Friends Along the Way

During the nearly 50 days we were on a cross country road trip from New Hampshire to Oregon, I posted about sights and eats along the way. What I failed to include was photos of friends we visited with along the way.

We had a wonderful visit with Jerry and Pat in Minnesota who introduced us to a new-to- us treat, cheese curds. They were delicious too. What's not to like about cheddar cheese deep fried and served with a dipping sauce? They also showed us the world's largest six-pack; even if the cans are all empties.  

This couple are avid RVers and luckily when we met up, they were home, but shortly after our visit they left in their very large motor home headed to South Dakota. They expect to travel Southern early next winter. We may reunite as we're considering another road trip then to escape some of the New England winter.

An interesting fact about meeting Pat(ricia) is that she has the same first name (female version) as Grenville's (real) first name (Patrick) and coincidentally the same last name through marriage to Jerry. In fact, we "met" through blogging when I noticed her name on her blog. She's no longer actively blogging, but is now active on Facebook (which I am not) so we keep in contact through texts and emails.

Our trip destination was Oregon because as Grenville tells everyone, friends there invited us for a glass of wine. Thomas and Nancy gave us a tour of several of their favorite wineries (there's a lot there) and we did sampling as well. We also explored the chilly Oregon coast and Grenville said that the ocean (Pacific) was on the "wrong" side. We're used to the warmer Atlantic Ocean in summertime.

The friendship with this couple dates back many years and actually started when Thomas and I meet on an online friendship site. It was not a dating site (that's how Grenville and I met). This was years before Facebook and texting when folks sent email messages. Over the years, our friendship has expanded to include our families. We've exchanged photos of grandchildren growing up as (of course) we remain ageless. This was only our third face-to-face meeting in well over a dozen years of corresponding and now texting and phone conversations.

Susan and Peter are folks we visited in Colorado. Once again, this is a long-standing friendship with infrequent meetings. Peter and Pat (Grenville) attended high school together in their native New Jersey and have remained friends despite not having seem one another in under 10 years. They both said it's what keeps their friendship strong.

They've remained friends despite only seeing one another perhaps once every 8-10 years. They both claim it's what keeps their friendship strong.

It was great to spend time with these folks who were local "tour guides" for the time we spent together. We thank all and look forward to our next get-togethers. Maybe some of them will take an East Coast road trip, we hope.