1,232 driving miles, 1,058 flight miles, two flights, 18 relatives, 2 family friends, 1 metro ride, 1 graduation party, 1 friend moving to the coast, 3 states, $948 OVER budget.
We have missed our people and this week was full of reconnecting, telling stories, and hanging out at the tables of relatives and friends.
We started in Douglass, Kansas, which some people would call a wide spot in the road not far from Wichita. Marla’s brother and sister-in-law have a nice home in Douglass where they have raised their four children that we have been to several times. The latest surprise is that Douglass, America has a brewery! The beer was good, the pizza and pretzels were yummy, the conversation was in-depth and heartfelt, and the weather was absolutely brilliant for Kansas in May!
The Kansas City area is home to Marla’s sister and brother-in-law who live in Leavenworth, Kansas (yes, that Leavenworth), and our friend Mel so we were able to visit both with one drive. The amazing weather held and we got to enjoy some final porch sitting with Mel before she moves to the East Coast. We also got to go to Marla’s great-nephew’s graduation party where we were able to hang out with Marla’s sister, same brother again, nephew, niece, and her family. We should have been more social I suppose, but it seemed like the family was more than content just to sit together by the pool with an occasional conversation or observation. It was an excellent afternoon.
A flight to Reagan National Airport and a Metro ride brought us to see Erin’s parents and extended family. It was awesome to hang out with Erin’s mom and dad sharing stories and drinking way too much coffee. An afternoon of catching up with Erin’s aunt and uncle gave way to a brewery hang-out later with the cousins. Lunch with our beautiful friends Joe and Michelle (to be fair, they were Erin’s parents’ friends first), was another opportunity to catch up. Later that evening, Erin’s Uncle Tim stopped by the house to see us on his way home for work. Hanging with Uncle Tim always energizes us and we were so glad we got to see him.
Friday, we were back in the car driving through Kansas with a brief stops at Tallgrass Prairie Nature Preserve and Marla’s mom’s graveside to say hello. Saturday, we finally drove home to Denver, being welcomed by those glorious Rocky Mountains that we could see from as far away as Limon.
Our final week was most excellent ~ family, friends, our house, our cat….home.
In the next couple of weeks we will post some other recap type posts; things that enumerate costs, lists of favorite destinations and experiences, maybe even a “what we’ve learned” kind of post at some point. Until then, we’ll be moving back into our house and planting our garden for the summer.
Here’s to the Meander, may we all have the courage to wander where we will.
Leave a Reply