Almost Missed This!

We learned a valuable lesson on our trip to the Oregon coast this last weekend. On our way up, we decided to take the "quicker, more direct" route instead of the scenic route because we didn't want to risk getting lost, especially with our "time bomb" of a hungry, tired, sick-of-his-carseat baby ticking away in the back seat. So with the promise that we would take the coastal route on the way back, we drove straight through. Unbelievably, we contemplated taking the more direct route again on our way home when the beginning of the scenic route did not look promising. The roads were terrible, the views mediocre, and practically no one was on the road with us -- a bad sign, or so we thought. But, we pressed on, at Grant's urging that he'd always wonder what we'd missed if we had gone. Well, this is what we would have missed, and it would have been tragic!!

These pictures honestly don't even do justice to the amazing scenery we saw on the Oregon coast. Some of the most amazing vistas I've ever seen. And to think we didn't think it would be worth it!! (Above: Eliot and me at Cape Meares.)

Me in front of the famous "Haystack Rock" at Cannon Beach.

Grant overlooking Cannon Beach.

Our little family at the first lookout point at Cape Meares,
our favorite stop on the scenic drive. Incredible!

A view of the majestic cliffs and a beautiful waterfall,
again at Cape Meares.

Me wrestling wiggly Eliot to get a shot in front of this
beautiful lighthouse at Cape Meares.

"Sunshine on My Shoulders"
Grant with Eliot in front of a temporarily sunny sky
at Cape Meares.

So the lesson we learned was not to pass up the scenic routes when you're driving in a new area, right? Well, yes, but I think it was more than that. As I thought about how truly sad it would have been to have missed that beautiful drive and to have missed the chance to have those picturesque views etched in my memory, I couldn't help but think about the parallel between that experience and our little "scenic detour" we're experiencing here in Oregon, or any "detour" in life that appears at first to be inconvenient.

To say the least, this law school experience has been a battle for us. From the get-go of taking and then re-taking the LSAT to moving away from family to an unknown place to struggling to hang onto Grant's scholarship, it seems like this period of our lives is just meant to be a fight. I don't mean to sound ungrateful or fail to recognize what an amazing opportunity this is for us; I know that many people would love to be in our shoes -- the chance to get a higher education with the opportunity for a successful career, to say nothing of the enormous blessing of having a beautiful, healthy little son. But, like our little scenic drive first appeared to us, this opportunity has been a bumpy, sometimes lonely road that has certainly had its own rocky beginning.

But just like our scenic drive along the coast of Oregon, now that we've weathered the uncertain first several miles of this journey, we're finding ourselves coming to a breathtaking vista, where we can see a panorama of beautiful, sparkling blessings -- blessings that we would have missed had we not taken this route. In the form of friends, wonderful experiences, growing together as a family, and just getting to live in a new and beautiful place, our scenic route is proving to be worth the trip. And just like the majestic scenes of the Oregon coast now engraved in my mind, I'm sure I'll look back on this unexpected "detour" and realize that I wouldn't have missed it for the world.