Back at the end of July, I made the drive up to Fresno/Clovis to see one of my dearest friends. Driving six hours through California, alone in a a Honda without AC... well let's just say I love her that much. Elly and I met way back in my freshman (her sophomore) year of Trinity Western. We were in the same dorm, and sort of knew each other, but not well. I came to college pretty messed up, confused, scared and alone. I wasn't too sure TWU was where I was supposed to be, and I felt like I had gotten into something I wasn't going to be able to handle. About a week into the school year, I had a major emotional breakdown. I was sitting out on one of the dorm's couches, listening to music on my headphones, and I just lost it. Elly came in, saw me, and without a single word, put her arms around me and sat quietly while I cried myself out.
To this day, her simple gesture is one of the deepest, most sincere acts of kindness and friendship I have ever witnessed.
Elly and I quickly discovered that we were both cut from the same quirky cloth. We were basically inseparable that year. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to come back to school my second and third year, so we got pretty good at the "long distance friendship" thing.
So, in July, I headed north to pay her a long overdue visit. Enjoy our photographic adventure!
We took a trip out to the Sequoia National Forest, which, needless to say, was absolutely gorgeous. The moment we were surrounded by trees, I felt my heart lighten. I'm sure I had a pretty big smile on my face the whole day... must be all the oxygen. And then... we got stuck in traffic. Yes, traffic in the mountains. A tree fell in the forrest, and apparently someone heard it, because there were a bunch of crews out on the road clearing it away. So we waited. Good thing Elly and I know how to stay entertained very easily... something we mastered back at TWU. And off we went again... This tree is named General Sherman. Yes, this tree has a name. It is the "largest known living single stem tree" in the world. Pretty sweet. Cheers.