Hills, Roadtrips and Truckstops

On V-day I got a call from one of my favorite Seattle pals, Meg, who told me her daughter and her daughter's best friend were on a road trip, they'd already driven from Seattle to Las Vegas and San Diego and all the places between, they were now in El Paso and were heading to Austin. I left a key out for them in case I wasn't back from dinner when they arrived. I got home late but the travelers had not arrived. The next morning I learned their 87 VW had broken down in far west Texas. A helpful trucker let them use his phone and call a mechanic. They slept in the car at a truck stop, gotten the car fixed the next morning and were now, once again, headed to Austin.

Now, some might raise their eyebrows at the idea of two young women sleeping in their car in a truck stop, or heading out on a 3 week road trip across the country, but as a former traveler myself, I found it a hopeful sign. The spirit of these girls would not be tempered by the local shopping mall, after all, these girls are adventurers. In addition, they are resourceful, intelligent, brilliant and beautiful. They are managing things incredibly well and are having mad adventures.

My scheduled visitor arrived Thursday and when we returned from Kat's reading and dinner, the roadtrip girls were at my house and full of stories. We stayed up til the wee hours as the four of us traded roadtrip stories from our days in cars, on trains, and on foot. We told about our near misses, the sudden turns of fate, the friends we met, the places we saw that wouldn't have ever seen otherwise. The young adventurers slept well, and didn't rise until late the next afternoon. After a little exploring around Austin, they were feeling restless again and headed off to the next place. I was sad to see them go, but they have places to see and people to meet.

I had a great visit with my friend, we saw a terrific play by Adrienne and company of St. Idiots, hit most of the local thrift shops and caught up on good talks.

This morning, I rose early to meet Kat and Gina for the half marathon. We all did great, setting new personal records, but mostly we had a great time. It was hard, more hills than I believed possible over 13.1 miles, but the weather was perfect. I even had a fun little surge at the end, and picked up speed and ran in as fast as I could, though I'm sure I wasn't looking as cool as I felt.

We went back to the marathon later to cheer for our friends running the full marathon. I love seeing the look on the faces of the runners when they realize they only have three more blocks to go. They know they're going to do what they came to do. The runners aren't all trim and muscle, some are thin, some are well padded, some are natural looking runners, others seem to struggle. They are old, young, middle aged, just a nice mix of regular people. Some smile, some grin, some have a determined stare, some start crying as they get closer and closer to the finish line. All of them are winners.

Finished the day with a crazy game of soccer in Ramsey park. A chance to run around and be stupid and catch up with some of my favorite Austin people.

This Sunday has been one of the best in ages. It caps a week of weeks. Friends, those who have to drive a few hours to come for a visit and those who live right here, are the best thing in the world.