One of the things I love about keeping a blog is the opportunity to look back on events in our lives and relive it it a bit. I'm trying to keep from feeling like too many things are "have too's" and move them into the "I want to" column of life.
The Strickler Eclipse Gathering was a total success in the eyes of the Wasters (Washington Strickler's). When we recapped the summer with the kids and asked what were the favorite moments, the eclipse made it to the top 5. That's impressive because we had a pretty great summer.
We were planning on heading to Bend Oregon to meet up with Balin's side of the family 2 days after Perrin and I got home from Paris. As it often occurs, the demands of Balin's work threatened his participation as he had to head to Virginia Monday morning. There was a little chance of us driving 8 hours in traffic (they expected an extra million people for the eclipse) one way on Friday to turn around on Monday to return home and Balin fly out the next morning. So, Balin called the boss and asked to use the company plane.
For those of you who didn't know me in my 20's, I was pretty anti-wealth. I lived on a self-sustaining farm out of college and never wanted for much. I have to admit, I've changed my ways a little bit. It was super nice to fly for an hour and reach our destination. No security, no line, just hop on and go. My dad always said, luxury once tasted becomes necessity. I'm not sure I need to fly a private plane, but when we do I am super thankful.
Balin's parents had the foresight to rent a couple of houses in Sun River for the weekend and we all enjoyed hanging out, eating, biking and talking. It's fun to see everyone grow up - including we adults.
For the eclipse we got in our cars and headed out to the middle of now where...literally. We were able to get a full shot with no one within eye sight - pretty great.
Upon arriving home, Balin and I headed out on our neighbors boat to enjoy a few hours of alone time before he headed off to the east coast.
Comments