Friends: Old, New and Found

Skyler plays at Box Canyon in Yorba Linda.

This is my 700th post so I'm going to postpone the sad story I was going to tell and instead celebrate my recent visit with friends. Kirk and I vacationed in Southern California last week where I reconnected with grown women I knew as little girls. Now, they all have little-ish ones of their own and the cycle begins anew.

Here's Lisa's little girl, Skyler, learning to ride a bike without training wheels - an historical day:

And Kath's daughter, Emma "The Mighty Gumdrop" Teager dressed as John Hancock for a school project:

I can't wait to see Kath's son Devin play in the World Cup. Seriously, the kid's got talent. After a wonderful visit with The Teagers, we cruised down the gorgeous 241 Highway and visited with a girl I met in kindergarten, Chrissie Adams. Our friend Lisa Ground came over and the reminiscing began:

Some things never change.

Then, Kirk had to attend a work-related event in West Hollywood, so I made Diane come along to keep me company at the bar:

Later on, Susie joined us and regaled us with stories from The Wild 90s. Seems so long ago now.

Eventually, we made our way up to Santa Barbara, where I reconnected with Michelle and Chrissie, two sisters who have been my friends since we were 8 or so:

I also got to meet Michelle's new beau, Steve, who is lovely:

And Chrissie's friend, Tammy Sue, who was featured in one of my favorite shots from the trip:

Anyone who knows me knows that when it comes to collectibles, I prefer high quality humans.

Animals too. I don't know this guy but we saw him at a rest stop outside Ojai and I couldn't resist. I called the dog "Sweet Pea" - as I do most animals - only to discover it was her actual name.

Turns out we were friends too - just hadn't met before.