Opening The Vault: Part Twenty Two

For as long as I can remember, travel has been one of my greatest passions. I’ve often said that I never met a trip I didn’t like.

The only thing better than exploring a new destination is sharing that experience with someone you love -- as I first discovered years ago when I visited long distance love Mark (a.k.a Sparky) in California.

A West Coast native, Sparky was the ideal tour guide. My inaugural L.A. visit included a drive up the Pacific Coast Highway (with stops at stunning Morro Bay and majestic Hearst Castle) and a visit to Disneyland.

The look of love: Sparky took this picture of me just before we arrived at Hearst Castle, August 1994

Unlike our blissful week together in London, though, this encounter forced me to see just how much was against us. I now Open The Vault and take you back to the summer of ‘94...

August 30th, 1994
Sparky’s Office, Universal Studios, CA

This vacation has been much bumpier than I anticipated it would be…The most disarming thing -- the level of intimacy our relationship has reached.

Part of the unadulterated freedom I felt with Sparky in London had to do with the fact that I was completely absorbed in the moment. Because everything between us was so new, thoughts of the future entered my mind only fleetingly, and even when they did, I didn’t attached any significance to them. This week, all that has changed.

For the first time in my life, I’m experiencing true love. And it scares me a little. For so long, I have yearned to have a great romance. What I never expected was that I would find something as intense, as passionate, and as near perfect as what Sparky and I share.

I find myself wondering over and over, how will all this resolve itself? The timing is wrong, but everything with Sparky feels right. In my years of mistakes with the opposite sex, this is one dilemma I’ve never had to face.

Well, Sparky just told me that I haven’t said two words to him, so I guess I should pretend I’m having a good time.

*Smile.* At least one thing is as I dreamed it would be--we are completely and truly in love.

* * *

Sparky remained on my mind and in my heart as I embarked on my senior year at Mount Holyoke College. Though I was determined our next encounter would have Sparky doing the traveling, that’s not what ended up happening.