Globetrotters

BFF Molly is on her way to Europe right now for a brief sojourn before going to Egypt...unbelievable. And another friend from a ways back, Chris "Officer Kipp" Kipp is taking a 42-day trek through Nepal! I am incredibly excited for these fun endeavors, and am hoping and praying for their trips to be safe, fun, and unforgettable. It is fun to run in a group of people who look beyond beaches for their vacations.

I didn't mention this sooner, but another high school friend, Catherine McDonald, came to visit two weekends ago. She took a holiday from work in Sydney, flew to New York for 8 straight days of fabulous, and then came to Detroit for a long weekend with me. It is so bizarre, but so fun, to have a chance for a reunion like that-- since Cat left the US to move back to Australia in the summer of 2000, we'd spent a few mere hours together in New York in the late summer of 2005. So, having her back here, in our old high school stomping grounds was borderline ridiculous. Interesting fact: during our sophomore year, the two of us went to see Titanic at the Birmingham Theater somewhere between 5 and 8 times together. (I don't think we settled on a final count, but I'm sure we could do some research to confirm.) That was one thing I remember really enjoying about my time with Cat-- we both have the ability to sort of surrender to things like a grand, romantic movie. We're both criers, we're both the type to gush about something beautiful or elegant, we're both the type to see a musical and buy the soundtrack in the lobby to listen to on the way home from the show.

The visit was also fun because I was able to stage a few surprises for her, and that's always entertaining. BFF Thea was in town, unbeknowst to Cat, and we had a good Detroit time together. Also, our high school friend Syed made a quick appearance at our lunch table. (I was sending him text messages about where we were and he replied, "You're with Thea and CAT? Right now?! In Corktown?!" Awesome.) It was cool to see Cat revisit the places that became her home-away-from-home for 3.5 years. And it was also cool to introduce her to places in Detroit that she hadn't seen. (The abandoned train station downtown sort of reminds me of the sunken Titanic...and Cat totally saw what I meant. The romance, the tragedy, the grandeur, the wonderful stories. Chills.)

Anyway-- one going Sydney-NYC-Detroit, one going DC-Germany-Egypt, and another going Ann Arbor-Nepal? The mind reels as to who's next and to where?! (Fingers crossed that it's "Dana" and "anywhere across an ocean".)