road trip, final instalment

Skip rolling downhill with Augustus

It is a crime, a deficit of gargantuan proportions, that I only have one photo for this post, and only one in the last post. I can only say that camera trouble was upon me and I didn't even realize it. I thought it was batteries but now I know that it was more. Anyhoo, on with the post.

After we spent three lovely, heartfelt and amazing days hanging out with the LaShell clan near Ashville, NC, we headed up for the third leg, actually fourth leg of the trip. Up to Boone we skedaddled, through winding curves and gorgeous NC country, to visit the Sinanian's of the Atlanta Skip Sinanian's. And dude lives in, by his own description, an accountant's house! Crazy I mean Krazy with a K! So much of this trip has been defined by how far we (and by "we" I mean all the old-school Atlanta crew) have all come. And how well everybody is doing! Who knew?

Skip, Kelly, Deacon and Huxley welcomed us with open arms and abundant love and laughter, as always. I didn't actually talk to Skip or Kelly until, oh, the night before I was heading to Boone I think. And ya know, like the fabulous people they are, they said "when will you get here?" and "what do you guys like to eat?" Magdalena and Augustus were on a roll, two for two in staying with amazing families that have amazing children and amazingly fun things to play with and upon arrival at Skips it was a hat trick. M and A fell in love with all four Sinanian's, running through the house, checking out all there was to see and do, warming up to each one, but I have to say, it was the divine Huxley that was the star of the stay. Magdalena said to anyone who would listen, Huxley made me laugh so hard I was sweating! Our Boone stay was just shy of 24 hours but the impact was six months, easy. By the end of the walk through town and lunch, after our night at Chez Sinanian, I think both Magdalena and Augustus had adopted Skip as their own. As we are all want to do.

After we left Boone we headed down for our final night on the road, back to our sweet Cecilia in Marietta. Another cousin, Ouni (named so by Magdalena when she was almost two and she could not quite say Courtney), came down to visit for the evening of pizza and stories of days and days of travel. My Auntie Nancy came by first thing in the morning for goodbye kisses and off we were! Back on the road! But not quite, for breakfast we went to Ria's Bluebird, http://riasbluebird.com/ and once again, Who Knew? I mean, I remember Ria from back in the day, and now she is this totally righteous restaurateur, out there making a difference in the community, being the activist that she was born to be. Right on Ria! And making righteous huevos rancheros and buttermilk pancakes to boot.

With one more stop to go, we were on our way again. We had our final stop in Valdosta with Constance, cousin extraordinaire, daughter of Cecilia. We hooked up for lunch and a last roadtrip Starbucks with the babes. Ouni happened to be on her way down so we had another Ouni sighting also, what luck we have.

There is so much more I could say. Our trip was so rich with exploration, new loves for Magdalena and Augustus and connecting with the dearest of friends for me. I am star-struck by life. I mean, we've all grown up, and we're all actually alive, that in itself is such a miracle. And then, on top of that, we still love each other so deeply and truly. And we know each other completely. My sister recently said she was blinded by her blessings, and I know what she means.