Getting Away Together

Despite the 900+ miles that separate us, Sara and I usually try to connect at least once a week. Sometimes talking, more often texting, we find ways to stay closely connected.

But nothing replaces the quality time enjoyed with a friend in person. We both realized we were long overdue for a few days of ‘Julia-Sara time.’ Our last trip together was a long weekend in January, 2023, at the Chatham Bars Inn on Cape Cod, where we worked on our 100^th blog post together, celebrating this milestone that was hard to believe we had somehow reached less than two years after starting our friendship blog.

We’ve seen each other several times since then; Sara was in town with her family for my birthday weekend last November, and they came again to Chicago briefly last April, when we took in a fun Cubs baseball game together. We had even sketched out options for a 1:1 weekend getaway, but life kept getting in the way.

I started a new job in September of 2023, then moved to a new house, and was busy planning my wedding to my husband Mark for May 2024, which Sara officiated. Then it was my son’s senior year of high school, and Sara’s family was hosting an exchange student. I didn’t want to miss any of my son’s final year of high school sports, and other weekends were filled with college visits, and Sara had an extra kid to parent.

This past summer, we finally nailed down this weekend in mid-October. We had hoped to visit Kentucky, where so many of our early friendship memories were made. But cost and logistics stood in the way, so we ended up in Milwaukee. It’s a 90-minute drive from my home, and Sara was able to fly into Chicago and spend time with her son at Northwestern University before we headed north.

In life, it’s not where you go – it’s who you travel with.

Charles M. Schultz

Milwaukee turned out to be the perfect destination. And a reminder that for an overdue friendship reunion, just about anywhere can be right for reconnecting. We stayed in the beautiful, historic Pfister hotel, spent hours catching up over breakfast, and explored Milwaukee’s waterfront and Historic Third Ward.

We’ve had the perfect weekend, with a low-key agenda. Our flexible schedule meant we could savor the champagne presented to us at check-in and spend time in the lobby listening to the resident pianist. On our second evening we briefly crashed the Wisconsin Humane Society gala, meeting several sweet adoptable dogs. The only thing left to do is plan our next getaway, hopefully sooner than two years from now.