Freeways, highways and more roads

I am a brave soul who has conquered numerous local highways and interstates today.(plus allowed my 15 year to experiment with my nerves as she practices behind the wheel!) I couldn't use my creative sign  though because my husband and she revolted. I am trying to convince her that a Student Driver sign would keep people from honking or tailgating us! Other people on the road can be so impatient and just plain mean. On my own today, I drove north to have lunch with a college friend, who was our matron of honor 20+years ago; we have given up doing birthday gifts, and instead give each other lunch and time together. She took me to the Taphouse Grill, where they have 160 beers ON TAP! She obviously knows me well, doesn't she? Lunch and dessert were delicious, and so was the Erdinger Weisse that I painstakingly chose; we both wished for her husband's expert beer advice since he works very close to there. I guess he decided NOT to come because he thought we would talk about girly things--so, in his honor, we did a bit of that, plus talked about kids, jobs, books, religion and other things that I will never blog about. That's the beauty of having a friend who has known me well for at least 28 years--the conversations are just incredible. I can't even describe them adequately. If J. is reading this, I hope she tells her husband that we also discussed BAD hairstyles(from the blog) and mainly his--he does appear in one of my photos! According to his wife, his former hairstyle might rival mine for revolting. The waitress was kind of lousy, so I forced her to take this photo of us with our very nice hairstyles and satisfied faces.  After returning from the restaurant, I was planning to sit on J's deck overlooking Lake Sammamish, but got an "emergency" phone call from Alison. "Mom, I need a skirt for the gymnastics banquet tonight. We won't be allowed in without a skirt!" (and she knew about this how long ago?) Ashley wasn't home, Grandma wasn't answering, so I had to come home so that she could DRIVE me to look for a skirt. She can be a bit manipulative, don't you think? As my last drive of the day, I got on I-5,then another highway to get to the gymnastics banquet. ( Alison and I both in skirts!) Each gymnast got talked about and her accomplishments listed--Alison had a great season, so the list was long for her, as you dedicated readers know. In addition to that, her friend and she both won awards. Alison was the ONE in her group who was voted by the other gymnasts as the Most Valuable Teammate. She can be an infuriating teenager, but she is also positive, supportive, hard-working and very loyal to her friends. Nice job, Al; I am proud of you--now if I can just get you to drive on the road and not on the shoulder...