A Journey Through the Past

One of the most special and unexpected aspects of "our biggest road trip ever" was making connections with people and places from my past.

J's niece (don't let the title fool you, she's actually slightly older than me) lives in Iowa and we stayed with her and her family over night.

With our baby girls

The last time I saw her was the night Z was born. She just happened to be in town and we had talked about the possibility of me taking pictures of her newborn daughter on labor day, but it never happened due to the fact that I was in labor on labor day and after leaving the family gathering I went to the birth center and had my son.

I'm the pregnant one in black and that's my niece sitting next to me on the left.

I also took a little trip down memory lane when I went to Michigan and got to hang out with a friend that I've known for 10 years.

Here we are about to go kayaking.

When I met her and her sister they worked at a little ice cream parlor. Now they both work at coffee shops. The difference is that they both had a huge role as designers of those establishments and currently manage the coffee shops themselves. Here is a picture of us before I had children and they ran businesses. Those were the footloose and fancy free days.

2005- That's me on the left and my MI friend on my right, and her sister, along with another friend.

The memories went back even further in Missouri when I met up with an old Highschool friend who I haven't even talked to in about 10 years.

Our little dinner meeting in KC. That's SJ in the middle.

I don't remember exactly when we met, but one of my first memories with him was when we both starred in the musical Bye Bye Birdie at the school. I am sure he would love me posting this picture of him "in character".

1998

Truth be told, as Conrad Birdie he was actually the star, but my role as Mrs. Macafee wasn't too bad.

I am the one in the apron obviously. This was my family in the play.

As we made our way across the country and into Kentucky the memories really started coming back when we visited the city I grew up in. Here is a photo of my brother, his daughter, my kids, and me.

And here is my brother at about 3 years old with our mom at that same place in 1980.

A lot has changed in 30 years!

By this time I was starting to feel very nostalgic and I wondered if our old house was still around.

My little brother and our house behind us in 1987.

I wasn't sure because our neighbor's house was gone and there has been a lot of construction in that area. When I heard that it was still there I told J we had to go see it. I felt a little uneasy knowing that the house I had lived in for 12 years had been abandoned at one time and basically desecrated by some alleged drug dealers. But the moment we pulled in the driveway I felt a sense of relief. The house had been restored.

The same house in 2011

It looked beautiful and cared for. I knew by the kids shoes on the porch and playground in the backyard that there must be children that live there now making their own childhood memories out on the hillside.

My brother walking up the driveway in 1988.

The driveway in 2011

I went up the old concrete steps that my smaller feet had walked on so many times and I knocked on the door, but no one answered.

I looked out across the yard where we had hunted for easter eggs, played in our tree house, and parked our old rusty bikes. It was a strange feeling, but it was comforting. My childhood home was still there and it was loved. Out of all the other long lost connections I had made on this trip this was one of the most significant. After taking a few photos and getting back in the car with J and the kids, we pulled out of the driveway and I felt at peace. Between 3,000 miles I had seen a lot and been reminded of all the places I have been, all the way from the night my first child was born, to the very house that I was born in. Our road trip had come to a close, but the bigger journey continues on.

SJ and Z at Sawyer Point 2011.