When I first found out I was moving to California, I was excited for numerous reasons. A small reason was for my friends – I wanted everyone to come visit, and what easier state to entice East Coasters to visit, especially in the winter?
The reality is that we all have lives and families, so cross-country visits get harder than when we were in college with very few obligations. I’ve been able to meet up with friends who take vacations to bigger cities, like San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Fresno is several hours from those places, and it’s not exactly on people’s radar as a vacation destination. Other than the fact that it’s near Yosemite and Sequoia, not many friends in my circle had heard of it before I moved here. That’s why I was overly excited when my friend from Minnesota called and said she was coming to Fresno!
I met Sara during the summer of 2005. We were camp counselors at a sleep-away camp in northeast Pennsylvania. We were quite the pair – I’m more quiet and reserved, while she’s extremely outgoing. We clicked the first week during training, and have kept our long-distance friendship going ever since.
Friends since Trails End Camp!
We’ve had many adventures in multiple cities across the Midwest. From Peoria, to Rockford, Chicago, Minneapolis, to my late grandparent’s home near Appleton, WI, we’ve never had a dull trip together.
2007. I flew into Chicago, toured around the city for the day dragging my huge suitcase. Got stuck in a full length turnstyle. Missed the bus back to her college, Beloit. Took an alternate bus to Rockford, got stranded. Made it to Beloit for the 2nd half of her sorority formal. 🙂
A creepy photo in The Bean.
2012, St. Patrick’s Day in Wrigleyville.
Chicago 🙂
After the Chicago marathon, I was still able to function enough to have a night out on the town.
Her husband had business in Fresno, so they flew in on a Sunday night, and I headed over to their hotel the next morning. They had never been to Yosemite, so that was obviously the biggest part of the trip.
We drove into the park, stopping at Tunnel View. They wanted to do a fairly easy hike, so we stayed in the Tunnel View parking lot and headed up to Inspiration Point. It was more moderate than I expected, and offered a similar view to Tunnel View. But it was a great way to stretch our legs.
Inspiration Point
We then went down to the Valley for lunch. I tried to convince everyone to go for pizza and beer at the Pizza Deck, but my friends are too healthy for me. 🙂 We ended up at Degnan’s Deli, which I’d never had. The sandwich was great!
We then walked over to the Majestic Hotel for a drink. That’s another thing I’d never done. We walked around the ground floor, then headed to the bar. We were able to get seated outside near the pool. It was so cool to be hanging out lazily, surrounded by the towering granite that I’ve spent so much time climbing. Sometimes I forget to relax.
Our final stop was Lower Yosemite Fall, which in October, wasn’t even so much as a trickle. I kept reassuring my friends that these waterfalls gush in the spring and early summer!
We headed back to Fresno, and I finally convinced my friend to have pizza with me. We went to River Park for Me and Eds, and she tried a local beer. Yum!
The next day, we wanted to catch up with girl time. Her husband had to work, so we had the day to ourselves. We grabbed food to go from Corner Bakery, and headed up Highway 41 to Fasi Estate Winery.
Fasi Estate Winery!
I hadn’t been wine tasting in our area before, so I was excited. We snagged an outdoor table, and Erica was amazing by bringing the wine to us while we picnicked. We settled on a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc while we finished our lunch. Even though it was early fall and everything was golden, it was still a gorgeous view of the foothills. I bought a couple of bottles, and we headed back to town.
California looks good on her!
They had to leave that evening and head south for her husband’s next meeting, but I was so happy I was able to spend two days with my friend. I’ve moved around a lot in my life, and it’s always been to places where I haven’t known a soul. Even though I’m settled here, it’s still nice to see a familiar face that’s been in my life for years. Longtime friends are special, and I can’t wait until we can hang out again!
Awesome Lauren , thank you for sharing, your story, you really are a good writer.
Dear Lauren: I loved your post. There are people in the world today who don’t know what it feels like to have friends like that. I have been lucky enough to have those kinds of friends, but like you life and work has caused some separation. For me I always try to make my best effort to keep in touch with all of my friends; Some I get little response from, but that does not mean I don’t care about them because I still have love for each and every one of them. God has blessed me with many friends, some lifelong.friends I grew up with, some from college, and some during my travels through the world working. I consider myself a lucky man to have met so many people in my life and I can only contribute that to the work of the Lord. I too know the feeling of joy you can have in your heart when you get the opportunity to visit with someone who has been part of your life. Thank you very much for the post.
True friends are a blessing and you have been blessed many times over with the plethora of friends you shared with us in today’s Mothers day post.
…and a great time was had by all.!!!
Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy 🤗🤗Lauren 🤗🤗good morning nice have friends like that 🤗🤗how it my goddaughter parents Daniel and Elena I know them ohhh 23 year now but they no just friends they family too me and nothing I wouldn’t do for them or do to protect them 🤗🤗😬😬one advantage of having phyco marine combat veteran look out for you Heyyyyy send happy mother’s da you mom thanks friend 🤗🤗