Adventures with Elizabeth

Jill's Journal: Oh sure, she looks innocent enough, but if there were ever a person with a knack for finding trouble adventure whenever I’m with her, it’s Elizabeth. It doesn’t matter where we’ve been together over the last nearly 20 years – the Bahamas, Tijuana, Nashville, Phoenix, you name it – if we’re together, hilarity just somehow happens. I’m not sure which one of us is Lucy and which one is Ethel, but we’d surely make those fictional ladies proud by our ridiculous antics. Our time together in Las Vegas on this trip just overlapped by one day, but Elizabeth and I made the most of it with a very rare-for-me girls’ night out. And my goodness, I could not imagine a more loyal and dedicated friend. Everyone should be so lucky as to have an Elizabeth. We’re at such different places in our lives, her single and carefree and me married with soon-to-be-four children, but somehow our friendship still just works. And I’m pretty sure it always will. I have no doubt we’re friends for life.

It’s been over 15 years since Elizabeth and I actually lived in the same city. However, in an extremely bizarre twist, we’ll soon be in the same state again. Plans call for her to leave Las Vegas and move to New Jersey in the spring. New Jersey! Of all places! Her move has nothing to do with ours, but out of this whole enormous nation, we’ll be within an hour of each other on the opposite side of the country from where our friendship started nearly two decades ago. How strange (and fortuitous) is that?

Bako Buddies

Jill's Journal: See this? This blur is six happy kids playing an impromptu game of “Ring Around the Tree.” Four adults spent a pretty happy day too. It dawned on us that we’ve seen Chris and Julie and their three adorable kids – Athena, Zoe, and Jack -- three times on this RV journey of the last two years, more than any other friends. It helps that they currently live in Bakersfield (people around here call it “Bako”), which is only about an hour from my parents, but it’s more than that. We just seem to fit. It doesn’t always happen that both members of a couple both truly enjoy both other members of a couple AND the kids are evenly matched and everyone gets along swimmingly. We just love this family and so enjoy our time together. In fact, if I were to picture our dream neighbors and friends, this wonderful family would probably top the list.

Playdate!

Jill's Journal: Any day we get a playdate at the home of friends is a good day – no, a great day – in our girls’ book. While in the Visalia/Hanford area of Central California, we spent a lovely afternoon at the home of Kevin and Teresa. Our girls remembered playing with their girls nearly 18 months ago and it didn’t take three seconds for everyone to dive right back in again. It’s so fun for me to see our girls interact with other little kids. This group was clearly fast friends…

…with Madelyn right in the thick of things, as always. I never have to worry about her making friends; every new person, whether Elaine (above) or Rachel (below), is always her best friend. It warms a mama’s heart. :)

Childhood Friends Revisited

Jill's Journal: When I was a kid, I wanted a big brother sooooo bad. I never had one of those, but these two guys were pretty able substitutes. Humorously, I didn’t even know they were good friends themselves until recently.

Viddle – or Mike, if you prefer to be more formal -- and I go way, way back. We went to the same tiny school and the same even-tinier church and we both have so many memories that each other are in. School functions, church functions, common friends…we’ve probably spent hundreds – no, thousands – of hours together over the last 30 years. Last time we saw each other was 17 or 18 years ago in Phoenix. I love this guy and his wonderful wife Toni, whom I would like to be my BFF if we lived in Hemet!

Another 30-plus-year-long friend is Gary. We were friends as kids and ran in some of the same circles as teenagers and young adults. Oh, the adventures and fun we’ve had! We haven’t seen each other in 20 years, but it was so easy to pick up right where we left off. Like Viddle, he is just a super, super guy. Congratulations are in order as he just got engaged over the weekend. His fiancé, Kim, is a sweetheart.

After some great time with each Viddle and Gary over the past few days, the guys hunkered down in Viddle’s man cave yesterday…

…while the gals bonded…

…and the kids did too. From left to right is Victoria, Erika, Aidan (Gary & Kim), Joey (Viddle & Toni), Madelyn, and Nick (Viddle & Toni). Not shown is a super-cute 10-month-old, Jordan (Gary & Kim), although I think he would have loved the brownies too.

Unfortunately, our girls now desperately want guinea pigs (as if there weren’t enough other animals they’d like already). Gee thanks, Viddle. We’ll send you the bill.

Another dear, dear friend we snuck in some time with was Tammy. Again, we go back over 30 years. My first-ever slumber party was at her house…she and I went to New York together for two weeks with her family at age 16…we were roommates during our senior class trip to Hawaii…the adventures we’ve had, the secrets we’ve shared…we've just always been a part of each others' childhoods and lives! Last time we saw each other was in 2004, so much more recently than Viddle and Gary, but it was just as sweet to see her again. We’ve got more time planned for later in the week and I can’t wait.

Tammy and David have been together since they were 15 or 16 and he’s like family too. That’s their sweet little daughter, Skylar…

…who my girls would like to have move in with us.

And finally, we’ve gotten more precious time with the girls’ Uncle Adam, including an unprecedented lunch of ice cream. These girls are thinking Hemet is a very wonderful place, indeed.

April

Jill's Journal: Me and April, Paris, March 1993

I think once you travel with someone, especially internationally, you’re either friends for life or you never want to speak to that person again. Happily, with April, it’s the former and not the latter! We were both top producers at a company we worked for many moons ago right here in Orange County’s Anaheim Hills, and we were both rewarded with a very memorable trip to France. Spoiled with luxury, we were treated to some of the best of Paris, including the equivalent of a state dinner and a picnic with a real, live prince. Ahhhh, Paris…but I digress.

April and I have seen each other several times over the years, including multiple times in Kentucky, where, oddly enough, her grandparents lived. She was kind enough to have me and the girls over to play at her home in Foothill Ranch this week and we had a ball. I know this is off-topic, but I just love her hair. She asked how I dealt without a regular stylist on the road and I just had to laugh. I told her this is my “casual time in life”…no make-up and hair thrown into a ponytail because I haven’t had a truly good haircut in two years. It just suits the lifestyle and that’s okay. I’ll take the trade-off!

The little one on the left is April’s adorable daughter, Cat. She and my girls played together in Lexington a few years ago, but none of them remember it. No matter, because they were all fast friends all over again.

After spending the day before with boy playmates, the girls switched gears completely as Cat generously shared her princess dress-up clothes with them. Look at those smiles! These were some happy, happy little ladies. The grown-ups were happy too -- what a huge treat it was to see April again.

Katie

Jill's Journal: See these adorable little babies? This was them in July of 2004…

…and here they are today. What’s truly amazing is that Benjamin and Erika were born on the EXACT same day, making my dear friend, Katie, and I first-time mothers on the exact same day. What are the odds?

And how neat to see the birthday buddies playing together so nicely!

Little siblings did just fine together also.

Here I am with Katie, so many years after we first met. We first bonded over softball and boys in high school and after she pulled out a photo album during our visit at her home in Trabuco Canyon, I’m convinced that we must have spent nearly every waking moment together in the year immediately after high school. We packed a lot in and always, always had fun. I love that no matter how long between visits or emails, we always catch up right where we left off. She is a warm, wonderful person and I suspect she hasn’t met too many strangers in her life.

Here’s a happy group! We snapped nine pictures on the self-timer and this is the only one where we’re all looking at the camera. Maybe one out of nine isn’t bad when there are five little people involved…sadly, on more than one of the pictures, it was me or Katie not cooperating!

I like this shot even better. Catching up with old friends and seeing our kids play together is one of the great joys of this trip.

King George (and Lady Diana)

Jill's Journal: Last night was the latest night of my kids’ young life. And it’s sooooo fitting because I would guess many of the latest nights of my life (particularly as a teenager) were for the same reason: we were with Diana.

Dear, dear Diana. (And now husband Scott and little ones Ryan and Kate too). We first met 30 – yes, 30! – years ago when we were practically infants in California. We went through school together, all the way from early elementary to high school, and then were joined at the hip during the early college and dating years. She’s moved about 8,000 times since (Scott is a Navy man) and I’ve made a number of big moves myself, but we’ve always, always kept in touch. She writes the world’s best letters and I've always believed she missed her calling as a comedy writer. Somehow she has now settled right here in Virginia, about 50 miles north of where we’re staying, in what appears to be a tiny little hamlet called King George.

We couldn’t wait to make the trek to see her and her very fun family. Her directions led us past the spot where John Wilkes Booth was tracked and believed to be killed (how cool is that?) after he assassinated President Lincoln and into what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. But suddenly, her neighborhood loomed boldly out of the deep country and there was her beautiful house right in front of us.

What a fun day! Diana and I got all day to catch up (but of course it wasn’t enough) while the kids played and played and played. And after working hours, both husbands joined us and we caught up some more. We left with plans and hopes to meet up again while we’re on this coast (and Ryan’s plans to marry Victoria, hopefully at least 20 years down the road).

Oh, and if Diana wasn’t already special in my life, I have to admit she is singlehandedly responsible for introducing me and Rob. They were on a blind date (yes, together!) and clearly not hitting it off when she introduced us. The rest is history. I’ll be forever grateful they annoyed the heck out of each other as dating prospects! Happily, they make excellent friends. :)

Tomorrow is the Big Day!

Jill's Journal: The girls’ last full week in Lexington has looked something like this:

Beating the heat at two different aquatic centers (I do believe my fair-skinned babies are getting tans even through regular applications of sunscreen!)

Sightseeing with Mom while their poor Daddy slaves away

Dreaming about the day they’d see Toy Story 3 (which these poor, deprived children got to do this afternoon)

“Borrowing” Mommy’s camera and snapping pictures of her laughing with friends (I’ll spare you the ones of the tabletop, my knees, and 15 other random items)

And soaking up the natural beauty everywhere around us.

It’s been a very nice week, but we think tomorrow will be even nicer because we are officially hitting the road!! We aren’t going far on our first jaunt, just 20 miles north to the Kentucky Horse Park Campground, but we couldn’t be more excited. The short distance will test our sea legs, so to speak. We want to make sure the rig is sound, the tires are good, and all internal systems can handle travel. We also want to be sure the drawers, closets, etc. stay in place now that they're full. We figure (hope?) we can’t cause too much damage (knock on wood!) in 20 miles.

We’re planning on two nights at the Horse Park to decompress, relax, and fix any issues that might arise. And then, God willing, we’ll be on our way. No, really. Seriously! Hard to believe, I know. :)

Even the girls can’t believe we’ll really be moving after talking about it for so long. Just a couple of days ago, as we were telling them our plans to finally get rolling after the unexpected three-week layover, Erika suddenly had tears in her eyes.

When I asked her what was wrong, she said very simply, “Don’t worry, Mommy. They’re happy tears. I’m just so excited.”

We are too, sweet girl.