Heading West Again: Colorado

Adding Colorado to our trek back across the country made us a bit nervous because of unpredictable weather. However, both of us felt a strong need to return. I'm forever grateful we did.

Our first stop was with my (Nicole's) extended family. My grandpa's body was fading from ALS by this point, so we knew it was important to stop one more time. This time around we stayed with my aunt and uncle. I loved being able to spend time with everyone in this house! My cousin's daughter brought so many smiles!!! We also spent hours with my grandma and grandpa. I soaked up all of my grandpa's stories that I could. His body was failing him, but his mind was still sharp. Alyssa and I sat and listened. The time was so precious. Right before we left, Grandpa insisted on coming out to see the new tires we had just gotten on the car. Despite the hurdles he had with his wheelchair, this was important to him. His last words to me were "They put those tires on wrong, but it'll be ok!" With that he wheeled into the garage...and we drove off. That was the last time I would see him until we meet again in Heaven one day. There are no words to describe how grateful I am for the FOUR times I was able to see him between June and November of this year. God gave those times to me, and I will forever be thankful. 

*picture of Grandpa and me while I was in college

Next we headed to Glenwood Springs for Alyssa to show me where her grandparents' lived. :) We had not known where to stay for this time, so as a last resort we had called her grandma's church and left a message. A few days later, Alyssa received a call from a couple willing to host us!! It was crazy! I love how God provided for us each step of the way. We absolutely loved staying with them. They were immensely welcoming and so very sweet. :D

During our time in Glenwood Springs we drove by two of Alyssa's grandma's houses and church as well as enjoyed lunch at a Chinese restaurant she enjoyed as a child. It was so fun to see where she had childhood memories, especially after having the chance to share mine with her the month before. :)

One of our other adventures while there was to hike up to an old cemetery where someone famous we had never heard of before, but was well known in the area, was supposedly buried. My lungs decided to act up on our way up, so we had to take it slow with many breaks. However, the views on the hike up were pretty incredible, PLUS we got to see snow on the ground for one of the first times on the trip. It was incredible how old the graves were in this gravesite...and tragic how young most of them were. We saw 1 that was above the age of 30. Many were children. How rough life must have been in the early days of the frontier!

My favorite memory of this time was the splurge that was made possible by the financial gift of my grandparents: going to the Glenwood Springs Hot Spring pools. I had always wanted to swim in a hot spring, and this was my chance! One of the pools was slightly cooler than the other, so that's where I spent most of my time. However, I was brave enough to join Alyssa in the 104 degree pool a couple times. ;) We loved our few hours of floating, talking, and simply relaxing. It was a gift and a chance for Alyssa to re-visit her childhood. <3

These stops in Colorado were almost not in the plan, but I am forever grateful that we chose to take the risk and do it anyway! The weather was amazing and clear for the entire time...although it snowed before we got there and the passes closed the day after we left!!! Isn't God good giving us the perfect timing?!

10/29-11/2: Heading West Again: Wisconsin

After our time in West Virginia, we began our trek west again. We wanted to be with our families for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I (Nicole) really wanted to celebrate my birthday with my family since usually I live too far away. So our deadline was November 16, but we wanted to take our time since by this point we were absolutely exhausted from our travels!

On our way back across the states, we had the opportunity to stay with friends we had met along the way! Since we don't know when we will return to Ohio or Nebraska or Iowa, the opportunity to see people for a second time was treasured. We made new memories, rested, caught up on admin work for the trip, and overall enjoyed a slower pace. Spending two nights at each place also allowed us to have  a rest day between each long driving day! Sightseeing and/or serving every day had left us worn out, so we greatly needed this time to connect with people again and just be us.

We took very few pictures on our trek back across because we spent most of our time either in Starbucks or hanging out in someone's home! There were a few special stops along the way: Wisconsin, Colorado, and Utah. I will dedicate a post to each of these stops. :)

And so...this is why Idaho was the first new state we checked off after West Virginia!!! ;)

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We had planned to stop by my dear friend's house in Wisconsin after our time in Michigan, but due to some unforeseen circumstances at her house, we decided to reschedule for our trek back. I'm so thankful we did because it was the best Halloween weekend we have ever had!

I had the opportunity to walk my oldest godson (A) to school, not once but twice. He asked me to do it both times with the cutest smile. I was also invited to a Halloween school dance (my first ever!...even if it was for a kindergartener ;) ). I motivated A to clean up the play room! I tried to win my way into my youngest godson (M)'s heart; Alyssa succeeded way beyond me on this one. For the first time since leaving on the trip, we forgot that our time there was part of something larger. It simply felt like we were spending time with friends. It was amazing!

One of the highlights was carving pumpkins! I carved a pumpkin with the directions of A. We even managed to give him hair. ;) Alyssa created pumpkin masterpieces, including Minnie Mouse, Mickey Mouse, and Darth Vader. A sat outside with Alyssa watching the pumpkins glow. He loved it so much that he insisted that we come back next year. If only we could make that happen...

We caught up on years worth of stories that had gotten forgotten during the times of long distance. We laughed over the actions of the pets. We bubbled over Disney.

I wish I could put into words just how much this weekend with this precious family meant to us (and to them!). It is hard to even describe how incredible this time felt.

10/26-10/27: West Virginia

Neither of us had any idea what to expect when we went to West Virginia as we had gotten mixed reviews from various people! We only had one night in the state, so we wanted to make the most of it.  Our first stop was Harper's Ferry where the town was protected by the National Park Service. The town was adorable and the surrounding area was breath-taking. We enjoyed wandering around the historic town. We considered going through a wax museum but decided that $8 for 15 minutes of our time wasn't worth it and opted to look for postcards instead! At one point 3 major trails, including the Appalachian trail, intersect. We walked across the bridge closest to the intersection...and saw both beautiful scenery and hardcore hikers! There is a lot of history in that location too, including Thomas Jefferson visiting and John Brown's raid. If you want to know more specifics, I'd recommend looking up the town name for more history since I cannot keep all of the facts straight! All in all we really enjoyed this little treasure of a town. (Our last minute plan additions were usually the best!)

*From the bridge where 3 trails met!

Our next stop was to the town of Wheeling. We really had no idea what to expect with this town, but the description of it sounded full of history and cute. It was to our surprise that we found a rather rundown, slight sketchy town when we arrived. After finding parking we walked to the visitor center where we found a kind lady who tried to give us the various options around town, but kept focusing on the casino that we really had little intention of visiting! Our first stop was lunch. The visitor center lady did give us a suggestion for lunch. It was at a fish sandwich shop that had been around for over 100 years. The fish was ok...but the onion rings were FANTASTIC. Yup, we found our favorite onion rings at a random market in Wheeling, West Virginia and will forever be craving them...

Outside of this Centre Market with the delicious onion rings, there were beautifully and whimsically painted parking meters! We took pictures of a few of them ;)

Then after a little trial and error we found an amazing museum with history about the founding of West Virginia in the time leading up to the Civil War when some of the people in Virginia did not want to succeed from the union. They ultimately formed their own state: West Virginia. We got the chance to see the location where the documents that brought this idea into reality happened. In the same museum was an exhibit about the importance of flags. It was a treasure in an unexpected town!

*The room where West Virginia became a state!