Friday, May 21st-Saturday, May 22nd: Visiting Saul
On the weekend I found free in the midst of all the madness, I made an appointment to see Saul. We hadn�t seen eachother in 6 months and the distance was really doing a number on us emotionally. The date to see him kept getting pushed back for either financial reasons or weather related issues. My dad was kind enough to loan me the money to rent a car because none of our cars would be able to make the distance with the assurance that the car would remain in one piece.

After work on May 22nd I made the long journey up to Kettleman City which is about 2.5 hours away and very close to Avenal. The traffic was horrendous, it took me 3.5 hours to get up to the hotel. I was really tired by the time I arrived. I stayed at the Super 8 and it was so nice! It was just like the inside of the Marriot, roomy, lots of light, and it had a refridgerator and a microwave plus free high speed internet! All that just for under $70! I was very happy!

When I woke up the next morning, I found my way to the prison very easily and underwent the whole visiting screening process, waiting for the vans to drive us to the appropriate yard, and then waited until Saul came out. He looks really thin, that concerned me but other than that he looked good, his hair is really long now.  I felt numb at the beginning, I guess because of the drive the night before and I felt like I wasn�t really there. After a while it went away and we talked, joked around, ate some food. The token machine for the photo booth was FINALLY operating so we took a picture together.

Isn�t he handsome? *swoon* I�m really excited about him coming home on the 21st of this month! It�s not without some dark clouds ahead, there are still holds in other counties and the parole situation to hammer out. I pray that when he comes home he stays home. We keep talking about the future and what it means for us as individuals and us as a couple, we know it�s going to be a rough road to travel but we want to walk it together. We�ve been waiting for a long time to be with each other the way we should have been before he got taken away and this past year and 7 months has been brutal, overwhelming, just plain hard but it�s not without it�s rewards. We�re still together and we want to work everything out and plan for the future with whatever comes our way. I love Saul very much and I still feel like the happiest girl that he loves me so much, too! Today I got a post card from him telling me not to forget my property that I need to pick up in Avenal on the 21st!

When I left, I came home in zombie mode for the most part. I was fatigued but I had a practice the next day that was very important. Plus I had the coolest car, a Toyota Corolla, that was just superb on gas mileage! It went 200 miles on half a tank and it only cost $20 to fill up! I was incredibly happy with that car save from the fact that it did not have cruise control on that particular model. I want this car most definitely if and when I save up the money!

Things are still weird but he's my love and I do what I can to keep close to him. I am going to wake up so happy the day I get to take him home <3

Onward and forward...