Eight Legs and a Tail- My Friends are Along for the Ride.

There is so much to share about our wonderful visit to Denver.  I could wax poetic for days about my grand-nuggets.  They are both delicious and it was pure joy to get to spend 3 + weeks with them and of course their parents too.  I also got to spend some precious time with my sister Amy and her wonderful husband Andy.  It was a delight to see how they are becoming full-time makers between Amy's felting creations and Andy's wood-working masterpieces.   I will write more about that leg at a later date but now we are back on the road.  I want to talk about the friends who are along for the ride.  We left our dear ones in Colorado and I wept for most of the drive to Santa Fe.  I cannot even describe how sad I feel to leave these precious children on the other side of the country.  For more on that, read my blog from a few years ago- The Dirty Secret About Grandparents. It doesn't get any easier.  But our first stop was a total blast when we had dinner with my old and dear friend Peter Zandan in Santa Fe.  My my.. the years slip away.  It felt so utterly comfortable to be with him and his friends, despite the almost 50 years (gasp) since we were in high school together.  Good grief, how is that possible? With a visit to Meow Wolf and a stop at the Agora, the shopping center that my family company owns, it was a very full trip. 

And then it was back on the road again to our next stop in Oklahoma.  We traversed a good stretch of Route 66 today.  On each leg of the journey, I have thought of my dear friends who come from this part of the country. When we traveled through Kansas on the way out, I thought of Mary Gaetz who comes from Salina.  From New Mexico today we drove into Texas and I thought about my wonderful colleagues Ally Fluke and Bryan Farrington who live in Texas. Tonight we are in Oklahoma and I’m thinking of my lovely friend Jenn Langhus.  Next we are on to Arkansas, where my talented friend Memory Apata comes from.  In Tennessee, I'll be thinking about Chris Kohn.  We will drive near Memphis where Michael designed their public library so that will be a treat for him.  And then onto North Carolina to visit with our in-laws.  What is better than in-laws that you LOVE to spend time with.  

So how lucky are we?  We are on an adventure.  We are still speaking to each other.  More on the trailer woes in another post.  We have dear friends who we visit and/or remember along the way.  And at the end of the trip, we will return to our beloved Vermont and so many friends who we can't wait to see.  For me, hugging my friends is at the top of my list.  I can't wait to return to a beautiful Vermont summer and re-connect with so many folks that I care about.  

We'll keep trying to capture the adventure.  So stay tuned.  And thanks for joining us on the journey.