Ask, and you shall receive.

I need to run by the Pacific Ocean.
I need sun.
I need…

I need not say anything further.

There are easily overlooked, yet tacitly understood qualities that comprise the people whom we count as good friends. These attributes include reliability, empathy, intuition— and maybe some components that are a bit preternatural. Who knows. What I do know is that when I find myself in need but suffer from a reticence to expose any weakness, these are the guys who are quick to understand and step up for me. All I’ve gotta do is utter a few basic sentiments of wanting, and then without fail, I get taken care of more than I could ever imagine. Your closest allies will do that for you.

The deep freeze of a wintery east coast has me reaching for my purple rollaboard suitcase. I need warmth. It would appear that I have loitered outside the boundaries of a proper winter for too long, and now my soft side is pitching a fit inside layers of stylish yet insufficient emballage. The newborn year and the task that is getting through January are getting to me just a tiny bit.

California.

Without giving it much conscious thought, I recently found myself hunting for a destination that would get me the heck out of town at a reasonable rate. Somewhere warm. Somewhere familiar. It wasn’t until I purchased my tickets that I commenced with reaching out to a cadre of friends who currently hold zip codes in the California environs. Were they going to be in town on a holiday weekend? Would they be free on such short notice? Couldn’t I be better about planning these types of last minute, long-haul trips? All these things considered, I had my doubts about their availability, but went ahead and sent out some smoke signals anyway.

We will give you so much more than sun.

So I reach out to some friends, and they’re there. Of course they are. And they have time, much to my excitement. What’s even better is that they all know me, and they understand my need to come west. All I really have to say is that I am coming. Everything else, to my unwarranted shock, falls quickly into place.

Be it beer, bourbon or Mexican eats, the recommendations of good friends will never lead you astray.

Isn’t it funny how we sometimes forget how fortunate we are to have people like this in our lives? You may not even see them as often as you’d like, but as soon as you do, it feels like just yesterday that the lot of you were on another continent and logging miles in strange and wonderful places. Trading conversation that is loosened and unbridled by the simultaneous activity that is navigating broken pavement or quaint cobblestones while pushing a jogging stroller. You miss these moments even if you don’t think about them every day.

A most warm welcome back.

And so a fast-forward voyage to the left coast starts and ends in the dark hours of an east coast morning. What’s funny is that each time I take a trip like this one, I never actually expect to find anyone on the other end of where I’m going. Stupidly, I always convince myself that I’m going to be doing everything on my own: arranging the logistics, the exploring, and the interaction with my environment. Invariably, however, the reality is always quite the contrary.

I don’t give my friends enough credit.

And they’ve even got wheels ready for you. Valid registration, on the other hand, well you’re on your own with that minor detail…

Without asking for anything more imposing than a few moments to catch up with folks, I suddenly find myself with the loan of a fantastic standard transmission Jeep that I can roll around town with in true California cool fashion. I get gracious offers of places to stay that make me feel stupid for even considering a hotel. People are making time for me. Time, in my opinion, is the most precious gift of all. What’s even better about this type of time is that my itch to run on the Pacific’s doorstep is fulfilled a thousand times over by these same people who understand where I’m coming from and take care of the details. Behold, the power of good friends.

Do your friends know how valuable they are to you?

It’s funny, because in reading this little trip report, it looks like I am just talking about how great it is to have people who will step up and cater to my silly whims. But that really isn’t what I’m trying to say at all. It’s so much more significant than that. I get just as much peace in running to the ocean’s soundtrack as I do by being reminded that I only get through my days by virtue of the support from people around me. The ability to appreciate the company of friends and family—no matter the coast or country— is really the best elixir of all. It chases away the winter blues, and it cancels out any sense that introversion or self-sufficiency is a viable mode of existence.

You’re never really going anything alone. It’s good to be reminded of that as often as possible.

California sunshine, by the way, makes this little life lesson go down a whole lot easier.