A Safe Arrival in Virginia....and A SUPER Day with my great friends!!!

SUNDAY……

WOW……it WAS a long drive over here!! I got up and was on the road, French Roast coffee in my hand and MORE in my thermos, by 4:30AM……a very, very early time for me!

I drove up to STL, took I-64 across the Midwest to Virginia and then a couple of other brief interstates to arrive in the suburbs of Washington. It was 960 miles from start to finish…..and I made only four quick stops during the day. I arrived at 7:30 CDT…..for a 15 hour day of travel…….and was pretty tired, however, being with great friends at their lovely home put some energy back into this sagging old body. If anyone is ever coming this way from the Missouri, I would highly suggest you drive I-64 instead of I-70.…..the same mileage, give or take a few miles, BUT…..BUT, the overriding facto is that there are virtually NO BIG TRUCKS on I-64!!!!! WOW……it was almost like driving a highway that doesn’t allow big trucks…..there were sooooooo few of them on the road. It was just incredible!!!!

I drove through West Virginia and this was a new experience from me…….it was very “hilly” through the mountains and in parts of the some of the valleys and mts., the trees were at their peak of the fall color season……beautiful!!! Arriving in the D.C. suburbs after dark….well, that was a challenge because all of the roads/streets on mapquest were not quite the same in reality…….plus, it was after dark had settled in and the road signs were not all visible. After making a couple of wrong turns in the right area, I finally gave in and called Kelly (Powers) and he directed by cell phone to their home. WOW……how did we ever get along without cell phones????????????!!!!!!!!!!

Kelly and Heather (McDonald) have four wonderful daughters and so it was great to see them and to REALLY get to know the little girls. In the process, the three of us managed to finish off a great bottle of wine which certainly assisted me relaxing from the long drive. We talked for a long time…….and then I made my way upstairs…albeit a bit stiffly from sitting in the car sooooo long, and then the next thing I knew it was morning!
As this is being written a day late……..and on Sunday morning WITHOUT access to wifi, I will close this for now and if one of the local houses around here turns on their unlocked wifi, I will get it posted.

Sooooooo good to be with former students who are now soooo highly successful in their lives…..and who are such wonderful friends!!! Of course…..

LIFE IS GREAT!!!!!!…….And, I hope it if for all of you, also!!!!!


Sunday evening: A full day……and all three of us are beginning to get hoarse from way tooooo much talking……ALL DAY!!! There is sooooo much to talk about….from the past of 20+ years to the present……and in between. WHAT FUN!!!!!! Who can believe that students from the past can become such wonderful, close friends…….the joy of teaching!

They all went to church this morning…….and then we went out to lunch at a cool little steakhouse/sports bar. Food was good, but the “togetherness” of being with the Powers’ family was the best part.

This afternoon, after lounging around for awhile, we took a walk through the common area behind the house……a paved pathway that led for several miles……through the uncut trees in the various neighborhoods/subdivisions. We went as far as a lake by the clubhouse of the area…..and then returned…….about 1.5 hour “hike”. The little ones were really great……..walking and enjoying the trees, squirrels, etc., etc.

Heather had put a wonderful chicken “chili” together in the crockpot…..and when we sat down……believe me, after the first bite I was begging for the recipe!!!! OMG…..it was just incredible!!! And….I now have the recipe so I can put this together at home…..and for the Cedar Creek Rally….whenever!

The evening was spent in more and more conversations…….talking until we could hardly talk. A bit of wonderful dark red medicine did help to soothe the soreness in the throat….hmmmmm….!! And…..another day of being with such great friends and their family…….and you know, this is all because of being a teacher to such wonderful students who appreciated the hard work and the fun that we had in Band!!! What a joy it is to have such wonderful friends all across the country……and what fun we now have remembering the great times we had as we practiced and worked soooo hard and soooo diligently to perfect our performances, whether it was a local concert, a competition, or a trip across the country to Disney World, NYC, or Washington D.C.. It was all soooo great…….and it has only served to make our lives sooooo much more enjoyable today…..decades later from those “band days”.

LIFE IS GREAT!!!!!!……And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!