Friends, Memories and Journeys

Happy Dachshund Day. Today is the summer solstice and longest day of the year. 91 degrees when I got up at 4:45 am. We need to be very grateful for Willis Carrier, the Father of Air Conditioning.  

Got a text from a friend that I haven't seen for about three plus years. Key was going to be in AJ for a night so we got to go to dinner. He was headed to Las Vegas to deal some poker. Really good to see him again. 

 

The brain is really amazing. Just a quick glimpse of something can make memories come pouring back. I was watching NCIS and the camera panned the Mall in Washington D.C. very quickly. In that brief moment my brain brought back so many memories. 

 I worked on the 7th floor of this building.

Jim was born in Washington D.C. (That caused us a lot of grief when filling out legal documents because they all wanted the state you were born in.) I actually worked right on the Mall on Constitution Avenue at the Internal Revenue Service. Both Jim and I were living in Northern Virginia when he asked me to dance.  

4th of July celebrations on the Mall, concerts and plays at the Kennedy Center, lighting of the Christmas Tree, watching the Senate in session (not near as tense as it is now), touring the White House, watching Ronald Reagan's inauguration, the Redskins (now known as the Commanders) parade down Pennsylvania Avenue after winning the Super Bowl. 

It was so much fun sitting here watching those memories roll through my head. I hope all of you have a chance to sit back and let the memories roll. 

Daisy passed all her tests (she's my car) and has got the okay for another trip to Montana. The guys at the shop I take her too are such great guys. Totally honest. And they are amazed at what good shape my 16 year old car is in.  

Got my new glasses. Amazing how much clearer the world is. Now if my eye will just stabilize so I don't need new glasses in six months again.

I'm into route planning mode for my journey north this year. I love the journey part of the trip. Seeing people at the destinations is wonderful and my whole purpose for the journey, but being able to just stop and visit and explore what you want is amazing. Of course, exploring could possibly be hampered by the weather.

Monsoon season has arrived but that does not mean we will be having much rain. It does mean, however, that our humidity is on the rise. Nothing like so many of you experience but for us desert dwellers, it's stifling. Thanks to New Mexico we have had one haboob go through. The wind got it started in NM and just kept blowing that dirt and dust right on over to us. The sky was so hazy I could barely see the Superstitions. A day to stay inside.

So how about that first haircut.

And a reward afterwards.

Stay safe everyone.