Mr. B

Immediately after Kyler's birthday, I met up with some classmates from high school who live in Northern CA and we carpooled down to Southern CA to attend the memorial service for one of our teachers. Mr. B was one of those people who made an impression on everyone around him. He was a true inspiration to the students and had a unique teaching style that made him special and made kids want to learn.

I left my house at 4:45 am on Saturday, with a friend who lives in Sacramento, to drive to Fairfield and meet up with two more friends who live in the Napa Valley. Then we drove south to Pleasanton to pick up another friend who lives in San Francisco. From there, we drove straight through to Loma Linda. I am the first to admit I am not crazy about my alma mater. In fact, since my parents moved away, I have had very little interest in going back down to visit. In fact, the last time I really spent any time down there was almost 5 years ago! But I was glad to be able to go down for this occasion.

We arrived in Loma Linda Saturday afternoon and got ready for the memorial. The service was in the school gym because they were expecting a lot of people, and there certainly were a lot of people. The service was humorous and sad all at the same time.

After the service, I spent the night with one of my “oldest” friends. We have been friends since Kindergarten and don't get to see each other very often. :( But we loved every minute we spent together chatting and staying up way too late! It was so much fun catching up with her on life.

The trip itself was a whirlwind because we got there Saturday afternoon, and then on Sunday, we all met up for brunch before getting back on the road to drive home. We weren't even there 24 hours. The weather was AWFUL with torrential rains at lower elevations and sleet/snow through the passes. We BARELY made it over the Grapevine before they closed it down. In fact, we think they were preparing to shut it down just as we drove by so it could have been a matter of minutes! We were very grateful to get through when we did. I got home around 8:30 Sunday night. Those were 2 very long days! And, leading up to them was our trip to New Orleans and Kyler's birthday party. It was a VERY full week!

Having brunch at Mimi's before driving back home.
L-R: Shirley, Vanessa, Laura, Debbie, Kim, Shelley, Carey

We got to say hello/goodbye to Jamie, Mr. B's daughter and one of our classmates, as we were leaving Mimi's because she was there to eat with her family.

My friends rented a van to drive down in, and we affectionately called it the "orange beast." This is the crew we drove down with (L-R): Debbie, Shirley, Carey, Vanessa, Kim

Part of our old high school gang (L-R): Laura, Debbie, Shelley, Carey, Vanessa, Kim

This was taken through the windshield as we drove over the grapevine. Lots of snow!