We started out with a visit with two high school friends of Glen’s that he had reconnected with last summer at their class reunion. Debbie lives in Sacramento and invited us to stay and Mike came down from his place in Medford, Oregon – with three guitars in the trunk! – and rounded out the get-together. (As a nice side note, Debbie and Mike hooked up at the reunion! They are happy and in love and it just warms your heart.) By the time Glen picked me up at the airport and we got our rental car, we didn’t make it over to Debbie’s place until almost 9:30. But so what? She had dinner ready for us anyway. Even that late! After getting a tour of her pretty home, we sat down to barbecued tri-tip, a yummy green salad and pasta with homemade pesto sauce. Yum! We finished off with cheesecake and Whidbey’s port and the guys started in on those guitars. Mike has played since he was a kid and is an excellent strummer. Debbie and I called it a night around 1 but those two banged away until after three!

The next morning we started our day with a leisurely morning around the house and then headed for a knockout brunch. Wowzaa did we get good food! I had a killer mushroom and leek omelet and Glen had the best French toast ever. Ever! They called it Creme Brulee French Toast and it melted in your mouth. I might have to move to Sacramento to be closer to the restaurant. : ) Somehow, the day flew and it was mid-afternoon and we had to leave these lovely friends and head south to the main event for the weekend – Toby’s retirement.

The drive was about three hours but on such a beautiful day you didn’t mind it a bit. The weather the whole weekend was a perfect 75 degrees – my favorite temperature. Toby and Corrine have a beautiful house inside and out. That evening, the four of us, plus their son Brian, had dinner at a little local Italian place where their daughter Brittany works. It was a great, noisy, catch-up on everything kind of dinner. And then afterward we headed to a fundraiser event that a friend of theirs was working at and we danced the night away.

In the next morning, we started with another great brunch this time put together by Corrine at their house. And then came what turned out to be one of Glen’s favorite parts of the weekend – he got to ride Toby’s Harley! Oh my gosh, now he wants one!!! What is with that?!? I don’t think he really, really means it but I do think if I manage to bring in the big bucks next month at the Bake-Off it will probably be on Glen’s discussion dream list. Fat chance on that one since I prefer him alive : ) but I did think he looked pretty darn cute.

That afternoon was the retirement party. Toby and his best friend from the Sheriff’s office retired together and their wives threw this party for both of them. There were close to 200 people there! And they treated us all to an open bar and sit-down dinner. My favorite parts of the evening:

· Talking with Brian and Brittany and getting to meet some of their friends. We love those kids like our own so it’s always a treat to catch up on their lives.

· Seeing Clyde!!! We haven’t seen him in at least 15 years. Holy smokes. He was a big part of our 20s and our youth years in Nevada. He is a great guy who doesn’t look any different at all. And I love these old friends because you pick right back up where you left off. So fun. We’ll keep in better touch with him now.

· The slide show that Toby put together. Toby is excellent at putting slides together and this one was really good. It made us so nostalgic. But it was also a really nice way to understand more about his job and the friends he made from that side of his life.

So, I think that pretty much covers all the high points. Yesterday we left Fresno about 8:30 am but didn’t get home until early evening – those travel days eat time. The weekend though was even better than we hoped it would be and so worth the money and time. We live a charmed life to have it full of so many exceptional friends and family members. Thanks for being one of them! Thanks for reading! Know that you are cherished and appreciated beyond measure.