good tunes, great friends

to continue my earlier story...
on my way to San Antonio, I crossed some sections of highways that carried evacuees from Houston. those were stop and go, mostly stop.

on other sections I seemed to be the only car on the road. occasional large convoys of National Guard Troops passed in the opposite direction. it was eerie.

once I got to San Antonio, I met another wonderful friend for lunch at one of our favorite lunch spots from our college days. I met her little one for the first time. we chatted and caught up. she talked of her husband and baby girl. I told stupid stories of my single life. we momentarily forgot about the rotating monster a few hundred miles away.

the afternoon wore on. we chatted and I decided I should probably leave before I overstayed my welcome. and maybe head on to Austin in case the traffic was still insane. but once I left my friend's house, I started driving south instead of towards Austin. I love to drive around campus when I visit San Antonio. it makes me smile.

and besides, I was somewhat awaiting a phone call to help me decide when I needed to head to Austin. despite my delaying, it never came.

up in Austin, despite the lines for gas, and craziness on the roads, the hurricane was nearly forgotten. well except what effect it might have on the festival. what festival? that would be the excuse behind my trip to Texas, the Austin City Limits Festival . of course the great added benefit was to visit with all my friends from college.

the festival was a go, Rita was heading further east, and the winds shouldn't be so bad as to cancel the event. good news for the 65,000 music fans, not so good news for other folks east of Houston along the Gulf Coast who hadn't evacuated.

the tunes were great. personal favorite acts included Coldplay, Mike Doughty, the Doves, Lyle Lovett, Thievery Corporation, Buddy Guy, and more, but the heat melted my memory cells together a bit. it was hot. ridiculously hot. and this Colorado girl cannot handle the heat. that's why I immediately moved back to Colorado after college.

hanging out with my friend the music lover was great. meeting her new boy, hanging out with their friends. the entire weekend was incredibly fun. days of good music, cool swimming, and great texmex.

I was sad to leave. on my out of Austin I met my first college friend for breakfast. she had to leave school during our sophomore year for health reasons and ended up transferring instead of coming back. but we managed to keep in touch. and I am so grateful for her friendship. she is an amazing person.

she was one of my first friends to marry. she now has a three year-old. and the whole perfect marriage to a great husband. but she loves hearing my adventurous single-girl stories. about guys I've met. and I love hearing about her family.

another different shade of green bond. another conversation that makes me appreciate everything I have, my family, and all of my friends I've made along the way.

she showed me recent pictures of her son in the parking lot before I headed on my way to Colorado. she's so proud of him. and of me for all that I've done with my career. and I'm proud of her, too. she's a fantastic mom and friend.

on the slow drive back in my friend's new e-bay purchase, I had plenty of time to contemplate things.

I miss my friends that live far away terribly when I'm at home. but I know at any time I can call them or we can visit each other and it's like no time has passed. sure we have new stories to trade. but the deep bond of friendship is always there, sometimes altered slightly here and there by circumstance, but always there.

my friends amaze me. they inspire me. I love them all so much. and miss them, even though I know we're always with each other in our hearts.