24 years

Walking along the dyke in Steveston last night I calculated that 24 years ago I graduated high school. Epworth class of 1987. 

That seems totally ridiculous to me....when we were school girls we used to see the Epworthians (Past Girls) come back for their reunions every May and I would think they were SO OLD.

Now I am SO OLD. 

Thelma and Louise - almost going off a cliff

This week I am vacationing with a classmate from the class of 1987, my buddy, Leigh Anne Langman (nee Hunt).  We have seen each other once or twice a year for the last 3-4 years. She lives in Orange County California (15 minutes from Disneyland).  This is her second visit to to Vancouver.  This time, seeing as my kids are away at camp this week and Allan is still teaching and in school, I took the week off and headed down to Seattle to pick her up (2 hours south of us).  We then headed out on a "Thelma and Louise" roadtrip except no convertible, no Brad Pitt and we didn't kill anyone or drive off a cliff..... we did wear sunglasses and scarves and take silly photos on the side of the highway on the edge of a cliff.

We also stayed in two beautiful mountain lodges on our trip on the Cascade Loop through North West Washington State.  We both work really hard - we have high pressure jobs and busy lives so it was lovely to drop out of the craziness for 48 hours.  We treated ourselves to lovely places to stay and to eat.....we hiked trails and saw amazing views, had some good laughs and great chats and only got lost once or twice. 

The Lodge at Sleeping Lady Resort

The view from Sun Mountain Lodge

Leigh is an accomplished and avid (some might say insane) photographer.  She has a list of things she wants to take photos of.  Although I tried my best to get this list out of her head before we started driving each day I was only partially successful.  So there were many times as I was driving along a high mountain highway at 80-100kms/hour and she yells "STOP".

Seriously.....

We almost reenacted the Thelma and Louise cliff scene more than once..... I perched the Mazda 5 on all manner of roadside debris and she hops out/runs across the highway / trespasses on private land / treks through sensitive ecological areas / dangles from a bridge railing / runs a mile back up the road / perches on a wire fence / balances on a rock on the edge of a raging river etc. to get THE SHOT - while I pray no 40 wheeler truck wipes me out.  (For the most part she does get an AMAZING shot)

I also occasionally open the window - use my zoom and get the shot myself without doing any of the above!

This makes her crazy mad.

I swear I got carsick from stopping so many times on the North Cascades Highway and she filled up her camera card and then some....750 shots in ONE DAY!

By the time we had been on the road for 12 hours and she was taking a last shot of sunset at Blaine before we crossed the border (this involves the tripod - which I have started to dread seeing her pull out - and a long timed exposure to get the maximum light or something)  I just couldn't do it anymore and I gave her the hook "LEIGH in the car NOW".  She got the shot anyway and it is amazing.  She doesn't pay any attention to me usually.

But that is what "old" friends can do.... we have pretty frank and open communication......in other words....I do whatever she tells me to......JUST KIDDING..... we had a great trip, saw beautiful sights and shared some new memories.  Today we are on Vancouver Island and right now she is in Butterfly Gardens (with the tripod) and I am in the parking lot blogging...... she gets what she wants and so do I....no hard feelings - two happy friends.

I am grateful for the school we shared, for what it gave us as young women that we still reflect on today, for the way our lives have turned out so that we get to connect again now in our 40's and still be friends...... I think we'd both like to do a girls trip every other year or so... next time a spa in a really ugly place......no tripod necessary :)

Love you LL!!