The Summer of Joz & Jord

I’ve known my friend Jordyn since fourth grade, and he is probably the most entertaining person in my life. No matter my state of mind, being with him is always the ultimate serotonin-boost. Over the years, we have developed a mutual love of the Belly Laugh™, since one always ensues when we’re together. He’s also one of those people I’d never want to attend a funeral with, cause we can’t even get through the opening credits of a movie without cracking up.

We became a lot closer in high school, and now he is one of my very best friends. Earlier this year, it was so hard to tell him that I was going to leave for Italy in the fall. The time difference and overall acknowledgement of our distance was too sad to think about. So we decided not to think about it, and instead created The Summer of Joz & Jord.

We started with a bucket list, and decided that we’d try our best to complete everything on it (we didn’t). We’d document it all on video and on a disposable camera, and when we got the photos back, we’d make a scrapbook together with the pictures, receipts, and other ephemera that had been collected throughout the summer.

As you know, I’m in Italy now, but right before I left, we picked up our pictures at Walgreens and declared that, despite the couple of items we failed to complete, it was a very successful summer.

I got Jordyn’s permission to post some of our photos here, cause I think they’re too good not to share. Looking back at them makes me so happy, and I know I will treasure them forever.

The first photo taken on our disposable camera, featuring Jord’s dog Charlie.

Jordyn and Charlie.

Me showing Jordyn how to make crepes, a skill which he continued to use throughout the summer.

We forgot to take photos of the crepes when they were still in tact, so here is the aftermath.

Creepy smiles after Jordyn launched his Etsy shop. You can also see his amazing art on Instagram!

We’re really bad at taking photos of things we do *while we’re doing them,* so this is a photo of the strawberries on Jordyn’s kitchen counter after we went strawberry picking.

Walking up the hill in downtown Mystic, CT.

This was one of my favorite days of the summer. We went to the Mystic Aquarium, ate lobster rolls and soft serve, and blasted our favorite songs the whole way home.

Nighttime stroll at Misquamicut in Rhode Island. I wore too much navy blue this summer.

This is my absolute favorite photo in the whole batch. Disposable camera photos are often very mediocre, but occasionally magic happens.

We ate lots of ice cream this summer. Here’s me with a half-eaten soft serve twist from Iggy’s in Warwick, Rhode Island.

We raced to the Providence Place Mall, got lost, and spent a total of one hour shopping, because for whatever reason they close at 7 p.m. This is us in the mall’s parking garage, which has to be the most chaotic in all of New England.

On the ride home from Rhode Island, we bought lottery tickets and did not win.

Me with yet another ice cream, at We Li Kit in Pomfret, CT.

This is another one of my favorites: an awkward popcorn pose before watching Jungle Cruise and laughing nearly the entire time.

There are a few more, but these were some of my favorites. I hope you enjoyed! Even though we didn’t meet Trisha Paytas or invest in stocks (two crucial-but-incomplete items on our bucket list), The Summer of Joz & Jord was still a blast. I always look forward to spending time with Jordyn, cause I know it will be fun even if we have no plan in mind. I treasure our friendship and am so excited to continue our adventures when we reunite this December.

Thanks for a wonderful summer, Jord. Can’t wait for the next Belly Laugh™!

XOXO Joz