deebeedee

The fam and I came back from a six-day trip to Southern California last Saturday. We visited Legoland near San Diego (a first for all of us), Disneyland (a first for the little one), and Universal Studios Hollywood (a first for the kids). We went with my wife’s brother and his family including his mother-in-law. We rented a 12-passenger van that had us towering over most SUVs on the road.

It was a nice vacation with, um, a few snags. The fact that we we were heading closer to the equator in the middle of a record breaking heat wave was the least of our worries. Never mind that we were embarking on a 500-mile trip on a day that gas prices hit a 25-year high. These pale in comparison to what we went through:

• We lost everyone’s theme park tickets right before leaving.
• We got talked into buying an expensive time-share plan.
• I lost the rental van’s key while in Disneyland.
• We lost our youngest son in Mickey’s house in Toontown.
• We got charged an extra day for returning the van a day late.

Like any other time we go on a major trip, my wife and I made sure we had a short devotion beforehand asking the Lord for traveling mercies and guidance. We also prayed that since we were traveling with another family that we would act graciously toward one another and that we would honor God during the trip. Little did we know that mere moments after our prayer, we would be tested.

After loading the van with our bags and kids, we headed off to my brother-in-law’s house. We soon realized that we didn’t have the amusement park tickets with us. No problem – we decided to just go back home and get the tickets after picking up my brother-in-law and his family. The problem is I assumed my wife had the tickets, and she assumed I had the tickets.

When we got home, we looked in the most obvious places. The tickets weren’t there. We then looked in every nook and cranny of the home office. Nada. We then searched in our bedroom. Zilch.

As you can probably imagine, I was getting increasingly worried and anxious. The great thing is my wife kept her cool. Normally we would be pointing fingers at each other already. Instead, we said a little prayer. We proceeded to look for the tickets again but this time the entire family – my brother-in-law and his family, my wife’s sister and her husband, and my father-in-law – helped us out (did I ever mention we live in a multi-family household?). We combed through the same places over again, this time going through the brown bags of paper for recycling and overturning drawers on every cabinet, pretty much ransacking the entire house. A couple of hours have gone by. Still nothing.

I took my wife aside and told her that we were just going to have to buy the tickets again (although at a higher price) at the respective theme parks – both for us and my brother-in-law’s family, since they paid for their share already. We weren’t going to let this ruin our vacation. We will have to hope the tickets will turn up somehow when we get back and that we would be able to get a refund for them, I told her. She agreed. Of course, this meant if we didn’t find the tickets, we would both put in extra time at work to pay off the new ones.

We told my wife’s brother what we planned to do and this eased his worries as well. And so off we went. At almost midnight, we were now a few hours behind schedule. As we were leaving Fremont to get to I-680, we get a call from my sis-in-law saying they found the tickets! We quickly made a u-turn and headed back home. The tickets were hidden in a hiding place that I apparently had forgotten. We celebrated by eating the adobo reserved for our rest stop along the way.

I was designated driver. My brother-in-law is not too keen about driving long distances. I figured it was safer for me to drive the whole time but I’d have to ask his help if I truly can’t take it anymore. I stocked up on energy drinks and coffee to keep me up on the drive down I-5. By the time we got to the Grapevine, fatigue had set in. I already drank all of my caffeine-rich beverages. I didn’t ask my brother-in-law to take over since he’s not used to driving the van, and come on, it’s the Grapevine.* I found one last can of Coke that got me going for a couple more hours.
*The Grapevine is where you’re competing with 18-wheelers careening down zig-zaggy roads propelled not so much by gas but by the force of gravity down an incline.

By the time we reached Los Angeles, we hit the morning commute traffic. We stopped by La Mirada to have breakfast. We then proceeded to Carlsbad, which was about an hour and a half away. We got to Legoland and went in. I was tired though. I thought I could handle it. After about 45 minutes in the park, I had to excuse myself. This was the first time I had dancing images in front of my wide-open eyes while walking in a dream-like state. I took a nap for a couple of hours in the van. It’s a good thing San Diego was significantly cooler than the rest of the state. I didn’t get cooked in the van. It was overcast and there was a slight breeze.

We were in Anaheim the next day, walking from our motel to Disneyland across the street, when we were accosted by a cheerful saleswoman offering 100 Disney bucks for us to use and free lunch for all if we allow her to show us her company’s new hotel a few blocks away. That seemed appealing to some in our party, so we were to return that afternoon to be driven by limo to the hotel to listen to a “short” ninety-minute presentation. After enjoying a few hours at Disneyland, it was time to go to the presentation. It turns out only eight people maximum per party are allowed in the presentation. There were nine of us. My wife and I “sacrificed” ourselves (yet the free lunch was to be missed by those not in attendance). The presentation turned out to be for some timeshare program. It took significantly more than two hours and by the end we had signed away thousands of dollars tied into high-interest loans that go towards the purchase of a timeshare plan that we never got the chance to pray about. The oft dreamt-about Hawaii trip was our downfall. Needless to say, we had buyer’s remorse mere hours after getting back to Disneyland. But that again, was not to spoil our vacation.

Something did come close to spoiling our vacation but I couldn’t bear to tell anyone. I lost the van key. It was in my shorts pocket but it must’ve fallen out during one of the rides. After the ticket incident, I didn’t want people thinking what a fool I was for losing another thing. I checked with the park’s Lost and Found. Nothing. I filed a report and left my info. I checked periodically for the rest of the day. Nothing still. I called the car rental company. The belligerent dispatch guy told me it was $100 to replace the key and I’d have to cover the towing fees when the new van is delivered and the old one is towed away. Wow. I thought I better pray about this first, that’s expensive! I said a silent prayer. I also had to tell my wife. And told her I did. She was again surprisingly calm. My in-laws soon found out as well. Whatever they were feeling, they hid well. As for me, I was trusting the Lord for an outcome I’d be able to cope with.

It’s a good thing we didn’t need the van to go anywhere that evening. The next day, our second day at Disneyland, the first thing I did was check in with Lost and Found. Lo and behold, they had the key! I was overjoyed. The Spaniard guy beside me was also impressed. I wish he found his clip-on shades.

The feeling of elation carried us throughout the day. Well, almost. We were at Mickey’s House in Toontown where people line up to get Mickey’s signature at the end of the maze. I was ahead of everyone in my party. There was a significant gap in front of us so I surged forward and told everyone to catch up. We walked a little bit more and then stood for about five minutes. I looked around and didn’t see my youngest son around. I called out to the last people in our party if they had him. They didn’t. Panic set in. My bro-in-law and I rushed back, going past other people in line, looking for him. We went past the point were we last saw him. He wasn’t there. We continued until we reached the entrance of the house. There he was playing with a piece of furniture by the door. I asked him what happened. He said, “I was looking for you guys.” As you can see, we weren’t there to just experience roller-coaster rides, but emotional roller coasters as well.

Now believe it or not, the last two things were resolved rather nicely as well. As mentioned earlier, we were charged an extra day for returning the van a day over the agreed time. The thing is, we specifically asked for a little extra time to return the van while paying the flat fee for seven days. We also had it in writing. With a little persuading (and prayer), I was able to convince the rental company to take off the extra charge. Now as for the timeshare purchase, I almost didn’t want to look through the fat binder the timeshare company gave us. It contained all the stuff we signed and tons of legal documents. I get dizzy looking at legalese! I had to employ the help of my sis-in-law (yup, the same one who found the tickets) to find a document regarding canceling the transaction. She found it. We had seven days from the time we bought the timeshare to cancel it. It was the sixth day, but it was nighttime. The next day, I quickly wrote up a letter stating my intent to cancel the purchase, signed the appropriate document, and faxed them and sent them off by certified mail. Just today, I get a call from the timeshare company confirming receipt of said documents.

I’m so amazed how God addressed every concern we had during this trip. As my wife and I prayed for guidance and protection prior to our vacation, the Lord’s presence became part and parcel of our vacation experience. We were put in situations where we couldn’t help but acknowledge him and seek his face. Each situation had the potential of being a source of contention between me and my wife but through his acknowledged presence, we were able to somehow honor the Lord with the way we handled each situation. I failed a few times, however. I remember snapping at my wife when she urged me to hurry up in getting ready, forgetting that she had shown me much patience during the times I lost the aforementioned items.

It’s easy to get disheartened when we are faced with situations beyond our control. It’s great to know that there is someone that we can turn to, someone more reliable than anyone in this world. In the midst of my helplessness, I had no choice but to be still and know that He is God. God is not my personal genie who answers my every beck and call. But certainly he has the power, as our Father in heaven, to give more than what we can hope or ask for. Yeah so, I was being facetious by calling the trip a “So-Called Trip.” It was actually great.