it was the greatest adventure of her life {thus far} // part i

{via pinterest}

the elderly clock struck eight in the living room, but the little soul snuggled beneath the quilted covers had been awakened far before the sun had kissed the eastern horizon. excitement surged every part of her being as she glanced at the calendar, ignoring the long days of waiting for this moment, now crossed out with x's - but instead, her eyes were glued to sunday the 22nd of July circled with stars. and at that moment, she knew the adventure which had taken months to plan was to begin...

{ready for the detailed account?} 

| DAY ONE >>  what had started as a dream, turned into a spoken thought, which then transformed into a reality. on Sunday morning on 22nd of July, I excitedly jumped out of bed and quickly logged onto Skype in hopes to greet my dear friend before the frenzy of preparations was to begin. the hundreds of miles that separated us, were ignored as we both were eager for them to melt away...
11:00 both of us [one from the north, and one from the south] made our way with our families to sunny Santa Barbara. I had to keep pinching myself in order to make sure I was not in a dream. Daddy parked the car, and took my arm {I like Daddy's strong arm linked with mine}, and we dodged the tide of Sunday tourists walking up and down the brick street. Chipotle's was bustling with customers, and my heart pounded with anticipation {it seems like I like to meet this girl in busy places, eh?}.

"we're parking right now," she texted.
"okay."
"we're almost there."
"can't wait."

I squirmed in my seat, still trying to make myself believe that one of my dearest friends was just around the corner {she likes coming around corners too, doesn't she?}.
 and there.  she.  was.  my dear old fashioned girl.
her beaming smile and her whole familia right behind her. after seven months, it felt as though sisters had been re-united again. embraces and were exchanged. squeals, laughter and smiles? oh, there was a lot of that too. we quickly ate lunch, discussing in detail what fun things she had planned for the week {a whole week in orange county with my darling friend seemed unbelievable!}. all too soon, Daddy bid farewell and I was settled into a big foreign, but-not-so-foreign van...and the second part of the car ride to L.A. began. the traffic on the three hour trip back to Johanna's house increased the number of hours, but both of us passed the time by talking about everything that dear friend's usually talk about. we listened to Owl City and Michael Buble as the VERY familiar scenery trudged by {two hours of traffic isn't all that fun, even if best friends are right beside you ;)}. we arrived at her house, around 7ish and snacked on watermelon {and kettle corn ;)} as we watched Captain America and I got Johanna hooked on USA's Psych {yes, I know, I'm a terrible influence on her}.       

>>---DAY TWO---> {monday} I admit, it was rather odd to wake up to unfamiliar voices talking out the window, and feeling as though I were floating above the ground {I chased Johanna's younger sister out of her own top bunk [for the last time, I know! I'm a horrible house guest!]}, taking a few moments to sort my bearings. the day started with homemade cinnamon French toast, and plans to go ice skating were settled. around 2ish, we packed up the car, and stopped for frozen yogurt {of course it had to be Golden Spoon}... 

{click here, if you want to see the unprofessional me ice skating}. the hour of ice skating passed all too quickly, and soon we were back in the car planning what fun things were to be done the next day...

 >> to be continued << 

xx's,

the girl in the garden.