Memories from my Vacation

The open road...

I was so excited when my boyfriend and I set off, the desert in our rear view. The stress of my last class behind me, just the open road with him. I was squeeing and bouncing and excited. It had been a long time since I'd been on a road trip, and never on my own like this.
My boyfriend was excited to show me the town he'd grown up in as a child. Small town, quaint, but still it reminded me of where I had grown up, just a few states away.
Once we had taken care of the original reason for the trip, a hospital visit for my boyfriend, we were free for the rest of the trip, it seemed.
On the way up to meet my friend, Blogadog, for camping, there was a massive downpour, my windshield wipers barely kept up. Nature. There simply wasn't nature quite like that where I live. 
Then we met Blogadog. :) I hadn't seen her in ages! We also got to meet her adorable pup, Balfour.

Boyfriend meets friend's dog, Balfour.

 Camping was magnificent. The forest was gorgeous. The mosquitoes were annoying, but I remember the beauty of the landscape more than the bugs.

There was a lightning storm the last night. Terrifying, constant flashing and loud booming thunder. Obviously I couldn't see outside the tent, but I didn't have too. The thin walls of the tent lit up brightly, it was like it was vibrating with light. I felt like I was inside a flickering bulb. I was scared, I was in awe, I knew I wouldn't forget that storm. I had to pee. That was problematic, as the lightning sounded close. After that mess was sorted out, we fell asleep to rain and the occasional rumble. Perfection. (Though our tent and a lot of what was inside it did get soaked.)

This was taken earlier that night before the storm, at the lake.

It wasn't all woods and hiking though, we also drove into town to get supplies, and listened to James Herriot in my friends car. We got ice cream, and burgers, and fries. We tried our hand at cooking in the woods. Good times.
Next campsite, uneventful [unless you count watching a TV show on my laptop in a crowded campsite and feeling utterly embarrassed about a random awkward scene that played loudly with tons of people milling around us.] Then on to nostalgiaville. We visited the town where my friend currently lives, the town I used to live in (or near). Met some family, met new people. Hiked some more. Ate Chinese food. Yum. Showed the boyfriend my old house.

Then, we left for home. Exhausted. But, the trip was fantastic. I won't forget it. It was good to get out of this desert for awhile. A change of scenery is good for the soul.
Admittedly, I cried when the dusty city lights of home came to view on our return. I don't know why, it didn't make sense to me then nor does it make sense to me now. I was tired, but it was something else to. Fear that I would get stuck in the desert? Perhaps.
But the trip was good for the soul. Good for the creativity of the mind.