Beautiful Boone:)

I am very behind on blog entries. So there will be few close together. 2 weekends ago I went to NC to visit friends, grad school, seminary, and tell people about being a US-2. It was a fast and crazy trip, but a much needed one. This post will focus on one element of the trip... My first time visiting my alma mater since I graduated a year ago.

I'm not going to lie, I was very apprehensive about going to visit. I mean I have moved on, my life has changed so much since I was in college. I loved most of my college years and I am grateful for them. But I wanted to run away from them as fast as I could, and I did. I ran until I got to Urbana, IL. I have many friends still in Boone. I missed them, but I wanted my new life. But I missed those mountains so much. Usually you do not appreciate something fully until you loose it. That is how I was with the mountains. So on that glorious driving up the mountains I could not help but smile and thank God for letting me live there for 4 years, and for letting me return.

The drive up was blessed with some wonderful conversations with my friend Kara. We are both working for very little money trying to save the world (or at least our small populations we work with). I'm so glad we have kept in touch, we have gone through similar things this year and it is comforting to have a friend that knows how you feel. Upon arrival in Boone I got to see so many people, it was wonderful!!!

Saturday, we woke up and went to breakfast at my favorite place, Melanies Food Fantasy (doesn't that just sound amazing!) It's an organic/hippee place that has the most amazing food. Their vegan biscuits and gravy are delicious, greek omlette is to die for, and the french toast is out of this world. I only had the french toast this time. But it was a wonderful way to start off a day in Boone, and it was extra special because it was my friend Sarah's Birthday!!! After breakfast we headed to the parkway! Like old times we congregated on lots of blankets trying to bask up the spring sun. Some of us got burnt, but it was worth it! My dear friend Kelly brought her guitar, morrocas, and tamborine and we rocked out to our favorite jams and there was even a hippee dance involved (are you suprised?).

Dinner that night was lovely with seeing more friends and celebrating Sarah's birthday:)

Church in the morning was unexpectedly wonderful. I got to see people I didn't expect to, like Jennifer and Robert + The Hege's + Reed + The Farrington's. It was such a God send. Lunch with some people, and then Megan and I were off back to Durham.

It was an emotional weekend, realizing things had moved on with out me, but also so much stayed the same. I realized how much I have changed, and I thanked God for changing me. Boone is still one of my favorite places in the world. Those mountains are good for the soul:)