Helen and Patrick's Update July 3rd and 4th

Thursday, July 3rd: Helen and I had a wonderful send-off in front of the Daniels Building at 10:00 AM. We had around 16 people there using the Talking Stick that Mike accepted for BFC at the 30th Annual Alkali Lake AA Round-up in 2006. The experience was moving for all of us. I felt a great sense of responsiblity in representing BFC/BFI in being part of this Quest to encourage, support and celebrate recovery at the Betty Ford Center, Alkali Lake, the St. Francis Mission and Rosebud Reservation in SD.

Helen and I reflected back throughout the day on how incredible our send-off was and all the words and prayers of encouragement we had received. We laughed at the sight of the food cart being rolled out for us to take on our trip. What a feast. One of our challenges throughout Day One was to keep driving instead of pulling into another rest stop to sample some more of the deliscious food we hadn't gotten to yet.

Day One was somewhat challenging in that we had to drive through the LA area with all the intense traffic and it was very hot all day. We were also getting used to being in close quarters together for that long.

We received a call from Robert Doody at the St. Francis Mission wishing us well and telling about the fact that KINI FM 96.1 would be airing prayers in English and Lakota on a regular basis asking the Creator for the inspiration, protection and support needed to complete the Quest successfully and to begin a sobriety movement, like Alkali Lake, there at the Rosebud Reservation. He indicated that Helen and I (Team California, BFC/BFI) would be included in those prayers.

Later in the day I received a call from my son, Ryan, in Iowa who has almost 17 months sober. He told us that he had to quit his job because his sobriety was at risk because of it. He said he knew he would have to suffer a bit financially in the short run but that the job wasn't worth his sobriety. It made me really proud of him. I told him that choice was one that many people wouldn't be able to make. I also told him how important his sobriety was to the whole family and thanked him for his efforts to maintain it.

We made it to Williams, CA which is about an hour north of Sacramento. We were both tired and I was wondering if it might have made more sense to fly.

Friday July 4th: New Day, beautiful morning. It was actually cool. I jogged and stretched and felt renewed. I told Helen that we really had to focus and make it to Seattle. She said "fine". I think Helen was wondering if flying might have been a better choice as we started Day Two. Shortly after getting on the road, however, something changed and we seemed to settle in a "road groove". Helen brought her I Pod with 1700 songs on it. She had plugged into the stereo and shared some of the pieces she thought I might like. She had some Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, Louie Armstrong and Beattles. I encouraged her to go ahead and take out the stops and share from the full spectrum of her songs even ones she didn't think I would like. Wow, did I get a lesson in music. We listened to such a wide range and it seemed to draw us closer. I had to let go my bias against "rap", Death Metal, Screamer, techno etc. I think the Creator gave me an extra boost of tolerance throughout the day. I ended up liking some of the songs. We also worked on a new children's song about living with "treatment and recovery". Our hope is to bring home 2 new songs, one going and one returning. We'll sing them to you on our return to BFC.

The other element that really lifted us was the natural beauty the further north we travelled. I had never been further north than Ukiah, CA. I was so moved by the view of Mt. Shasta, that we pulled over at a "vista point" and I took out my Sober Quest poster, put it on my tail gate and had Helen take a picture with the peak in the back ground. Unfortunately I haven't been able to down load the pictures on to the computer. There seems to be a problem with the camera. Hopefully we will be able to fix it. I've attached the one picture we were able to access.

We travelled 12 hours, had some excellent "daddy/daughter" time and made it to Seattle. The entire day was filled with incredible views. Helen and I both spoke about moving to Oregon sometime soon. We also wanted to move to WA and today will be enamored with British Columbia. We will arrive in Alkali Lake this evening. That means tomorrow we will be able to attend the final day of the 3rd Annual Youth for Sobriety Powwow at the same location where the Round-up will be held next weekend. We will also be arriving in Williams Lake for the last day of the Williams Lake Stampede Rodeo (one huge drunk fest). Wow! So much to do and so little time!! I think we''ll head to the Powwow! :)

Lots of Love your way!!

Patrick and Helen
on Sober Quest 2008