Time With Wendy, Breakfast at Joseph's ... Part 11 of the Sentimental Journey

We are on the last leg of our journey to Virginia Beach. If all goes as planned by our trusty Magellan GPS, we should be there in less than 3 hours.

Yesterday, we were high in the Smoky Mountains, in God's Cathedral, listening to praise music and worshipping the Creator of all this beauty. We saw deer and wild turkeys and a fox, and even a glimpse of a brown bear up on a mountainside amidst the trees. We went over the Newfound Gap on icy,snowy roads, and entered the North Carolina side of the park.

From there we went down to the quaint town of Asheville, NC where we met up with one of our dearest, longtime friends, Wendy. (Some of you may remember her visiting us in Maui about 12 years ago. She came to our Ohana group.)









We stayed several hours at Wendy's cozy little house, reminiscing and sharing our stories with each other. Wendy had hosted Joey and Rachel in her home in New York two years ago, when they were traveling across the US. We cried together and we sat amazed again at how God has woven our lives together thru the good times and the struggles. What a treasure to have friends who know you thru and thru and love you still.

We ate breakfast in our hotel restaurant, coincidentally called Joseph's Restaurant. Another poignant reminder of the son we love and miss so much.

Seeing his name just reminds us of what an amazing person he was (and is) and that our lives are so much richer for having had him. Even if we had known we would lose his presence at age 28, we still would have chosen the privilege of raising him, and every minute and every dollar we spent on him. What an awesome man he was to all of us who knew and loved him, and someday we will meet again.