We took our first road trip to Central Washington last weekend. We coordinated with my college buddies, Nou and Tony, to visit Sayo, another good friend from college and also was one of my bridesmaids. (Sayo recently relocated to Richland when Huey, her husband, got a new job.)
It was a beautiful drive as we traveled through Snoqualmie Pass, lakes, national forests, mountains, vineyards and fruit farms, and patches of civilization, such as Roslyn, Easton, Ellensburg, and Yakima. (Yes, Yakima counts as being a small town.)
It was hot in the Tri-Cities. (Richland, Kennewick and Pasco are the three cities that make up the Tri-Cities.) Up around the 100s. Dry heat. So, we stayed inside their air-conditioned apartment during the day, reminiscing, catching up, playing video games, and discussing pop culture. At night, we hung out to the nearby park along the Columbia River. The next day, we hung out in the newly remodeled, air-conditioned apartment complex rec room, playing ping-pong, shooting pool, making up our own shuffleboard rules... It was like we never missed a beat from the carefree college days.
Our intimate group has grown since, with our significant others and with the next generation. The newest addition is Sayo and Huey’s cute and playful 13-month-old daughter, Jade.
Watching and playing with her makes me feel like I’m definitely 31, as I'm weighted down with the real world. I’m constantly concerned about whether I look fat in my clothes, being well-mannered and P.C., being healthy, my aging parents’ well-being, if my cat is bored at home when we’re at work, locking the doors, and my next career move.
But not Jade. She’s fearless and carefree.
She crawled around in a diaper and the pink onesie her mom picked out. As we talked and laughed, she babbled along and with whatever comes to mind. She grabbed for the Wii remote regardless if we were in the middle of a heated Wii tennis match. She ate whatever she wanted, including the steak, ribs, and chicken that were part of the 40lb meat feast Huey barbequed up. (It was finger-licking good!) She played with Willow, their medium-sized dog, whether he wanted to play too. She greeted us strangers fearlessly with her cute smile. And the next move she was concerned about is to the forbidden DVD collection.
While I may not be able to live in Jade’s world, it was sure nice to enjoy it through her innocent eyes.
Thank you Sayo, Huey, Jade and Willow for hosting such a great weekend!
See more photos at http://goboproductionz.com/TriCities/index.htm.
It was a beautiful drive as we traveled through Snoqualmie Pass, lakes, national forests, mountains, vineyards and fruit farms, and patches of civilization, such as Roslyn, Easton, Ellensburg, and Yakima. (Yes, Yakima counts as being a small town.)
It was hot in the Tri-Cities. (Richland, Kennewick and Pasco are the three cities that make up the Tri-Cities.) Up around the 100s. Dry heat. So, we stayed inside their air-conditioned apartment during the day, reminiscing, catching up, playing video games, and discussing pop culture. At night, we hung out to the nearby park along the Columbia River. The next day, we hung out in the newly remodeled, air-conditioned apartment complex rec room, playing ping-pong, shooting pool, making up our own shuffleboard rules... It was like we never missed a beat from the carefree college days.
Our intimate group has grown since, with our significant others and with the next generation. The newest addition is Sayo and Huey’s cute and playful 13-month-old daughter, Jade.
Watching and playing with her makes me feel like I’m definitely 31, as I'm weighted down with the real world. I’m constantly concerned about whether I look fat in my clothes, being well-mannered and P.C., being healthy, my aging parents’ well-being, if my cat is bored at home when we’re at work, locking the doors, and my next career move.
But not Jade. She’s fearless and carefree.
She crawled around in a diaper and the pink onesie her mom picked out. As we talked and laughed, she babbled along and with whatever comes to mind. She grabbed for the Wii remote regardless if we were in the middle of a heated Wii tennis match. She ate whatever she wanted, including the steak, ribs, and chicken that were part of the 40lb meat feast Huey barbequed up. (It was finger-licking good!) She played with Willow, their medium-sized dog, whether he wanted to play too. She greeted us strangers fearlessly with her cute smile. And the next move she was concerned about is to the forbidden DVD collection.
While I may not be able to live in Jade’s world, it was sure nice to enjoy it through her innocent eyes.
Thank you Sayo, Huey, Jade and Willow for hosting such a great weekend!
See more photos at http://goboproductionz.com/TriCities/index.htm.
Comments
Great photo's gabe!
Thank you guys for coming to visit old friends!
It's so good to see you on the blogosphere. It looks like you're doing well and enjoying life. I enjoyed those pictures of you, Sayo, Tony, & Nou.
As for me, I'm still in Korea. It's my last year. I'll go back to Portland early 2009 and begin the process of getting a teacher's license and Master's in Education at PSU.
Drop me a line sometime! :D
~Soutthida
http://lao-ocean.com
p.s. What about an RSS feed for your blog?