PACIFIC NORTHWEST – Spokane with Christine

One of the best things about Facebook is that it has made it possible to reconnect with old friends, and makes it significantly easier to stay in touch. You can see what is happening in the lives of friends, and even just a few comments on FB posts along the way helps to keep the friendship flowing.

   I have been incredibly blessed in my life to have some pretty terrific friends along this Journey of Life. And on this trip I had the chance to swing by Spokane and visit with Christine and her family. Christine and Lorri and I – well, we were pretty inseparable as teenagers. We had classes together, ate together every day at school, and hung out together every weekend. We don’t see each other very often anymore, but when we do the years just melt away and it’s like it was yesterday.

   Christine and I had planned a few days together, to get in a nice visit – so we had time to get around to do a lot of things. Christine taught an Art Class one morning in her living room – 18 kids all drawing together, and paying attention to their Art Teacher. Then we ditched her family and headed into Spokane together. We walked Downtown Spokane, took a gondola ride to see the falls, walked to a few bridges and even more waterfalls – and just walked around and hung out together. We went to Gonzaga University (where her husband teaches), and we walked around the beautiful campus – and stopped at the Bing Crosby memorial, the on-campus cathedral, and the Grotto dedicated to Mother Mary. Although I’ve heard of Gonzaga (mostly because of basketball), this century-old campus is impeccably maintained, yet only has about 5000 students – which is roughly the size of our old high school.

   With her family one day we went to Coeur d’Alene – which is somewhere I’ve always wanted to see – and it’s only 20 minutes away from her house. We stopped at a restaurant to have “ice cream the size of your head” (as they pitched the idea to me), and then walked the harbor and saw the spectacular views around the lake there. We even went to Figpickles, a cute toy store – and I ran into a friend from Adobe (because all Adobe employees have vacation the same week), which just once again proves what a small world it truly is.

   I used to worry about imposing when I went somewhere, so it was easier to get a hotel room and just plan on stopping by to say hello while there – but somehow time always ran out. It’s taken me a while, but I’ve finally learned that the best part of staying with someone for a night or two means that you’ll really get to see them – and on this trip I really had a great time doing that. I know how honored I am when someone wants to stay over with me, or even just stop by – and I’m finally realizing that it’s a great way for me to reconnect with these people that have meant so much to me throughout my life.