The adventures of my Gardenia Bonsai and Me

And so we are off again into another season of traveling! Pikes Peak was looking particularly magnificent as I drove through downtown Colorado Springs one last time on my way out of town. I had been dreading the drive, knowing that with nothing but plains ahead of me, and mountains fading behind me it would be a particularly sad and boring drive. I am happy to report it was not near as bad as I had anticipated for three reasons: 1. A dear friend from the Springs sent me on my way with a fabulous music mix to keep me going (thanks, Aleta!), 2. The prospect of the many exciting things planned for this summer kept my mind occupied, prayerful and upbeat, and 3. I had a quiet, but delightful traveling companion—my newly acquired Gardenia Bonsai. It was about 2 weeks ago that I came home to a plant sitting on the kitchen table. Thinking it belonged to my roommate, Amie, I commented on how lovely it was and asked where she was going to put it. She and her mother (who happened to be there that day) quickly corrected me and explained that it had been delivered for me! For me? Why in the world would anyone send me a bonsai??? I soon discovered that it was a thank you gift for helping out with a wedding. My first thought, “How in the world am I going to take care of this while I’m traveling.?!” The more I admired the plant, the more I grew attached to it...still uncertain how this was going to work. Saturday morning, I loaded up all my belongings and carefully set my gardenia in the seat next to me and we were off. She was a good listener, but not much in the way of navigation. While staying with grandma for a few days, a few blooms appeared so the second leg of our journey was much more fragrant. As is the case with most of my traveling companions, and even when I’m alone, the trip was documented with a few stops for photo shoots.  Enjoy!

Staying hydrated, we each had our waters, I'd take a drink and Gardenia got a squirt

Crossing the state line

No Texas road trip is complete without this stop

There are more adventures on the agenda this summer, some with Gardenia, some without. For those who have been asking, here is a rough itinerary of my summer:

June24-July5: Backpacking in Peru with my friend Megan
Mid-July: Memphis and Searcy
July 29-Aug12: Thailand for AMF and time with parents and friends
Aug 13-24ish: Cambodia
Aug 26-31: Colorado for a wedding and visiting friends
Sept 2-5: Charlotte

There will be a few layovers in Dallas to unpack, repack, and visit between some of those stops and the plan is to be back in DFW, looking for another travel position (not necessarily in DFW) after Sept 5th.

I hope I get to see a few of you along the way!