"how much do you think a one-way train ticket costs?"
i smiled. "about $60. why do you ask?"
a pause. "let me call you right back."
i shook my head as i slid my cell phone in my back pocket, finished filling up my gas tank, then pulled a quick u-turn to head back to kate's house.
already, i knew what she was up to. when i walked back into her house, she was on the phone with her work, calling in sick. a minute later, we were stuffing clothes from her floor into a suitcase. 20 minutes later, we were on the freeway, starbucks in the console between us, good music on the radio, and the miles stretched out in front of us.
this was the day my grandpa passed away. i had to hit the freeway that afternoon to make sure i was back at work on thursday morning. i was dreading the drive and i prolonged it until the last possible minute by stopping by my best friend kate's house to give her a hug and say hi. 30 minutes later, plans had changed. and sometimes, change is a good thing.:)
the drive flew by with her by my side. we ate junk food. we talked for hours. we danced to taio cruz, belted out ashlee simpson, and watched the city come into view with my favorite band, rookie of the year, playing softly from the speakers.
the next 3 days couldn't have gone better if we had planned them.
and we certainly knew how to start them off the right way. after i got off work on thursday, we grabbed vanilla chais and headed down to laguna beach. with the smell of sea salt lingering in the air, we browsed all the little shops, went to sushi for dinner and done pooped ourselves out.
friday night, we decided we'd have an old-fashioned girls night. this looked like chipotle burritos and beer for dinner. followed by a beauty ritual, complete with face masks (i'll spare you the pictures), a foot soak, and pedicures. and the cherry on top of all that was watching a chick flick: bridal wars. the epitome of girlyness, wrapped up into one evening.
but saturday, i think, was my favorite day. stop numero uno? breakfast at our favorite little place right on the water in laguna beach.
we followed this with a little more shop browsing in downtown laguna before driving up to venice beach, where we got henna tattoos, ate fresh mango, people-watched and just enjoyed the southern california sunshine.
you know you're in venice when you see this bad boy rollin around.
kate's henna.
one of my favorite parts of the day was right around sunset.
we stopped by my favorite little cafe to get iced white mochas and we just enjoyed the sitting. the peace of the cafe and the low murmur of the conversation in there. and we talked. for awhile. about boys and love and friends and life and all kinds of things that i miss talking about with her face-to-face like that. it was one of the most precious moments of the weekend for me.
after leaving venice, we had one more stop to make, the last one of the weekend, and the icing on the cake:
los angeles.
downtown.
excited, much?
we didn't stop in downtown, though. nope, we kept on driving. up the hill, where people like to go to take pictures of the hollywood sign: the griffith observatory.
it's not quite so fabulous during the day. but at night? well, it always puts on quite a show:
we wandered around the grounds, took pictures, smiled until our cheeks hurt and just enjoyed being able to be best friends together, instead of best friends a whole state length away.
i couldn't have asked for better company for all of it and i would be lying if i said my heart didn't hurt a little when she pulled her little pink suitcase out of my trunk and wheeled it away into the airport terminal.
***
i admit, it feels weird to share that life has gone on since losing my grandpa. sometimes i find myself freezing in moments and wondering if it is right to laugh and smile in spite of his absence. but still, i find myself being thankful for who he was. because there is no way in heck he would he ever want me to sit on the sidelines for his sake. nosirree.
that doesn't make it easy. that doesn't mean i don't miss him. but i'm thankful for the reminder that i should breathe in each moment a bit more slowly. to dig deeper into days like these, so that when i remember weekends like this one, i'll able to say confidently, i'm glad that i lived. i'm glad that i loved.
and i think that's how my grandpa would want it.
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