Montana is beautiful and the Big Sky moniker is appropriate! Driving from South Dakota into Montana and all the way to Bozeman is a mesmerizing drive along I-90. It still amuses me that after spending most of my life living along the I-10 corridor that I am seeing its northern, less populated, more beautiful (in my opinion) equivalent up close and personal. I continue to be amazed at the vast amount of land in our country and its varied landscapes. We have also been blessed with abundant blue skies as a backdrop. As a person who would rather sit in a crowded, germ infested airplane than take a long road trip, this venture has certainly surprised me. Yes, there have been days that I feel road weary and my backside is numb from all of the sitting but on a whole the beauty outside the windshield has completely distracted me!
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| Beautiful windshield time |
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| I can't tell you how many times we have said, "how far do you think that is?" Heading to the mountains! |
If you have not seen someone in over 20 years there is bound to be a bit of uncertainty heading into a visit. How have they changed...how have we changed, will this be awkward...will we still like each other? Hilarie and I met back in college before we even knew our current spouses. We worked together at a department store in Baton Rouge. When we met our husbands-to-be, they also became friends and the rest is history. You know those cute quotes that say a real friend is one you can go ages without seeing and pick up like it was yesterday? It is true! We were all back in our 20's, fresh out of college and newly married again! I sat in amazement, they had not changed and I am sure neither have we. I thought to myself, " Wow! Our 20 year old selves sure did have good taste when it came to making friends". After the obligatory catching up on our kids, careers, moves, parents, and siblings we relived old memories and made a few new ones. We have promised not to wait another 20 years before we see each other again.
As luck would have it Bozeman, MT also happens to be the home of Marathon Girl and her family. She recently had her 3rd child and her parents, our very good friends, Bob and Donna, of anniversary trip fame, were there to help with the growing family. We were able to meet the new little baby boy, share some delicious pizza (outside and from a "safe" distance) and see where the Marathon family lives. They have a great house with that big Montana sky as a backdrop.
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| Getting 5 people to look in one direction and smile at the same time proved to be a challenge but still pretty cute with a little help! |
One special night in Bozeman was spent having dinner at Hilarie and Craig's house with Bob and Donna as special guests. The night proved that we definitely have great taste in friends! Aside from the good food and the stunning big sky, the company was the best! We sat outside, ate, drank, shared stories of times spent together, marveled at the sky and laughed until it was too late. It turns out all three couples were married in 1978 within 7 weeks of each other. We are all still married! The summer of '78 was a good year for marriage. I hope you too are able to make lasting friendships like these, they are priceless.
And be careful about inviting us to visit....we may just take you up on it!
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| Some of the many colors of the Big Sky taken in our friend's back yard! |
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| Socially distant photo |
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| Not so distant photo...we held our breath! |
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| We watched a storm come and go! |
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| I think we found the pot of gold here. |
