Our Sweet Friends From Texas

I first got a facebook message from my friend Jackie telling me that they were gonna be in Oregon and Seattle about a month ago and she was wondering if we could meet up. I messaged her back and told her it would be cool to meet up so we made plans.
We met up last Thursday, May 21st.

Jacob took the day off and after dropping Sydna off at the college we headed over to Pike Place Market. It was such a pretty day. Some cloud cover but sunny.

We walked through all the flower vendors. My goodness, the peony is such a gorgeous flower! That's mostly what they were selling. Loved seeing all the different colors. It took us forever to just get out of this area and to finally meet up with my friend that was waiting for us right in front of the bronze pig.

It was so great seeing her, her husband and their two older children. It had been ten years since we last saw each other. We used to be neighbors in Mckinney, TX for several years before they moved to Schertz, TX which is near San Antonio.

After we all greeted each other we then had lunch at Lowell's at Pike Place. It got great reviews on Yelp .... but I think they were mostly for breakfast. I still thought their food was good. I got tiger prawns and chips. The prawns or shrimp {how I like to call them} were big. I couldn't finish them all. I had to give Jacob my last one. Everyone else finished their food so hopefully that was a sign that they liked it. Next time I want to come here for breakfast. Their Combination breakfast with a side of crispy hash browns sounds delicious! Here's the LINK so you can browse the menu and see how tasty everything sounds. The view of Elliott Bay {part of the Puget} is pretty awesome too!

After eating we walked down to the waterfront. There's still construction going on so a good portion of the sidewalk is blocked off. If you're by the great wheel, one would need to walk back towards the Aquarium, cross the street and walk less than a mile to get to the ferry terminal.

The day quickly became warm and the walk would have been too far for my friend. While Jacob went looking for an ATM machine they went to ask one of the Pedicab guys how much they charge. These guys are expensive! Just to take us to the ferry terminal which is less than a mile they wanted to charge $30!! Psh, they're crazy. Thankfully, my friends son thought of Uber. Since he has the app on his phone he requested one to pick us up close to the Aquarium. It arrived in less than five minutes and cost under $5. Wow!

I have to admit, riding in some strangers car was a little scary for me. I've never even been inside a taxi or a bus ... so I was ready to call 911 in case we got kidnapped or something. But everything went fine and the ride was safe, there just wasn't a carseat for Riley. Thankfully we didn't have to go far.

We had to wait for the ferry and while we waited my friend Jackie gave us the 411 on how to care for box turtles. Her husband has ten box turtles and most of them he's had for years, two of those he's had since he was a kid. Isn't that cool?! Jacob was very interested and I'm sure he now wants to get some himself. I just hope that he first makes an enclosure for them.

We boarded the ferry and found a place to sit outside. I love the way the wind feels on my face. Every time I ride the ferry is like my first ride! It makes me SO happy. I love to look all around. I love to admire all the pretty houses that sit along the water ... and I'm always looking for seals, hoping I can spot at least one.

Here I am with my Texas friends. That's Jackie and her husband Neil. They are such great people, very hospitable but most importantly they also share our same values and beliefs. They're definitely friends for a lifetime.

When Riley first met them he became very shy which is a big surprise because he's always so outgoing and very talkative even to people we come across with at the store. It wasn't until we were at the ferry terminal that he began to warm up to Jackie's daughter Madison and son Neil Jr. He was talking to them and was starting to get a little playful. At one point Jackie and Madison went to buy water and he even held Madison's hand. That was cute.

We had planned on going to an ice cream shop on Bainbridge Island but we were a little pressed for time. Jackie and her family had reserved tickets to Ride the Ducks {link HERE} at 5:00 pm so we took the ferry back to Seattle. At least we got a ferry ride out of it on this nice day.

Jackie took this picture of me, Jacob and Riley. Thanks Jackie. I love it!

Once we arrived at the terminal we had to part ways since they didn't have much time left. We said our goodbyes and hoped to see each other soon. Riley was terribly sad because he had bonded with Madison. He started to cry.

We rode on a paid Uber car from them to take us back to our car. That was really nice of them. Even to this day Riley is still saying he wants to go to Texas to visit Madison. He says she's his best friend.

My friend hopes to retire in Oregon, in or near Cannon Beach. That would be nice. She'll only be about three hours away. We would definitely be able to visit each other often.

*** On Memorial Day my friend Jackie had a health issue that's changed her life. Sorry for not being able to go into detail since I didn't ask her permission to talk about it on here but I am writing this for my own memories and to ask if you can please pray for her. I ask for healing but most importantly I ask that my friend feels God's presence and love close. Also for peace and understanding and that with the love and support from her family and friends and with time that she will get better each day.
This is so surreal to Jacob and I because we had just spent the day with her five days before. This makes me so sad for her, she's such a sweet and caring person but I am going to try to change my focus from sadness to hope and to continue to pray for her. Thank you all in advance.