Today was going to be a very special day, we were catching up with dear friends from our time in Washington DC! I had been really looking forward to this! đ The day dawned beautiful and clear, with the promise of blue skies all day long; perfect! The view from our hotel window was lovely, even with the tide out!
We packed our bags ready for the long flight home, as we were checking out and leaving our bags at the hotel’s reception. We caught the shuttle to the airport and hopped on the BART into town once again. Then we transferred to a local bus and headed to the Golden Gate park where we were meeting our friends. I enjoyed the different styles of architecture as we went past!
We had a bit of time to fill in when we got to the park so we went and checked out the flower conservatory. It was a very interesting Victorian structure!
Inside was very pretty!
Then they were there!!! This dear family drove 3 hours to see us for the day. We really appreciated that, so much!
When we last saw Pete and Kelly in Charleston, their eldest daughter was still a baby. It was SO very good to see them again, and to meet the new additions too! We decided to go to the cafe in this interesting museum building for lunch.
The kids had a yummy looking fruit salad with their hot dogs!
Little Noley took out her binkie long enough to do her “scared” face for us. Too cute!!! đ
Then we went to a park for the kids to have a play. And play they did! đ
They happily entertained themselves and played for a couple of hours while their parents chatted with us. These kids were just delicious – if kids are allowed to be delicious đ – they were so happy, patient and well behaved!
Kelly, being the amazing photographer she is, put on her photographer hat briefly and asked Mike and I to stand in this spot so she could take this photo:
Then, all too soon, it was time for them to go back to their car, and for us to head back to the airport for our evening flight to Auckland. The footpath was too boring for the two older kids, they took the more adventurous and fun route!
We said our fond farewells. What a lovely time we had with these very, very special friends. As Kelly says, we’re heart friends. It was so wonderful to connect with them in person instead of via the computer, computers still don’t do hugs. Sure hope it isn’t years before we see them again.
Our 12 hour flight back to NZ was uneventful, as were immigration and customs, thankfully! Auckland welcomed us back with this:
After transferring to the domestic terminal we boarded our final flight to Wellington.
And so we arrived back in the middle of Middle-Earth after going right around the earth in 42 days, and what a wonderful time we’ve had!
âA journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.â
â Tim Cahill