However, this past week/weekend was a great one and the adventure was just another addition to the life of a Riley.
I left last Wednesday at noon after getting the oil changed on the Celica, calling about my stolen bicycle (I got a lead that the Austin police arrested a thief and found a stockpile of high-end bikes), and finalizing the agreement with CGI U. I drove 11 and 1/2 hours, stopping twice for gas (once at an eerie station) and finally reached a rest stop outside of Big Spring, Texas, around 12:30 a.m. to stay the night. I slept well and woke up to an amazing sunrise and headed to my first stop in Anson, Texas, right north of Abilene.
There I did a whirlwind tour of the town and found the local breakfast hot spot - Mi Familia. I had contacted Rory Fanning, who is walking across the U.S. to raise funds for the Pat Tillman Foundation, about meeting him on his walk. This took me a little out of my way but was well worth it. I got two coffees and four breakfast burritos and headed on highway 180 to Albany where I met Rory at the intersection of highway 6. He hopped in the front seat and we chatted about the Pat Tillman Foundation, his life, my life, his walk, my planned travels, and his visit through Arkansas. If you haven't yet, check out his blog and read insights of an amazing journey (www.walkforpat.org). After an hour, I left Rory to the road and headed to Dallas to pick up Haynes and meet Wesley out for a happy hour drink.
After showering at the Bradshaws' apartment and doing some quick work, I headed to north Dallas with Haynes. We took over an hour trying to find the meeting place because of botched directions, Wesley's dead phone, and mostly because of Haynes' and I's impatience with each other. But when we finally arrived we got a beer and some nachos and enjoyed our time with a "gold" or "dear" friend.* And later that night we spent some quality time with Wesley and his wonderful wife, Holly. They (mostly Holly) prepared another great meal (I had another great meal with the Bradshaws last fall, so that makes it two for two). Eventually we left and headed to Waco to spend the night with Kelsey. We arrived around midnight to a house full of newly initiated Chi Omegas, watched an episode of the Office and caught some shut-eye.I woke up in the morning to bring Kelsey to class and head to Austin to pick up Erin and Marie from the airport. While waiting for them I ran into James McKinney, a friend of the Clinton School and student at the University of Chicago - it was nice seeing James and we got to hang out some over the weekend. When Erin and Marie arrived, I dropped them off at their hotels and went to meet the Clinton School students in Austin. After a quick minute with them, I headed to lunch with Marie, Shawn, and Tillman Scholars Nikki Lewis and Christien Crynes. We had a Texas meal at Stubb's Barbeque before leaving the Scholars and heading to meet with a potential Foundation supporter. This meeting was extremely successful and set the tone for a very successful weekend. That evening we attended the opening session of the Clinton Global Initiative University conference and social reception before heading out for a brief night on the town with Molly Brunkow and Berto Noensie. The first event held at the University of Texas' Gregory gym is where I captured this photo of Shawn, Berto, Nikki, Christien, Erin, and Kelsey.
The morning came early and we all got to the Convention Center just in time for the opening session. This was a great panel and afterward Marie, Shawn, and I went backstage to meet with some of the panel members. This day went by fast and I was able to perform both my role as a Clinton School student and as Program Coordinator for the Pat Tillman Foundation. We met with and approached many potential partners for Foundation initiatives, I ran into many friends from Arkansas (including 15 Clinton School students and many Clinton School staff) and new acquaintances from Arizona, and I even ran into friends from last year's conference and other events (including Dani from California, Anya from Minneapolis, Stephanie from Minneapolis who was at Slate 60, and the Winkelman sisters). This day ended during the night with a few bar drop-bys (a great one with Carly's friend Lyric), a dying phone, and an exciting pick-up in a crammed Celica with Sonic.We were up again early with some pan dulce from Christien's mother and on our way to east Austin for a service project at Rosewood Park and Community Center. I spent the day collecting trash and large pieces of metal - two shopping carts, two large metal light poles - from the creek with a group of other students. At lunch I was able to meet a few more conference attendees and have some great conversations before dropping Shawn and the Tillman Scholars off at the airport. This was an exciting morning with some notable volunteers in attendance.
With the conference over, I met my family members at REI and then parted ways with my sisters for the evening. Haynes and I got some barbeque at Stubb's and went to the Winkelman's house for an immediate redirect to restorative yoga with Eli and her mother. An hour of sleep-inducing positions and we headed to Frankie and Angie's for some pizza with the rest of the family. Then back to the house for some amazing tea and eventually out of Austin to Waco for another night at Kelsey's.In the morning, we left and brought Erin directly to the airport, had lunch with Wesley and said goodbye until April, and pulled over for a motorcycle cop. After a disappointing speed trap ticket, Haynes dropped me off at the airport 6 hours early where I slept and woke up to Clinton's interview from the day before on CNN and then I began "hangin' with Mr. Cooper."
I finally made it back to Phoenix and Stephen, my roommate, picked me up.
Haynes will be here soon. Our trip around the West is about to begin. I need to tie up all of my loose ends here first though.
*Our mom has always told us this true sentiment, and I believe it is a good guide to relationships: "Make new friends and keep the old, one is silver, the other gold." Likewise, my friend Carly tells me that she refers to friends from a long ways past or of gold status as "dear friends."
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