Essay 102...More Vacation To Share And A Thought on Growing Older

Happy Monday to all my peeps and peepettes!

Hubby decided last Friday that we were taking a birthday/anniversary weekend away.  Gave a call to Baby Sister, reminded her that we watched her dog while she was on vacation for two weeks (LOL), asked if she would take care of Dad...and we were off!

One of my favorite places to visit is the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  The air is so crisp and clear...just beautiful.  It's only a four hour drive, so not too far from home.

We stayed in Sonora, California.  This was the view from our motel room.  So quiet and peaceful.

We took a drive over to Murphy.  Murphy is an old gold mining town about 15 miles off Highway 49. It has reinvented itself by becoming a tourist destination...and have done a fine job. This is the town's hotel from the 1800's...and it's still open!!  The shutters are the original metal.  Most brick buildings in the area have metal shutters...they were used to slow down the damage during fires.  The weather was gorgeous. You can see a slice of the sky, the perfect shade of blue.

The foothills of the Sierras...look at that sky!

If you look closely, you can see an old rock wall...

It is still dry, but after last week's rain, there is green peeking out!

This was our pre-anniversary dinner.  I know pizza...but it is the best pizza in the world!  LOL  We go to the same pizza place every time we go to the Sierras.  Yummy!

Our official portrait.  Taken in the car, but not bad.  This is me at 56.  Oh, and our 36th anniversary.

As we were kicking around the old towns, I received a FB message from a childhood friend that lives in the area.  We counted and realized that the last time we saw each other was 40 years ago!!  Our parents were close friends and we were born two days apart in the same hospital.  Life got in the way and our families drew apart...

She and her husband invited us over for dinner and chatting.  It was WONDERFUL!  It was like the years fell away. We decided that we were not going to wait another 40 years to meet up again.  

Here is a picture of happy times.  I would be the little curly-headed girl on the horse's butt end.  LOL

I had a wonderful week.  Two trips, visits with friends, time with my husband...you can't really ask for more.

And here is a thought on growing older and how I want to live my life....

I read a FB post that said that you should do five things: smile at a stranger, give a true compliment, pick up a piece of trash that isn't your's, connect with an old friend, and be thankful for what you have.  I managed to do all of them in the last week and have decided that I should do this each and every day. The world is so sad and full of strife.  Every person deserves to be treated with kindness and love.  It starts with each of us.

Be kind to one another.