The Kirkpatricks

Ryan Kirkpatrick is one of my oldest and best friends. We first met in the 9th grade and have remained friends ever since. Even though he's a Clemson fan and he lives all the way in Colorado, we still remain good friends. He is married to the lovely Wendi Drake Kirkpatrick (whose parents I got to hang out with in Laramie) and have two children, Carter and Walker (and Finnegan the crazy lab who writes their Christmas cards).

In between Ft. Collins and Boulder is a little town called Berthoud. I rode by it a few days ago. Ten years ago, Ryan had to come find me in the middle of the night as my car broke down there while I was on my way to Boulder. It was a cross country trip in my 1988 Honda Prelude and Ryan was in Boulder doing some altitude training. This was before cell phones, so how he ever found me is still sort of a miracle.

Anyway, the car ended up having to get junked in Colorado. I remember getting $50.00 for it. We took my mountain bike off and the roof rack (I still have and use both) and shipped them home. I was on my way east when I was in Colorado and had budgeted just enough money to get back. After shipping all that stuff, I didn't have enough to get home. Ryan not only drove me around for a few days to settle the car and get stuff shipped, he ended up buying my Greyhound ticket to North Carolina. It was right before the start of my teaching career, so guess what my first purchase was as a teacher? On a side note, if you have never taken Greyhound across the country, you should just for the experience.

This trip to Colorado has been much less involved. Very low key and I did not have to sell my vehicular transportation. It's mostly been playing with the kids, running some errands and enjoying the company of friends. We went to teeball practice, the zoo and a concert at Hillside. We also celebrated Wendi's birthday yesterday and I met some of their nice friends like Shawn and Megan. I got attacked, woken up and licked by Finnegan. I was reunited with my lost sock monkey friend Baron and met his cousin and our new travelling companion, Cliff. All in all, a great visit.



I hope everyone has friends that are as loyal, kind and enjoyable as the Kirkpatricks. I really hate leaving here because I enjoy the time I get to spend with Ryan and Wendi, Walker and I became fast friends and I have fun chasing Carter around and deciphering his three year old talk. Thanks for the visit and the opportunity to rest my legs; I'll see you guys in Hendersonville over Christmas break.