The Villa is right around the halfway point of our trek to El Centro, so we had a long drive ahead. We cruised through Arizona, Nevada, and finally hit the Golden State. This was one of the welcome signs.
We’d chosen not to bring the Tesla, because it would’ve added a few hours to our already long drives. As we crossed into California and saw the gas prices, though, I was wondering whether that extra time would’ve been worth it. No matter– we were here and just had to grit our teeth while we filled the tank.
It wasn’t long before the temperature was over a hundred degrees. Normally March is a pretty nice month in southern Cal: a nice warm eighty. But this pesky heat dome was baking everything. We finally arrived in the Imperial Valley and definitely had to stop at the Dunes.
We’d been there so many times, and had a lot of good memories of the warm soft sand. After hiking up a few of them, we headed to dinner in ol’ El Centro. Jerry and Keja met us there, and we had a happy reunion.
The next few days were a whirlwind of seeing friends, sharing meals, and remembering all the things we saw and did for a year in this little corner of the world.
Lunch with Tracy and Teresa at our favorite sandwich shop, Brickhouse Deli…
Being reminded that we’re well below sea level…
A few hours with Eileen and HV (who’s chair-bound but still has an indomitable spirit)…
Then dinner with part of the Brawley gang, including Dave, Vicki, Ben, Lee, Dale, and Karen…
We attended the Institute class we used to teach, and snapped a photo with Willa…
The next morning we woke up just after five to drive 30 miles to seminary. The class is smaller than when we taught, but four of “our kids”— Heidi, Amanda, Tyler, and Dael– are still getting up crazy early to learn about the gospel (the fifth is a freshman we hadn’t met until then).
After seminary we enjoyed a chat with Stacy, who’s as bubbly as always at seven in the morning…
We spent about an hour walking around Bucklin Park with our co-teacher Jen as she gave us all the news…
We worked up an appetite and headed over to a cafe for some breakfast with Elder and Sister Johnson, who are the senior missionaries who replaced us. We had a great time swapping stories about all the people we know in common, and hearing how their mission is going. Every couple has a different experience, and they’re learning (as we did) that missions are what you make of them.
We spent a couple hours with Stephen and Toni, who are about to move to Arizona after thirty-seven years in the same house in El Centro…
After that we popped in on Wayland and Brenda, who are always hilarious…
Lunchtime! We went back to Brickhouse Deli for a meal with my lunch buddy Woody and his fiery wife Marilyn…
To my great pleasure but not surprise, we ran into our friend Heather (and her mom Sue) at the deli. I was always bumping into her there…
That evening we arranged a dinner with the young adults and had a great time eating and catching up. We’re thrilled to see that the group has grown by a few people since we were last with them…
After dinner it was time for the other Institute class. No matter that the lesson was the same as the night before (the Johnsons did it the same way we had); we loved seeing Lorraine and Judy again…
We also bumped into Nathan, which was a fun surprise…
Then we had another early morning. We found out there was a food distribution during our brief time in town, and couldn’t resist lending a hand. Cari and Roberto were shocked and thrilled to see us…
Then it was time for Roots class, which is always a hoot. While waiting for class to start, we snapped a selfie with Zera, Judy (again), Licia, and Tamra…
After class we invited everyone to lunch, and caught up with Michelle, John, Margo, Mel, Stacy, and Woody…
Our packed days in El Centro had come to an end. But our reunions weren’t over quite yet. We drove an hour west into El Cajon to meet up with Sisters Johnson and Tennis, two of the young missionaries we’d served with (and some of the only ones we still know in the San Diego Mission)…
Both of them are finishing their missions soon, and it was so fun to see them again. Our final stop in San Diego was dinner and an evening with Robin and Jan, another of the senior missionary couples…
The four days went so fast, but we absolutely packed them full of friends and fun.