Day 28: our last hoorah

I don't think anything could have made me happier on Friday morning when we woke up at 7:30 (thank you internal alarm clocks), and Lindsay told me was going to stay for the day instead of leaving later that afternoon.  I was full of excitement, especially since our last day together would be spent relaxing. 

We walked down to a local diner and enjoyed a leisurely meal giggling and thinking about what we would so over the course of the next couple hours.  There is something so satisfying about not shovelling in diner oatmeal and eggs and rushing to get on the road, but taking your time and enjoy your surroundings.  What a great start to the day.

When we returned, we sauntered down to the hottub, did much needed laundry, (there was a washer and drier in the motel, two doors down), paid bills on the hotel computers (and found that my pinky doesn't work that well when typing or shifting now due to the handle bar complications... Hope i get that back).  Everything was slow paced and fun.  It was just nice to enjoy each other's company.

At 3 pm we ventured to get Lindsay's rental car.  They have her a white Ford Exhibition that is ten times the size of her Honda Fit.  As soon as i saw it, i lost it.  she is tiny in that thing.  The hysterics didn't go away either, which i am sure Lindsay loved, but the way in which she was trying to maneuver the enormous rig in the two blocks that we drove was outrageous, mainly because of the sweet nothings she was uttering as she drove.  I am actually laughing about this out loud as i write this.  It was weird sitting in a car... It was the first time in a month.  I think it was weirder for Lindsay to drive, especially because of the size.  She told me later that night that get knee was bothering her: "so apparently after 1606 miles of climbing over mountains, it is the 10 hours driving that will give me the injury." 

Before Lindsay even left the Enterprise parking lot, I looked to the back of the SUV.  It had two rows of seats, and you could put both of those down for more cargo room.  I became overwhelmed by the amount of space.  For one month, the only possessions we had were the ones we could carry, and we kept that to a minimum.  Looking back at the car, all I could think of was "what do people need this much space for, what could possibly be so important?"  The items that we had were for survival purposes, and we didn't really want (because we would have to carry it) or need much more, because we had each other's company, and that is really what made us survive those mountains.  Having all of the "things" in the world couldn't have changed that.  As columnist Art Buchwald said, "The best things in life aren't things."  Friendship isn't something that you can own or buy, or really have.  You share it, and it is a gift.  And over the last month, Lindsay has truly shown me what true friendship is all about. 

There are people who come into your life that i think you are just "supposed" to meet,  that do nothing less than help bring out the best in you, and are with you for your trials and tribulations.  I can say with certainty, that Lindsay is one of those people in my life.  There is a quote that I stumbled upon a year or two as ago that I have grown very fond of: "Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born before they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born." - Anais Nin. Thank you, Lindsay, for all that you are.

So, I have set forth on rest of this journey by myself, but I wouldn't be where I am mentally or physically if we hadn't wrangled the mountains together, and thus Lindsay will remain with me in spirit, during the best and worst of times. And as we have started it together, we will continue it together, in one way or another. What's more, i have a feeling that our adventures together won't end with this one!

I apologize for the love letter and sappiness, but it needed to be said.  It is the people in your life that will push you through, not the new lamp or the pair of jeans. 

We got snacks, blogged, napped, and ate our last dinner out of the stove on the hotel room floor.  It was just a superb day, one that i just didn't want to end.