smooth white sand and a little wade in the ocean. We then headed to Santa Maria to meet a Stake High Councilman and set up the room for class, preparing for about 25 candidates plus 5 or 6 leaders. That done, we headed back to Pismo Beach and had a nice dinner and looked around the town and people watched!

 

We had a good turnout with a few extras for the Saturday workshop. We normally teach the class in two full days and this time we only had six hours so we had to cut out a lot of the activities. It was a good smattering of what we teach. The Ward and Stake Employment specialists in the stake need to fill in the gaps. Most of those attending were very gracious and appreciative of the instruction. It was fun and I felt like they got the bones of what they need to move forward in their job searches.  

This picture is of those who were there during the lunch break. The high councilman who arranged the workshop is Randy Harris - 2nd from the right - and is a descendant of Martin Harris's brother - so he is a shirttail relative on the Ball side of the family.

With the workshop done and the room cleaned up we drove along the coast to Morro Bay where we took a bit of time to enjoy watching the otters in the bay - stretching and floating and sometimes playing and on the opposite side of Morro Rock we watched the surfers - but I was so enthralled with watching them that I forgot to take pictures. The waves were huge and is was delightful to see them succeed in riding waves in to the shore.  

 



 A face only a mother could love!

A small submarine on display.  

^{Then we headed home. It was a very long but productive day. Once again I am in awe of the beauty and wonders of this earth. God is Great. God is Good.}