August 10th - Day 59
As we’ve experienced at other points on this trip, when you see good friends that you haven’t seen in a very long time, it can still feel like no time has gone by since you last got together. Today was another one of those times.
One of my best friends from college, Joel (who was also in our wedding) has been living in the middle east for the last nine years and we haven’t seen each other in over eleven. This summer he was back in the states with his family and even visited Oregon. We unfortunately were not there when they were. However, he and his family were in California while we were passing through, so they joined us for a beach day today near Santa Cruz.
A few highlights from the day:
After Joel and family arrived, we at lunch together, and then headed down to the beach. This was the first time that his girls (ages 5 & 7) had been to the Pacific (they’ve lived on the Mediterranean Sea though, so I don’t feel so bad). The water was a warm 60 degrees, which is 10 degrees more than we have in Oregon. Still not great for swimming, but warm enough for our older kids to want to get in. I was happy sitting in my chair chatting with Joel.
Joel and his family were able to stay through dinner, which was great. Anyone who knows me, knows that one of my favorite things to do is to share a good meal with good friends. And, if we can share a bottle of wine, it is even better. They unfortunately had a 3 hour drive back to where they were staying, so both our time and wine were limited.
After our friends left, we had some time before everyone needed to go to bed so the kids enjoyed a campfire and smores. We have not done this too often on our trip, so our kids were very excited.
A few pictures from the day:
