Goodbyes, Walks & Talks

My friend Francine left for a year and a half mission in the Philippines today. As a last goodbye, we went to a country bar out in The Valley on Friday night. I’m a big fan of country music, and it was pretty fun people-watching kind of night. I felt like I was in the middle of a Sweet Home Alabama scene. The night would’ve been even more fun if we all actually knew how to dance. I took a country dance class about three years ago, we learned all kinds of line and partner dances, but I’ve completely forgotten all the steps. I think it would be lots of fun to re-learn them and try it out at another country bar...So, wishing Francine the best of luck on this new adventure! I’ll miss her, but am glad she has such a great travel opportunity.

Wendy & Kiernan and I had intentions of going for a hike on Sunday, but after meeting up for our coffee and bagel and taking a look at my hiking books, we couldn’t decide where to go. Instead, we chose to check out the nature center at El Dorado park, where there were supposed to be some walking trails. Neither of us had been there and it was local (a big plus with gas prices the way they are), so off to the park we went. We took a nice walk on the 2-mile trail loop extending from the nature center, which took us past a couple of lagoons and many native flora and fauna. It made us want to learn the scientific names and all about the trees, flowers, and birds that we saw (although, Wendy did impress me with what she already knew, especially with her bird identification.) I’m glad I found such a cool place right in our community, but hope to fit some real hiking in soon!

Last night, I met up with my newly-engaged friend Kate to talk and hear all about how the proposal went. We don't get to see each other often so it was great catching up, the story was adorable, and I'm still so extremely excited for them. Congrats again! The wedding will be about a year to a year and a half away, so they'll have plenty of time to plan and all that good stuff...