When everything lines up....

Sometimes all you have to do is sit still without any expectations.....and let's be frank, that is hard for me to do.....no doubt it's hard for many of us to do.  Serendipity knows who you are, and where you are, but she doesn't like you to force her out into the open.....she prefers to work behind the scenes and surprise you.

Well, you can only imagine our surprise when we heard a knock at the door around 10:30 am and I opened the door to see Ashley standing there.  We first met Ashley and Linda at the Newell Gurus Spearfish Mini Rally back in June.  They departed Spearfish the same day we did, only they headed for Montana, while we were headed for Alberta, Canada.  Ashley and Linda own a late model Newell, and Ashley has been retired from being a pilot for Southwest Airlines for a couple of years now, and they also fulltime, just as we do.  As it turns out, their Montana destination was Polson, MT.....I'm sure at some point Ashley mentioned this was their destination, but I had forgotten, and frankly I didn't even know where Polson, MT was until we were in Columbia Falls a few days ago.  Well, Ashley noticed a post I had made on the Newell Gurus site about our current location, and figured out which park we were in...there are only three here, and they are only a block, or two apart.

Linda and Ashley at the Newell Gurus Mini Rally in June

We talked for a few minutes and then made plans to get together for lunch down in Ronan, MT at the Ronan Cafe.  This little cafe is run by a Quaker family, and everyone we have talked to raves about their food.  So, Ashley and Linda picked us up around Noon, and we headed south to Ronan.  US-93 turns into a divided highway south of Polson, and I was actually surprised at how big the town was.  We had a lovely time chatting, and catching up, and really enjoyed the lunch!  Yelp gives this little cafe 4 stars.....I'm leaning more toward 4.5 stars.....connected to the cafe is an antique store....that gets the extra 1/2 star!

It seemed like we had barely gotten back from lunch when our good friends Chris and Cherie, of Technomadia fame, pulled into the park in their vintage GM bus conversion.  Our paths have crossed with Chris and Cherie a few times this year, and most recently in Billings, MT where they spent 6 weeks having their Detroit Diesel 8V71 rebuilt.....you will recall I wrote about this in my blog entry for July 1st.  Well, within the past 10 days their rebuild has been finished, and they are now back on the road.  We are so, so pleased they caught up with us here in Polson......we were not expecting to see them again for a long time, and frankly that thought kind of hurt our hearts a little......BUT Lady Serendipity had other ideas, and are we ever so glad we decided to stay here two more days!  We had only found out late Monday night of their plans to rendezvous with us here in Polson.

Just after Chris and Cherie landed

We ran over just as they were positioning their coach in site #29, exchanging hugs and greetings.  They had some work to do, and plus they had not eaten breakfast yet, so we made plans to walk into town with them around 5 pm to Fiesta En Jalisco for margaritas and Mexican food.

Just around 5 the cloud cover rolled in like it has been doing the past few days, and so our walk into town was quite pleasant as the afternoon air began to cool.  We asked for seating out on the deck, promptly ordered a pitcher of Cadillac Margarita's, and then clinked glasses together in celebration of our paths crossing yet one more time.  I ordered the Carne Asada again.....of course!

Carne Asada.....now doesn't that just make your mouth water?

Cherie had a Mexican omelette.....hmmm...that looks good too!

We sat there talking non-stop enjoying the early evening breezes, and the view......before you knew it we had gone through a second pitcher of Cadillac Margaritas.  Every time we get together with Chris and Cherie it's as if no time has passed, and we just pick up where we left off.  We learned that after they leave us they are heading to the Oregon coast to be lighthouse hosts for the month of September.....I want to do that!  Well, maybe in a year, or so, but I want to do that!

After dinner we walked down Main Street past another local museum......love this cool shot!

I learned today that Flathead Lake is the largest, natural fresh water lake west of the Mississippi!

Naturally, since we were so close, we introduced them to Glacier Brewing Company on 10th Street.....we each ordered a pint (except for TLE who was still full from dinner), and went out to the patio where the conversation continued until closing time at 8 pm.

We arrived back "home" around 8:30 and agreed to meet outside with lawn chairs in a few minutes to continue the fellowship under moonlight.....we talked on until around 10:30 when the sprinklers came on bringing an abrupt end to the festivities......I'm not sure my camera lens is big enough to capture the ear to ear grin on my face right now.

This is really just a quarter moon, but my phone camera makes it look like a full moon....

What a great day for the unexpected!  What will Wednesday bring?

Thanks for stopping by!