Visit with the Newlyweds

After spending Tues-Thurs with our blood-related family, yesterday we drove back to the DC area to spend a few hours with some of our chosen family:  Michael & Jamie, also known as the Newlyweds.  (I refer to them as the Newlyweds because we attended their wedding in Sept of 2005 in MA, the 1st state to enact marriage equality, and called them the Newlyweds on my blog.  It just stuck.)

They live in Portland, OR but were on the east coast visiting family for the holidays and yesterday was pretty much the only day we could see them.  Since they were flying home immediately after our visit, we chose to meet them in Arlington, near the airport.  What better place to linger over a wonderful meal than Cantina Mexicana (also known as The Taco House)?!?!

The drive back to DC was terrible.  It rained the entire way, sometimes rather hard, and visibility wasn't very good.  In some places where the highway wasn't graded properly there were puddles of water on the road.  Some drivers acted as if it were a bright, sunny day and zoomed down the highway.  We saw 4 multi-vehicle accidents in the span of about 25 miles.

But the tense drive was worth it because we got to spend time with our very close friends.  They are like the brothers we always wanted, in sharp contrast to the brothers Spouse actually has.  Although the Newlyweds are 14 years younger than us, they are mature and settled, so we have always gotten along extremely well.  When both couples lived in Arlington we hung out a lot.  We spent a week with them in Puerto Vallarta in Feb 2013 and had a blast.

We talked about changes with their work/jobs, recent travels, upcoming travels, and the possibility of meeting them in Vancouver BC in July.  We talked about all 4 of us having recently spent time with family, family drama, real estate investments, pets, and future hopes and dreams.  I was amazed how quickly the time passed when I saw that we'd been eating and talking for 3 hours already.

After reluctantly saying goodbye, we both headed home; them via a 6 hour plane ride and us via a 2 1/2 hour car ride.  It was a wonderful visit.