First loads… final coffee

Final coffee with the Chocolate Moon guys for a while….

May 22 — We were up and at ’em early to join the Chocolate Moon guys for morning coffee at Elijah’s. Fred has known these guys for 15+ years now, and when he lived out in Elmhurst, joined them on many mornings to ensure a good start to his day.  Since moving into the city, however, visits out to the ‘burbs to meet up with the boys have been less frequent.  Still, Fred finds the steadiness of this group and easy friendships a cherished part of the rhythm that is our life in Chicago.

As with our “NOT Goodbye” dinner with my city girlfriends last week, saying ‘goodbye’ is not something we want to do as we’ll be back in Chicago often over the next couple of years… goodbyes seem so final.  Instead, as John K. said as we were all leaving, “You know where to find us.”  Indeed, this group of guy friends will be thought of often when we’re Out There, especially during the Super Bowl, March Madness, Indy 500, Kentucky Derby and other sporting contests when occasion calls for drawing the winning team/racer/horse out of Jerry O.’s neatly-labeled jar of contenders.  Guys, we do know where to find you, and we’ll see you the next time we’re back in town….

While out in the vicinity of where our RV was, we dropped off an SUV load of “stuff” to take along in Charley. Our journey is becoming more and more real as we are now in serious packing mode back home.