Travel tales and good friends

typical NY Capital Region greenery

The dishes are done, the laundry is underway, lunch has been eaten, and I have a couple hours before my little jaguar M gets home from school, so...now it's time to tell the story of my trip to good ol' upstate NY.

After a lo-ong day of travel from AZ to NY (eight hours between when I first got on the plane to when I finally got off...we had two stops, one in San Antonio, TX and one in Tampa, FL.) I finally made it to my destination: Albany, NY. As our plane descended toward Albany International, it struck me that I had forgotten just how GREEN the upstate is during the Spring--wow! I found myself wishing I could get to my camera, but since I couldn't I just enjoyed the view out my window--it was absolutely breath taking, especially for one now acclimated to the desert of the Southwest. Speaking of being acclimated to the desert, as I walked from baggage claim to the parking structure I nearly froze! It was 93 degrees in AZ when I left, and when I got to NY...61 degrees!! Brr! As I was walking to the car, I realized I had left my hoodie back in the car in AZ--grr!

I count myself very blessed to have wonderful friends in the Captial Region of NY. Friends that I've not only been able to keep in touch with over the last 16 months since our move out West, but friends that welcomed me back with open arms and made sure I was well taken care of while I was in NY.

First let me tell you about K. She and her darling little A were out of town in TX and GA visiting family for the first part of my trip to NY, but K was so excited that I was going to be in the area that she made prior arrangements with me to not only leave her car at the airport for me to pick up upon my arrival, but for me to have access to and for me to stay at her house while she was gone!!! Isn't she awesome? Thank you K for allowing me to enjoy all the comforts of home while I was away from my family--it was so nice to come and go as I needed without having to feel like I was inconveniencing anyone to get me around while I was in and around Saratoga!!! Once K and I were back in the same place at the same time, we had such a great time visiting...I didn't even get a picture of her!! I did get some pictures of her sweet A, but I will save those for a future post.

Now I'll tell you about my dear S...the main reason for my trip. A few years back, shortly after S moved to the area, I was assigned to be her visiting teacher and J-rod was assigned to be her home teacher. As we spent time with S, she became a close and trusted family friend that we felt privileged to know and she in turn allowed us in to her life. As our family prepared for our cross-country move I promised S that when she was ready to go through the temple for the first time, that I would return to NY to go through with her...if she wanted me to. Well , earlier this year S decided to take me up on my promise, got in touch with me, told me she was ready to go through the temple, and asked if it might be possible for me to be there when she did. My answer: of course!!

I felt privileged to be asked, because not only did S want me there, but she was willing to plan her special day around when I could be there--wow! When J-rod and I looked over our family calendar, we found a six-day block of time off in his schedule where he could be home with the boys so I could go to NY without a worry. It just so happened that I would be in NY over Mother's Day weekend, a beautiful time of year in NY.

Thanks again to K for housing me and providing me with transportation, to S for giving me the opportunity to keep my promise and have a fabulous experience while in NY, and to J-rod, M, Li'l J for making the trip a possibility and a reality!