The warm June wind blew out the flame on a scrap of charcoal bag. Trying again, I lit the scrap with the Bic lighter in the protection of the grill lid and dropped it onto the bed of coals. This time, the flame caught, slowly spreading throughout the salad bowl sized pile. Leaning back in my chair, I smiled in accomplishment and opened a Sierra Nevada.
To the sound of a distant cab's horn and whirr of a nearby AC unit, Evan started packing the burgers between pulls of his beer.
Three years to the day before, Evan, Edge and I packed our essentials into the trunk and backseat of an Audi A4 and set out on a cross country road trip back from New England to Portland, Oregon. Like most 2o year olds, we did it all too quickly, taking turns driving around the clock through the dull stretches and cherishing the beautiful parts.
While on our three day stay in Southern Colorado, I borrowed Evan's DSLR one afternoon. Messing around with the settings on his Canon XTI, I shot the better part of a flash card before returning it with an ear-to-ear smile.
Intrigued, I bought a Canon XSI a few months later and started this blog .
The starter fluid burned off and the flames subsided as we chatted about our past adventures. Set to the stunning backdrop of the Manhattan skyline, nights spent sleeping in sleeping bags under the open sky felt worlds away.
Jacqueline Kennedy Reservoir at sunset.
"We have to get back on the road soon," I said longing for empty sunsets of Wyoming and Colorado.
"Can't wait, but this sure beats Omaha, Nebraska.." Evan chuckled.
"Yeh, we can skip those parts."
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