Girls day.

I truly have the best friends.  They are smart and kind, funny and caring, beautiful and talented, inspiring and adventurous.  They also call various parts of the country and world, home.  So when my wonderful friend Courtney told me months ago that she was making the trip from San Francisco to the Bethlehem area, she asked if I would be able to meet up with her for the day.  Obviously, I jumped at the chance and asked to take a vacation day.  It is not every day that one of your favorite former residents turned friend makes the 3000+ mile trip.  

Today was the day.  And I was so excited.  Yesterday was Lehigh's commencement ceremony so we decided to meet up near Lehigh, where Courtney was staying.  Can we just have a minute to talk about how I still cannot believe that I graduated from college four years ago?  Yeah, cannot believe it.  I loved college.  I miss college, but I miss being close to all my best girls always.  Miss our spontaneous adventures, and late-night chats, and having so many opportunities at our fingertips.

So this morning I drove up to Lehigh to meet Courtney for breakfast at Blue Sky Cafe.  This is far and away my favorite restaurant near Lehigh's campus.  It is seriously delish.  Courtney and I shared a veggie omelet and lemon ricotta pancakes with blueberry syrup.  We chatted and chatted, and left smelling like Blue Sky!

^^ Blue Sky Cafe! 

We met up with freshly-graduated Becca and decided to brave the humidity and take a nature walk/hike at Jacobsburg State Park.  It was gorgeously green and lush.  There were wildflowers all over, and the three of us were able to have some stimulating girl talk.  We are all at very different stages in our careers and lives, so we were able to share advice and insight, and I soaked every second of it right up.  

My fitbit indicated that we walked for about 4.5 miles.  Here are some photos from the trail.

^^ Jacobsburg State Park.

Of course, we had to document our fun with a sweaty, post-hike selfie.

^^ Jacobsburg State Park.  All nice and sweaty.

Even though we had eaten so much for breakfast, we decided to make the most out of our time in Bethlehem and ate another great meal!  Courtney and Becca had a food bucket list, and they invited me to join them for crepes at Full of Crepes.  It opened after I had already graduated, so it was my first time and it did not disappoint.  I could not pass up a sweet crepe, and that solidified how much of a sweet tooth I really have.  

^^ Crepes in Campus Square!

We capped off our great visit with some chatting in the shade in Campus Square where I made sure to rehash some of my best stories from my days as a Resident Assistant (Gryphon).  

Whenever I am at Lehigh, I always feel so at home.  My four years at that school built into the side of the mountain really shaped me into who I am today.  The memories that I made there are some of my favorite and most treasured.  I had some of my happiest times there and lived through some of the hardest times. (More about that in a later post.)  I experienced triumphs and tears, successes and failures, but I would not trade those times for anything in the world.  My heart is swelling with such wonderful memories and true love for Lehigh, my friends, and all the lessons I learned.  I'm not sure what I did to get this lucky, but goodness, I just adore my life.

^^ Just love the view from Lookout Point.  

I definitely left a piece of my heart on old South Mountain.  

Thanks, Courtney for coming to visit!  Maybe next time I see you will be in San Francisco so you can show me all the best places to go!  So glad you were on my hall five years ago. Long live Richards D2.

xoxo,

Megan