Couple of Coffees

Serendipity

The last few days have been full of friends and family. It's like riding a smile all the way down the highway.

To our delight, we spent a night in North Hero on Lake Champlain with longtime family friends. We popped by for a visit, nearly unannounced, and they invited us to stay overnight. We had delicious Thai dinner with Ken and Darlene and their daughter, Gretchen, came to join us. It was incredible to chat and chat and stay up late chatting some more. They're among the close friends who are family to me, and other than the quick visiting at the wedding, Jonathan hadn't met them.

The next morning, after a great breakfast and Green Mountain Coffee from Hero's Welcome, the town general store, we took the ferry across to Plattsburgh, then drove down the New York Thruway. I wonder if it was ever called a throughway or a thoroughway. Hmm. In Oregon, they're freeways.

We landed in the Adirondacks, Lake Pleasant specifically, to have lunch with my kindergarten teacher, Jo. We met her son and granddaughter and thoroughly enjoyed catching up. Yes, there were a few tears of joy, too. We hadn't seen each other since, well, since I don't remember when. She and I lost touch, but this March, she looked up my parents, called them, then reconnected with me by e-mail. It was such a pleasure to spend a few hours with her, although they went by fast. And it was fantastic to have Jonathan and her meet each other. She told me about a group of my former teachers that meets once a week at a diner in New Jersey, and if we're there at the right time and place this trip, I'll stop by unannounced and say hello.

Jo and I reminisced about people we knew in common, both teachers and students, and we talked about where the years have taken us and how I ended up in Oregon. Lunch at the Family Tree was delicious. I'm still thinking about their pumpkin vegetable soup.

I spent many a wonderful day on Jo's knee as a little girl. That was one of my favorite places. It meant so much to see her yesterday, and we'll have to do it again soon.

As if that weren't enough joy and excitement, we drove another hour to the Saratoga Springs area, where we met up with my friend Jessica and her boyfriend Heath. We went to dinner in Saratoga at a beautiful old inn, then followed it with a cappuccino and gelato at an Italian dessert place. I ate so much, but it was so good.

Jess and I were frolicking buddies in Chautauqua on the daily paper there in 2001. We had so much fun that summer, much of it in Bestor Plaza, doing stretches, cartwheels and of course throwing the football around. It was a great way to get out of the office, giggle and blow off stress. We hadn't seen her and Heath since our wedding. We kept saying all through dinner, "We're here!" and "I can't believe you're really here!"

This trip has reminded me yet again of how many wonderful people there are out there, and how lucky I am to have so many of them in my life.

posted by Laura the Writer @ 8:50 AM