Long Lost Friends under the Big Sky

Until July, I had never been to Montana.  We have friends, Hilarie and Craig, who have lived there for at least 22 years and every year in their annual Christmas card they have invited us to visit, and every year we have said, "some day".  Well, that day came!  We knew once we began this road trip that Montana had to be on the list!  We contacted our friends, whom we have not seen in over 25 years, and said, "remember that invitation to visit?  Is it still open?"  and they replied with an emphatic, "yes!".  We were going to Montana!

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!

Beautiful windshield time

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.  

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!

Some of the many colors of the Big Sky 
taken in our friend's back yard!

Socially distant photo

Not so distant photo...we held our breath!

We watched a storm come and go!

I think we found the pot of gold here.

Give a Little...Get a Lot

Rome, Italy

So much water has gone under the bridge of life that I can't decide what to write about!  The good news is I am writing this from my computer!  I cannot tell you how much I missed it over the last month.  Our reunion was eye opening for me.  I had not realized what an intimate relationship I have with my computer, sad but true.  The large screen, the familiar keyboard, the easy access to my favorite sites, she knows me and I know her.  One interesting observation I have made is that I may have broken a habit because I have not spent nearly as much time on the computer since our reunion.  Using my stone tablet was a chore and may have cured me of my screen obsession....or not...don't touch my phone!

I spent much of one rainy day, while I was back in Houston, organizing the photos from our anniversary trip.  It may be the most documented trip I've ever taken.  Culling through over a thousand photos and trying to choose "favorites" is like choosing your favorite child...it can't be done! Looking through them is like taking the trip over and over again and it gets better every time.  Every once in a while I have an ache to just go back to Croatia.  But I guess you can't go back...or can you?

Puntalina bar and restaurant, Rovinj, Croatia,
 cold and closed for the season
March 2015

Puntalina bar and restaurant
sunny, hot...and fully booked for the night.
May 2018
I vowed to come back and I did!

Since this was an anniversary trip maybe I'll give you a couple of glimpses into what makes this thing called "our 40 year marriage" work.  TJ shared some very sweet sentiments with me on our way home and I was touched.  He referred to them as, "reasons I am still in love with you".  Always nice to hear and they give me reasons to still be in love with him!  They were two situations where we accompanied the other doing something they love.

On our second night in Rome the four of us were riding back to our apartment after a full day of sightseeing and walking many miles (over 20,000 steps to be exact).  We enjoyed a delicious dinner and decided to give our aching feet a break so we took a cab back to our apartment.  While crossing one of the many bridges in Rome I suddenly said to the driver, "Can you stop the cab?  I want to get out."  I was not ill, I had just looked out and knew I wanted to walk the rest of the way.  The night lights were reflecting on the river and the buildings were all lit up against a deep blue sky.  It was a picture, or 100, in the making.  TJ asked the driver to "pull over now" and we got out.  I don't even think he had to ask why I wanted to get out... he just knew!  It was a memorable evening stroll.

St. Peter's Basilica in the distance.
So worth walking the rest of the way home.

"O" baby!

We walked in the twilight and marveled at the lights on the river.  When we crossed one of the bridges we noticed a bridal photo shoot.  What an awesome location for bridal portraits! 

We also met this guy....

Come on...we had to say hello! 
He has on a UT hat and is doing his best to keep Austin weird
with his skateboard and bottle of wine.
Note the color coordinated hat and shoes.

Turns out he studied for a semester in Austin and was just visiting (don't remember where he was from) Rome, just like us.  Small world indeed.  Plenty happening on the bridges of Rome!  We went on our way over the bridges and through St. Peter's square oohing and aahing at the lovely evening.  It was one of those times I wished time would just stop.  Perfect place, perfect person, perfect weather ...what more can a girl ask for?

The next situation came on the island of Korcula in Croatia.  I had done my homework and suggested we rent bikes on the island and explore the towns and vineyards via bike.  As many of you know, TJ is a very serious bike rider.  I....know how to ride a bike.  He was very excited at the suggestion of biking!  The one day we had to bike was overcast and rainy in the morning.  We delayed the ride hoping for nicer weather.  The forecast gave us hope that the rain would end by lunch.  With the promise of sunnier skies, we went and rented our bikes from the local shop.  I did protect my camera in plastic and we both brought rain gear.  The blue skies were in the distance....

In spite of the lovely blue sky ahead of us....we were getting drenched!

I will preface this by sharing that we had already done one bike tour in Rome.  The bikes were e-bikes which meant any time we got to a steep hill all we had to do was activate the "e" feature, pedal and it was easy to get up the hill.  The bikes we rented this day were NOT e-bikes, they were good old fashioned road bikes.  I was not ready for this!  TJ however was in his element.  I did my best to put on a smile and pedaled my legs off.  The farther we got, the heavier it rained.  I needed windshield wipers on my sunglasses!  All I could see were raindrops and TJ in front of me.  We were riding to the town of Korcula, a mere 5 miles away.  It only seemed like 10!  There were moments I wanted to cry because the perfect leisurely day spent biking through the scenic countryside along azure waters on one side and majestic mountains on the other was looking a lot like pea soup.  As they say...the best laid plans of mice and men...

Blue skies are coming...I just know it!

We persevered up the hills and through the rain to Old town Korcula.  We just kept chasing the blue skies!  We were soaked when we arrived!  We quickly locked up our bikes and found a dry place to have lunch and wait for the sun to come out.  I just knew it was going to come out...hope springs eternal!

Why are we still smiling?  We made it!

We coincidentally went in to a restaurant that was full of spandex clad bikers!  They had all dried off, had lunch and were heading back out.  Good for them.  We had lunch, dried off and were thrilled when the clouds parted and the sun came out!  We explored the old town and then just because I had to get the iconic view of the town, rode up many switchbacks out of town for "the photo".  At least it wasn't raining this time!

We were rewarded for our efforts!

The day turned out just as nice as we had hoped it would....before the rain.  We were so glad we decided, in spite of the rain, to go on with our plan and make the best of it.  I would have hated to miss this lovely town and the perfectly clear blue waters and the views...!  Sometimes you just have to get soaked.

I could share those thousands of photos to show you just how beautiful Croatia is but then why would you need to visit?  I've said it before and I'll say it again...visit Croatia!  It is a charming and lovely country.

As for us two married folks...I love that he is more than happy to get out of the cab and walk along enthusiastically with while I take hundreds of photos of city lights and bridges.  He says he loves that I am willing to get soaked on a bike for the sake of a good ride and some spectacular views.  We both give a little and we both get a lot...that's how you make it 40 years in this thing called marriage.