road trip: friends in Franklin

On Monday morning, after a hearty breakfast prepared by Angela, we were off again, this time to friends Matt & Erica (and Bo!) in Franklin, TN.  Interestingly, that we have other friends in that area.  A roommate of mine from the UAE, and a friend from my hometown, whose parents are part of my parents' best friends, and thus, I've known her my whole life.  Got that?

Apparently, Franklin is the place to be!

This was the longest leg of the trip -- 7ish hours, which we did through pouring rain (three cheers to Dexter for driving the ENTIRE trip), which meant we didn't get to see the beautiful Tennessee countryside.  Again, Kyalo did great - looking at his books, playing with his toys, sleeping, etc.  It got a little hairy at the end, but really, it wasn't too bad.  It was nice to know that once we arrived Monday night we wouldn't be going any long distances again until Thursday morning.

There's lots to share from our time there, so this may take a few posts.

On Tuesday morning, my roommate from the UAE, Rita, drove out to see us.  Thinking it would be warm, summery weather in the south, I'd packed a shorts outfit she and our friend Shiny had bought for Kyalo.  I put him in it for the photo op, and then promptly put him back in cool weather clothes.  Rita and I had a chance to go out for brunch and do a little shopping. It was nice to catch up with her after so many years.

On Wednesday we drove about five miles down the road from Matt & Erica's to see my friend Kirsten. It kind of felt like being back in Essex - small town America.  It was fun to see Kirsten and her boys, and to catch up.  I like that there's so many connections in this small (and random!) location.  Makes me wonder if we'll end up down there once school is done.  It is certainly an option on the table.

Kirsten

And it would be fun to be 'neighbors' with someone from my past again.