As the time for our departure drew near we knew we wouldn't have time to say goodbye to all of our friends individually. The obvious solution was to have a big party and see them all at once. So today we had our own Bon Voyage Party from 2:00-8:00.
The weather was fantastic and a large crowd of good friends came by. I didn't keep track but probably more than 50 people dropped in. Here's a sampling in the order my memory was jogged by photos. If I left you out, please don't be offended!
- My whole family: Kay and Doug and my sisters Elizabeth and Tricia and Tricia's husband Frank (who framed the garage, built gates for us, helped me replace a door and who is a wonderful and generous man).
- Carol's parents Dennis and Mary and her brother Bob, his wife Torii and their son Alex. My personal goal was to throw a party as good as Bob and Torii's events. I think we came close! By the way, all of the photos were taken by Bob.
- Team Mango: Erik, Jason, John and Scott and their families. These guys are my main "crew." We email each other every day about all kinds of nonsense. Fortunately, there is email in Boston, too.
- Former coworkers of mine Jim (coworker 1986-1989), Paul & Renee, Steve & Jane (coworkers 2002-2005), Blake & Erica and Sean (coworkers in 2005) and all of their families.
- Carol's friend Wendy and her kids - Carol and Wendy have known each other since they were 5.
- Our dear friends Britt and Ken. As with many of my Seattle friends I met Britt through Kathy Beahn (in 1999). I met Ken through climbing and Carol and I introduced Britt and Ken. Their son Ian is two weeks younger than Audrey. Carol and Britt bonded while they were pregnant.
- Other friends we met through climbing (which, by the way, I got into because of Kathy): Matt and Jeana and their kids Andrew and Laura.
- Eastgate Cycling Club members Scottie (and his son Evan), Sylvia, Jeremy, Bryce and Lisa. I'll wear my Eastgate gear with pride in Boston!
- Our former neighbor and sometime babysitter Amy stopped by.
- Mary Orvis (Jane's mom and partner), our friend and real estate agent through whom we both bought and sold this house.
- Yet more friends I met through Kathy: Scott and Heidi and their kids Logan, Emma and Fina.
- Last but not least my oldest Seattle friends Barry and Rabih. I worked with Barry at Boeing from 1983-1986. They have been through it all with me.
We probably would have had a big crew from pre-school, but this was the only weekend we could have the party and it was the same weekend as a pre-school family camping trip. We missed you PNPC families! We hope you had fun camping!
Thank you all for a great party and a warm and wonderful sendoff. We will miss you all.
Our plan is to come back for an extended stay each summer. We'll throw a party each year so we can check in with you all.
Au Revoir, Seattle!
P.S. Remember that you can subscribe to this blog so you get notified whenever we post something. See the "Subscribe" button up there in the upper left? Click it! You have the choice of RSS or email.
No comments:
Post a Comment