Why we went to New York State....

It had been three long years since we had last seen our friends the Thursby's. When we planned our trip to the far distant land of upper New York State, everyone would ask why we were going on vacation there. As I would explain to them that we were visiting friends, I couldn't help but think back about when we met them.

The year was 2002 and TJ and I were newlyweds and had just moved to Central Florida. I had taken a job working at a utility located there right out of college. It was the first time either of us had lived more than a hour drive away from our family, and we did not know a single person in the Orlando area.

TJ was able to transfer his job as an apartment complex maintenace technincain to a complex right down the road from my new office. This is where he met Rachel, who was also working at the apartment complex as a leasing consultant. Rachel, and her husband, Adam, were the first friends that we made in Florida.

In the almost two years that TJ and I lived in the Sunshine State, we spent many weekends with Adam and Rachel. I'm sure that, at some point, they must have gotten tired of seeing so much of us. I have so many memories of time spent with them. General memories of the good times that we spent sitting on their porch discussing anything and everything, and the specific memories, like when they got their dog, Casey, and going to the hospital when their son, Tristan was born.

Tristan has always had a special place in my heart. The first diaper that I ever changed was Tristan's. He was so small and precious, and I was nervous about not having any sort of clue on how to change a diaper. But, with a little coaching from Rachel, I somehow managed.

The thing that I have always missed the most about living in Florida were the friends that we made there, especially the Thursby's. When we moved back to Alabama and they moved to upstate New York, it became much harder to physically visit them. We had to rely on computers, internet connections, web cameras, and phone lines to keep in touch.

Tommy was born and they had another son too, named Conner, which we had never seen. We investigated flying out to see them several times, but the price of the airline ticket always seemed out of reach for us. One day I saw an article online about Southwest airlines, which flies out of Birmingham, on their special airfare discount. It was a deal which was too good to refuse. I called to tell TJ about it, and he didn't even have to ask about where it was we should go, he simply said, "I'll call Rachel..."