On the Road in the Bay Area

Today was road trip day in Northern California with our first stop being Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA. Our intentions were to meet with Pastor Richard Foster, Lutheran Campus Pastor for the University, but he had family obligations that day. (Relatives who were evacuees from hurricane Katerina were staying with him and he was tending to their needs). So Julie Steinbrenner (not related to George) was kind enough to host us for the day. Julie and her boyfriend Greg are both Ph.D. students at Stanford in the Mechanical Engineering program (very smart people). Julie is a graduate of Valparaiso University. She's from Illinois and Greg is from the Denver area. Julie and Greg are both active in the Episcopal Lutheran Campus Ministry (ELCM).

Julie met Greg (PLTS Admissions Director, not boyfriend) and me at the ELCM Center, and we took off in her convertible. (See picture, but imagine top down, sun shining, and Greg, Julie and I looking our California coolest. This picture was taken after the afternoon thunderstorm, which rarely if ever happens in Northern CA, and especially not in September. The storm was a special show just for me, I was told).

We toured the campus. GORGEGOUS! By the way, Stanford is Chelsea Clinton’s alma mater in case anyone cares.

One of the stops on the tour was the Stanford Memorial Church, it was built as a memorial to Senator Leland Stanford, who died in 1893. Actual construction got underway six years later in 1899. It was truly a sight to behold.

After our driving tour, Greg (PLTS), Julie and I met up with Greg (boyfriend) for lunch at the Stanford Faculty Club Dining Room. We were rubbing shoulders with the big wigs now. Over lunch Greg (PLTS) and I talked with Julie and Greg about our respective schools and the graduate programs they offer. We got better acquainted and discussed our views on current national affairs. Julie talked about an old Nintendo game she played as a kid in which you were the main character, Moses, whose job it was to get the people to the promised land and your only weapon was the Word of God, which spewed from Moses' mouth and could be used to defeat anything. We all decided the theological implications of that were too scary to discuss.

After lunch Greg and Julie got Greg (PLTS) and me connected with Caitlyn (another participant in the ELCM and Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering, recently married to another Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering) who was staffing a table with information about the ELCM in the central quad for interested first year students. It turns out that Stanford University does not start until late September--go figure--and today was moving-in day for freshman. Caitlyn was accompanied by the Episcopal priest Father Vern. After conversation with Caitlyn and Father Vern and saying goodbye to Greg and Julie we were on our way to our next stop--Mount Cross Bible Camp, back on the road in the rain.

We made a quick stop at Mt. Cross. (See picture: I think Greg and I both qualified for the width and weight limit for the camp). There we met up with interim director and former ELCA Director for Camps Jerry Olstad. Jerry gave us a history of the camp, an update on its current situation, and a tour. One of the unique camping experiences they offer is “tree house camping.” WAY COOL! See what you can do without mosquitoes? After saying goodbye to Jerry, we were off to University of California, Santa Cruz. The rain had stopped.

At U of C Santa Cruz we met up with Lutheran Campus Minister Pat Puder who took us on an extensive tour of the sprawling, heavily wooded, BEAUTIFUL campus. WOW! After touring that campus and having a lovely supper on the wharf overlooking Monterey Bay, I don’t know what I was thinking, going to college in the Fargo, North Dakota/Moorhead, Minnesota Area.

Throughout our tour and over supper Greg, Pat and I shared extensively about our ministries and what each can offer the other. Another delight of the Santa Cruz area was the wildlife: deer roaming the campus, a hawk perched on a fence, a sea lion resting below a peer and a star fish decorating the side of a pylon.

After taking in the lights of Santa Cruz reflecting off Monterey Bay, it was time to head back to Berkeley and another night's rest at PLTS.