Monday, June 14, 2010

"Sunday Adventures" and Good Friends

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- I've made a lot of good friend over the years. Some have come and gone, and others have stuck around for a long time, for which I am most grateful. One such friendship began years ago in Provo at BYU. I dated Brandon Erickson's roommate, and long after that relationship ended, Brandon and I still remained friends. I think our friendship was finally solidified though when we were bored on Sunday afternoon during the summer of 2004. He and his roommate, another good friend, came up with the idea of "Sunday adventures." We piled in his roommate's (and my friend's) SUV and took off for a rocky, bumpy drive through (literally) Provo canyon... all the way to the other side. "Sunday adventures" stuck. At least the concept stuck. And so did the friendship.
Me, Nicki Dittemore, Jordan Muhlestein and Brandon Erickson on our first Sunday adventure in 2004

After our BYU days, Brandon left for Arizona, and I left for Washington and Florida. It seems funny to think about now, but I think most of our "chatting"/catching up times were via MSN Messenger. Brandon soon moved to Richmond, Virginia, where he was accepted to dental school at VCU. In his class was Brian Richman, who Brandon introduced to my twin sister Brittany, on a weekend visit to Washington, D.C. Less than a year later, Brian and Brittany were married. What a good friend, eh?!

Since then, I have made the move to D.C., (just an hour and a half north of Richmond). On my way to D.C., I stopped in Richmond and Brandon and I took a "Sunday adventure" through University of Richmond's campus and Brandon gave me the grand tour of Richmond. Brandon still frequents our nation's capitol on any given weekend. We're still buddies, just like we have always been. And at times when I take the trek down to Richmond, Brandon and I will get together too. He's just one of those people you know who will always be there. Well, Brandon (and Brian) graduated from dental school a few weeks ago. And now Brandon is moving across the country again to his home state of California. We had one last "Sunday adventure" together before he left... though it was on a Wednesday. It's nice to have good friends stick around... especially when they can teach you a lesson or two about what it really means to kick back and have an "adventure" every one in a while. Brandon is a living example of that.
Brandon and I, May 2010 in Alexandria, VA

Good luck Dr. Erickson! Rest assured I'll be visiting the Golden State for some adventures!

4 comments:

Brittany said...

I'm pretty sure I was on that first Sunday Adventure, too. I guess I am the one who took that picture?

It'll be weird not having Brandon nearby after all these years!

Lorena said...

Cute story! What a great kind of friend to have.

Jared and Paige said...

Sunday adventures sounds like a great idea--perhaps a tradition we should start to make Sundays a special for our kids. :) I read a few posts back, and guess what? My parents just moved to the outerbanks of NC. After your post, I'm even more excited to get out there and see them AND the beach. It looks beautiful!

Jordan said...

Sunday Adventures!
Those were so much fun. I remember always coming back more tired, dirty and irreverent than I planned, but I loved them all.