So there I was, on a plane to Dever. John Denver's "leaving on a jet plane" stuck in my head. I was sitting beside a proud mom who wanted to set me up with her son (this actually happens more often than you'd think).
I was giddy with excitement on the plane anticipating meeting up with my friend Jenn. It will be the first time we both have functional cell phones while finding each other, and the first time we will be in an airport together. This will be the third continent we'll be traveling in together.
I get off the plane a little overwhelmed by the size of Denver airport and start looking for an exit. Jenn waiting with paper flowers and we hug and dance and jump around and hug again.
"We're in an airport!" and we start shouting random things to each other.
Jenn and I had very few conversations to plan this trip. We weren't really communicate much, sending a few letters but not talking on the phone for long periods. So the phone conversation leading up to this moment basically went like this...
"blah, blah, blah, I'm a white water rafting guide now, if you come by I can probably take you down the river." said Jenn
"When are you there till? I finish Tree planting in July."
"August, then I'm driving to Oregon for my next job."
"I can do August... roadtrip?"
"Thelma and Louise!!"
"Deal!"
A week later
"So... actually?"
"Yeah how about second week of August? Or send me a couple dates then I'll look at flights."
The week after that
"Alright I have my ticket!"
"Sweet, we're going to stop at a music festival too, I sent you a link to get a ticket."
"Awesome, I'll send you my flight details."
And that was that. We don't really make complicated traveling plans. So when we were jumping and hugging and dancing in the airport, we were also relieved that in just a few conversations we made all this happen without a hitch. Then it was a three hour night drive to Buena Vista where Jenn had spent most of her summer learning how to be an awesome white water guide. "Ok, so here's the plan, tomorrow: awesome adventure."
"Great, I'm in."
One of the things we got teased for in Panama was looking at each other once and one of us saying, "We're agreeable, right?" We seem to always be on the same page when traveling, when we need space, what needs to get done, when it's time to relax and have fun. We're pretty great at communicating and trusting each other. If the other person's got it, they've got the other persons full trust and participation. It makes for a really supportive friendship, not to be second guessed.
We had a lot of catching up to do, on the drive from the airport we only scratched the surface and then we were there, in Buena Vista. Pronounced Beux-na vista by the locals, it was not much to see by night and I got a wonderful breathtaking surprise when I woke up. "You have 45minutes to still sleep" chimed in Jenn as she left to get the whatever we needed to make the day an adventure.
