Last Saturday, I went for a walk at Celestial Park in Addison, TX.  When I go walking, I like to take my camera with me just in case I find something pretty or memorable.

I had finished walking through the park and was about to find a bench to sit on to read for awhile, when a couple walked up behind me.

The man immediately said hi and asked if I lived in the neighborhood.  I said no.  That I was just visiting parks in the area for the day.  They introduced themselves as John and Sherry and immediately asked if I had been down to the creek yet.  I said no, and they jumped right in and asked if I wanted to walk with them.

As I’ve said a number of times before on this blog, I’m an introvert.  And I was off on a weekend to be by myself.  I was enjoying my morning of doing my own thing.  And who walks with strangers??!!

So, going against everything that is normal, typical Stephanie…of course I said yes!  (Crazy!!)

We started walking through the neighborhood and they asked me if I knew the history of Addison.  All I know about Addison is that it’s the town where my husband works and they have lots of restaurants.  So, no.  I don’t know anything.  But I quickly learned all about it!

As we walked down a street, a man and his daughter who were walking their dogs walked up.  John and Sherry introduced me to their neighbors like we had been friends for years, and we stood there talking with them for a few minutes.

Then we walked a little further, and a guy who was also walking his dog walked up.  Again, I was introduced as if we were best friends!

We walked through the creek area, and my new friends told me stories from their lives.  Amazing stories of travels, work, friends, their city, etc.

When we got to the point where we were going to turn around, John asked if I had seen the gazebo nearby.  I hadn’t, so we walked over to where it was, and John was like “We have to take pictures of you at the gazebo!”

So, of course…we did!  (Crazy!!)

As we were nearing the end of our walk, Sherry just so happened to have one of their business cards in her pocket and gave it to me.  John said they had dinner plans that night or they totally would have invited me over for dinner!  (Crazy!!)  But he said we should all get together for dinner another time…me and Chris, John and Sherry.

When we got back to my car, John gave me a big hug and kissed me on the forehead.  Sherry also gave me a hug and thanked me for being brave enough to walk with them.  I got in my car, and as I was driving away, we waved goodbye one last time.

When I got home on Sunday, this was the first story I told Chris.  I was so excited!  I was blown away by this experience and couldn’t wait to share it with him.

Who goes walking with strangers?!  How in the world did I fall so in love with these people in such a short time?!  How can I get more of these experiences?!! 🙂

On Monday, after checking with Chris to make sure he was cool with it, I sent John and Sherry an email thanking them for our walk and asking them if we really could meet for dinner.  It wasn’t long before I got a response.

And so, in a few weeks, Chris and I will be having dinner with our new friends!  New friends!!  How crazy is that?!!

All from a little walk in the park!