Driving.

I recently attended a four-day family reunion in Kalaloch, Washington, a fresh, beautiful, Northwesty town on the coast in the middle of the Hoh Rainforest. It was a spectacular place, which added to all the joyful gestures that bursted out of the mouths of our reuniting family. I feel so blessed to have extended extended family that I've grown up with, and the four days I was there were just incredible. But besides the meaningful bonfires with second cousins, the horseshoe tournaments, the climbing huge cedar trees, running on the beach with my aunt, the sharing of old memories, and the making of new ones, one thing I loved about the reunion was that I got to drive to and from the destination alone.

I would have just driven along with my dad and his family, but I had to leave the reunion earlier than they did, so, I drove myself. Just me, my thoughts, a 12 oz. coffee with cream from Dutch Bros., my new Above the Golden State cd, and the open road for five hours (each way). I guess to some people that may be boring, but I enjoyed every minute of it. The location of our reunion was very beautiful, but driving there and getting to experience all the changes of the land was so much more fulfilling. The crystal clear lakes, the gigantic trees that towered over the highway, the little minimarts in the middle of nowhere, the endless foxglove that scattered the sides of the roads, the sun bursting its rays through the thick forests--an experience that I probably would have ignored if I were not driving alone.