Jody and I took a day trip to Bryson to visit the Reinsteadt family on Friday. It was an awesome day! We left San Jose at 9am, because Google said it would take 3 hours to get there. I grew up in Bryson and in the back of my head, I knew it would only take 2 1/2 hours, but decided to play it safe and give myself the 3 hours. As soon as we hit Gilroy, we could see the smoke plume from the Lockheed Fire. Jody decided she was thirsty, so we made a pit stop in Soladad. Once out of the car, we could really smell the smoke. Once we got into King City, it cleared up quite a bit.
Once we got to Lockwood, Jody started to recognize things and asked a lot of questions! Turning onto Bryson-Hesperia road brought back so many memories for me. I loved living there and really miss the area. Just as you get on the road, there is a couple that put melons out for sale every summer. As we were driving by, I realized he was out in the drive watering, so I pulled in to say hello. It took a moment to register who I was, but after that, we chatted and visited for a while. He even gave Jody a watermelon and made her morning of being stuck in the car so worth it! The mailman stopped by while we were visiting, and it was Larry, the same guy who delivered mail while I was growing up! He remembered me and was surprised to see me with a child of my own! Then it was on up the road of memories.
As we drove along the winding road, I pointed out things from my childhood to Jody. Where the trailer park, that my best friend lived in, used to be. The house I grew up in, where I took music lessons and line danced, The Dayton's where I used to babysit as a teen, My friend Tracy's old house...All the things I remembered as I was driving along the road. Some were sad memories of neighbors who are only with us in spirit these days, while others were funny memories of dancing, music, and potlucks. I still remember, during my senior year, I could hear Tracy start his car in the mornings and I could follow the sound around the curves in the road and pinpoint when he was going to pull into the driveway to pick me up! I saw houses of childhood friends that I have lost touch with. Jody saw a lot of wildlife and was sure to point each animal out to me.
We arrived at Erick and MaryAnn's and almost immediately, the girls were off and running! They had such a good time together and played so nicely! Jody was drawn to Erick's "other girls" and was amazed at how close she could get to them (his other girls are 3 cows :} ). I took some awesome pictures of the girls jumping on the trampoline and swimming in the trough. While the girls were off playing and enjoying their time together, Erick, MaryAnn, and myself enjoyed sitting on the screened porch with the misters going and just catching up and chatting about life and anything that came to mind! MaryAnn made some awesome chicken for lunch, even Jody ate it! I got a chance to talk to each of them separately and together, which made for great conversations!
Before we knew it it was already 4:30! I needed to pull Jody away from the water and girls and get going home! It took us a good 30 min to get them all dressed and keep them from running off to play on something else! Their girls were awesome and getting so big! I can't believe Bethany is going to be 9 in December! It seem like it was just yesterday she was a baby! And Abigail has gone from this tiny baby that only wants Mom, to this adorable 4 yr old that will climb into your lap and just tell you all kinds of cute things as she snuggles in your lap! I took a few more pictures out in the front yard and finally managed to get just my little one in the car, and we waved goodbye and were off!
Now, before we even got out of their driveway, Jody tells me that she misses them already! Driving down the dirt road, she tells me she wishes she could live there and asks when we can go back! She had such a good time visiting and getting to play with Bethany and Abigail, I think next time, We will have to plan a weekend at the lake or something! We were warned to watch put for the UPS guy on the road as we were leaving, and sure enough, just after I passed Grandpa and Grandma's old house, I ran into him! Lucky for me, I was already around the big corner so it was a bit better!
So, Erick, Maryann, Bethany, and Abigail, we thank you for a wonderful afternoon and for opening up your home to us! We hope to see you all very soon! Larry, the mailman, keep on delivering that mail for many years to come! To the UPS guy, the same thing we yelled to you as kids "Slow Down! this isn't the freeway!" We had a great day and can't wait to get together again!
I will do another post with all the pictures!
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