This morning I start with trail running up the mountain again. I manage to get to the top in just under half an hour, ten minutes faster than last week so I’m content. I sit down at the rocks at the top again, but my little chipmunk friend isn’t here this time. I leave the seeds I brought with me for him and after having rested for a moment I run down again via the back of the mountain. I must have missed one trail, because the run is longer than last time, but that’s okay since it’s still early and I have all the time.
Back home I have breakfast and then I drive to one of the local Starbucks coffee places where my friend is the store manager. She gives me a tour in the store, shows me how everything works and let’s me make my own cappuccino, so cool! We both have to do a lot of work on our laptops, so we sit down at some of the tables in the store and work until the start of the afternoon. I don’t mind working today, because tomorrow I go back to nature when I’ll visit Glacier National Park. The park isn’t fully open yet, but this morning I heard from a hiker that you can drive into the park and walk to beautiful areas. Usually I’m in Montana in Fall or Winter, so I never had the chance to visit the park yet and I’m excited to see it this time.
I work until halfway the afternoon and then go back home. I bake some cookies in the kitchen, because we get guests this afternoon and evening. Brian and Alyssa, other grandchildren of my grandparents are visiting and they brought their one year old son. We sit outside and have a fun time. It looks so unreal to see them as a family now. The last time I saw them they were still dating and now they have a son and she’s pregnant of a second one. I can’t imagine how it would be to have children myself. Other friends of my grandparents, Nick and Sharon, are visiting as well. I’ve known them for several years now and it’s nice to see them again. Amy Sue and Wes who I visited at the start of the journey are Sharon’s sister and brother in law. We talk about my visit to them and I think about how long ago that seems. It’s only five weeks ago, but it feels like a lifetime.
We have diner all together outside and hang out until it gets colder. When our guests have left, we watch more episodes of Last Man Standing. Since I won’t be home tomorrow night, we figure we can watch some more today. The evenings with watching this show together are one of my favorite parts of staying with my grandparents. We laugh so much together and sometimes it feels like I watch a whole episode long. I haven’t done much exercise during this journey, but these evenings are probably very good for my abs, haha!
When we go to bed I say goodbye to my grandparents and that I’ll see them again on Wednesday, because I will probably depart tomorrow morning before they wake up. It’s about four hours driving to Glacier National Park and I’d like to be there around noon, so I have a whole afternoon to spend in the park. I’m excited for the beautiful nature to see tomorrow and Wednesday.
