In May and June of 2016, Dimitri and I drove the amazing state of California, visiting friends and colleagues and family, and experiencing an addictive mix of love and serendipity.
To read this travel journal from the beginning, click here.
Day 3: Sunday, May 22nd
Erin and Mike and Jess and Nick
After a jam-packed Saturday with Troy, we had intended to just pack up the car and head up to LA. But surprise! Erin and Mike are in town!
When Erin came to work for us 10 years ago, she was fresh out of college with a degree in political science. During her interview, she told us she could start after two tremendous back-to-back events: college graduation and her wedding. Two years later, when her husband, Mike, got a great job in Seattle, we were no longer “boss and employee” but friends for life.
What that means is that while Erin and Mike are in San Diego celebrating their 10 year anniversary, it is also OUR 10 year anniversary as friends!
We arrange to meet for Breakfast at The Mission in the formerly industrial and now hip East Village area. We sit outside in the cool breeze, catching up for 3 hours over breakfast, and relishing every moment of this unexpected treat. We have no idea that this meal is simply foreshadowing a whole month of one unexpected treat after another.
After a huge breakfast, we gas up and head north on the freeway to Los Angeles. With Lizzie being away in Japan, her high school best friend, Jessica, has her keys. That alone is awesome, given that 12 years ago, Lizzie left Tucson, lived in NY then finished school in DC before “making movies” led her to LA; and that Jess left Tucson at that same time for Flagstaff, then Kansas for her PhD before “working at the Jet Propulsion Lab” led her to LA. Just as it was in high school, Jess (and now her husband, Nick) and Lizzie live a mile away from each other. The ride from San Diego to LA is a flurry of texts with Jess, intermingled with bumper-to-bumper Sunday traffic.
The last time we saw Jess and Nick was just a month ago, at their wedding at home in Tucson. Now we get to relax on their sofa, looking through their wedding album. Every photo makes them stop and smile and comment, as Murphy the wonder dog snuggles up beside us, giving tons of soft, furry love.
A day that started with old friends has ended with old friends, and we find ourselves marveling that even “just a travel day” has been far more than that. After schlepping all our stuff up the stairs to Lizzie’s place, we rustle up a bit of dinner, and spend the evening settling in to the place that will be home for the next week.
For the next installment in this journey, click here.
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