One year ago today – on August 1, 2014 – Claire and I left home to begin our Not All Who Wander Are Lost cross-country tour.

Besides all the memories of 20 days on the road together between father and daughter, what a year it has been for all the Browns, including:

• Memorable trips for work, including a quick visit to Galiacia.
• A wild baseball postseason.
• Fall and spring visits to see Andrew and Claire during their senior years at college.
• Two graduations in two weeks!
• My 60th birthday, and my father’s 90th.

And so much more.

So, a year later Candice and I took an early morning drive to BWI airport with Claire as she heads to her first job in Los Angeles…exactly one year to the day after we left to drive west for her senior year in college.  This time, after hugs and kisses, Claire navigated the incredibly long line to check bags through Southwest, missed her original flight, caught a stand-by flight that actually got her into LAX 15 minutes earlier than originally planned, and met up with her friend Susan for a couple of days of visits before orientation begins.  Me? After our regular visit to the Silver Spring Farmers Market, I took a very long nap.  Quite a different August 1st from last year.

We celebrated Claire last Sunday over brunch at Le Chat Noir in Tenleytown as she begins her year with the Episcopal Urban Intern Program in Los Angeles.  (The Episcopal Urban Intern Program is a year-long service learning project of the Jubilee Consortium – a group of inner city Episcopal parishes in LA working together to affect meaningful social change within their communities).  We are all so excited to see what’s next.

Hmmm…I think I feel a west coast trip coming up!

More to come.

DJB

Image: Claire and DJB head out on August 1, 2014, on our “Not All Who Wander Are Lost” cross-country tour (photo by Candice)