Today we had a break in our schedule of traveling and connecting with people and wondered what to do with it.
We opted to go to a "secret" place along the Lorenzo river called "the Garden of Eden" in Felton. It was about a mile hike (easy) along Roaring Camp railroad tracks, into this gorgeous little swimming grotto.
It was an absolutely beautiful spot. The water was clear, (and present) and cold, the redwoods went up and up and up.
We were only the 2nd group there, and we jumped into the water. We were enjoying the spot until a few things started to happen.
First, dozens of 20 somethings started arriving out of the woods wearing very little. (bikinis and swim suits). The crowd started to grow. As it grew I found myself uncomfortable, it was a grotto, not a huge pool.
Second, though the rules said not to, people were bringing dogs and alcohol. One young (imbibing) lady began jumping daringly from the rocky cliffs and ended up needing paramedics to carry her out on a stretcher after hitting her knee badly.
Thirdly, the swearing was all around us.
We packed up and hiked back up to where we parked. It was hard to know exactly what made us the most uncomfortable.
-the way people dress
-the way people spoke
-the way people broke the rules
-the way people were being unsafe
thankfully however, I can't add 'inconsiderate' to that account. In fact when the young lady got hurt, people rushed to her aid. And, they were cordial saying 'hi, how are you' on the trail and such. I have found a lot of people are inconsiderate when they drive, but that is normal for San Jose.
We were having a good family outing, and because we left, it remained good. But it could have been a longer outing if it weren't for the fact that we were getting uncomfortable quickly in that setting.
This is life. And rather than being overly put-off by it, we chose to make it a teaching moment for the kids.
We had discussions about using alcohol, about the reasons for rules, about doing stupid risky things while under the influence and while not under the influence, and we spoke about swearing, all of which in the context of our faith and how we decided to behave ourselves and interact with others.
So still a good outing, but we did bristle a little being in the 'real world'. It had felt to me like people are more liberal with the swears in public than they were 7 years ago.
Its not a judgment it is simply an observation. We didn't turn down our noses or think 'these pagan people best not come near us' God loves all of us, and asks us to love everyone and so that's how we live. It was simply an observation having been out of the country for a while.
