Sunday, January 20, 2008

Weekend Getaway

We have just returned from a short visit to our friends, Ray and Maureen Summers, in Folsom, California.  Colter and the Summers served together in the Church mission office in Birmingham, England.  When Colter and I became engaged to be married last year, the Summers invited us up to their home to visit.  It took us until now to find the time to make it up there!  
The drive to Folsom was long and tedious.  Our plan was to leave right after work on Friday in the hopes of beating some of the Friday traffic and arriving at the Summers around 8:30pm.  No such luck.  It ended up taking two hours simply to get out of the bay area, crawling along crowded freeways at 15 miles per hour.  We finally pulled into the Summers' driveway at 9:30pm.  But we quickly forgot the frustrations of the road trip as we talked and looked at mission photos, drinking hot chocolate and sharing mission memories.  The Summers' little dachshund, Missy, tried to join in the conversation, going from person to person, begging for some pats and tummy rubs.
Saturday morning we had a leisurely breakfast and then got ready to go to the Sacramento temple.  This is where Colter and I were married, so it was a special experience to be able to return and serve there again.  The temple really is the happiest place in the world.  
After we returned from the temple, we sat and talked and watched the latest updates on the presidential primaries.  From there, we went to dinner at a Thai restaurant in El Dorado Hills.  The food was delicious, and we had a lovely view of a small river from the restaurant window.  
Back at the Summers' again, we watched a movie on the Hallmark channel while we waited for an apple pie to bake.  It was from one of the local farms and was absolutely delicious.  We ended the evening talking again around the dining room table.  Our original plan was to drive home Saturday night.  But we decided it would be safer and more enjoyable to spend one more night with the Summers and drive home in the daylight of Sunday.
We took our time getting ready Sunday morning.  While I did my hair, Colter played keep-a-way with Missy all through the house.  In doing so, he became her friend for life.  We enjoyed another leisurely breakfast with the Summers.  Then we packed up the car and headed home.  Traffic was much better coming back and we arrived home in the early afternoon, with plenty of time to unpack, unwind...and warm up our apartment!  Brrr! After a full day and night without heat, it was chilly in here!
All in all, a delightful, renewing weekend.  It was wonderful to get away for a couple of days and even better to to spend it with such warm, wonderful friends. 

2 comments:

bryony said...

So the first time I logged onto your blog, this entry wasn't there, and then I posted a comment on the next entry, and came back and - woah, new blog! Nice to hear about your trip. Sound like you've got some good friends there. Thanks for keeping up on the posts!

MomR said...

What a lovely weekend. So nice to get away. So nice to see old (and new) friends.

Thanks for keeping us posted.