Small world

I feel like I've spent more nights away from home than at home in the past month! Right now Amanda and I are in Fredericksburg, Va., for Keely's graduation from the University of Mary Washington. It's just a quick trip, but traveling with Amanda is always fun. As soon as we got in the car today she pulled out about 15 of her famous mix CDs she's made over the years and it was like listening to the best radio station ever but being able to skip the bad songs.

While we were driving this afternoon I realized this trip completes my No. 33 (visit three out-of-state cities I've never been to). When I put that one on the list I was definitely thinking more along the lines of San Diego, Chicago and Juneau, but Fredericksburg, St. Simon's Island, Ga., and Greenville, S.C., count, too.

We had dinner and drinks with Keely and some of her friends tonight and I mentioned that Kaitlin, who also went to Mary Washington, is on the school's website. (Check it out: She's the pole vaulter at the top of the athletics page.) It turns out that one of the girls we were eating with graduated from Mary Washington about the same time as Kaitlin and knows her (remind me to tell you about that, Kate!).

I love being reminded what a small world this is. One classic example is the time Grandma and Grandpa were visiting us from Atlanta when I was about 10 or 12 years old. We were all standing in line at Hardee's for breakfast, and Grandpa, who could and probably would talk to a brick wall, had struck up a conversation with the kid in front of him. Grandpa told him he was from Atlanta, to which the kid replied, "I know someone who lives in Atlanta! His name is Ellis Loyd" -- to which Grandpa replied, "That's my son!" Now what are the odds of that happening?