After five weeks out west, it was time for us to drive back east. We did not spend much time seeing the sights, but we did stop at the Petrified National Forest for a hike. Henry’s 4th-grade national park pass has come in handy so far. There are several hikes in the Petrified National Forest, but we did a simple 1-mile hike since we had a lot of ground to cover getting back to Atlanta.
We stopped in Atlanta to see my sister and some friends. We also had to pick up our winter gear since we are heading into cold weather for the next several months. For the past several years, we have been trying to stay in a warm climate, but the boys have been getting snow and cold weather, so that is what they will get.
We love spending time with my sister Emily, her husband Jonathan, our nephew Milo, and their dogs, Josie and Dexter. It is important to us that we make time to see family.
We also saw some friends we have not seen in a while. Lucas had a sleepover with his friend Shiva. They became friends in kindergarten and still keep in touch.
I took the boys to the Duncan Donuts that we used to frequent. We would go there on the first day of school, for birthdays, and on the occasional Saturday or Sunday. It is a tradition we can continue when we travel because Dunkin Donuts are around the world.
Michael and I had dinner with our friends Nate and Kellie. I met Kellie at my first job at the CNN center twenty years ago. We also got to see their dogs, Macallan and Bundy. I had breakfast with my friend and colleague, Christina.
We were only in Atlanta for a few days, so we did not have time to see everyone we miss. We will be back.
