Yesterday we took a little adventure into a town outside of LA called West Covina. We met up with one of our very good friends, Nancy.

Nancy has been in our lives for many years and is one of the great friends that came out of working for a giant corporation for as long as I did. She was in our wedding and has been with us through thick and thin. Though we may not talk very often, she is one of those friends that is like family — you know they will always be there.

We rented a car and drove up to visit her on Monday since she was in town for a few days visiting her family.

After meeting some of her family members, we went out for a tasty taco lunch.

We decided that on such a hot day, ice cream was a necessity.

She took us on a tour of where she grew up, in Alhambra, CA. It was neat to see a little bit of her history, including this old-school ice cream parlor. We visited her elementary and high schools, her old apartment, and neighborhood. We listened to the stories from her childhood memories and it was a fun way to get a little bit closer to her. Whenever she had talked about her childhood before this, I didn’t know how to picture it in my mind.

We topped off the day with a visit to the mall — Nancy has always been helpful on my shopping excursions!

Though it was a short day and it was sad to say goodbye, I am happy that we won’t be apart for too long since I’ve scheduled a visit to Minnesota in the fall.

On our drive back, Andy and I played games in the car — things like: what are the top three books you would bring on a desert island? And: if you could only watch five movies for the rest of your life, what would they be? It was a fun way to pass the time.

We also snapped a few photos of the cell phone trees that California so awesomely created. In Minnesota, cell towers are an eyesore but here in beautiful SoCal, they want them to blend in with their surroundings.

Cell phone tree on the left, normal tree on the right.

This trip was especially exciting because we saw our first palm tree cell tower.

Cell phone tree on left, normal tree on the right.

We get excited about the little things in life but we agree that these are great ideas and make the area look a lot nicer.

A few days ago, we received a care package from another wonderful friend. Anita sent us some goodies from home and a souvenir from our trip to Vegas (as well as some financial help).

The super cute Beatles pillow is from the LOVE show that we saw in Vegas. She saw me eyeballing them in the gift shop and decided to send us one. It looks great in the RV! She also sent me my favorite sunflower seeds and hot peppers, both of which I have a hard time finding in SoCal and I am addicted to both.

We love getting mail! And these gifts were an incredibly thoughtful thank-you for going to Vegas for her birthday. Though we already knew this, Anita is one of those friends that you know is more like family.

On a sort of random note, I found this jar while I was watering my plants outside today.

It is difficult to tell from the picture but there used to be palm trees painted on the outside of it. Many years ago, after one of our first trips to California, Andy and I decided that we wanted to live here. We hung up pictures all over the house of the beaches and the ocean as inspiration to save money and someday move. At that time, we thought about renting out our house to someone and then renting an apartment out here. We even made a trip here to check out some places. It’s so crazy how things work out. Here we are, in a place we used to dream of living, enjoying life the way we always hoped we would.

Andy and I were watching a show last night about a couple who had worked their whole lives to be able to retire and do what they wanted. The husband was talking about how they had worked for the past thirty-some years to save up and be able to travel and live their lives. Then his wife got cancer and she was going to pass away. I can only imagine how often this happens.

Andy and I looked at one another, gave a quick fist-bump, and told each other how much we loved one another and how happy we were that we were living our lives now. It might not be glorious, it might not always be comfortable or filled with wealth, but it is filled with happiness, love, and a touch of adventure.