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!

Returning Home

I am still quite aware just how far behind this blog is... I also know that people have been reading it and would love to read the rest of it! The blog is definitely not finished! I will make sure that you all get to hear the rest of the story!!!

We are now home in California and adjusting to what it means to live life in one place again. If I'm honest, this is the hardest transition yet...for both of us. Yet God continues to provide for us each and every step of the way. Currently we are facing many challenges as we begin to re-start our lives. Money is extremely tight and hours at work are slow to build. Each day we still are able to eat! We do not yet have the money to have an apartment of our own. Friends of our have graciously opened up their home to us and given us as much of our own space as they can, including our own refrigerator. It has been such a blessing to us. We have a roof over our head. We've also been able to re-discover the clothes that we packed up in the attic before the trip. Our bodies are clothed each day. These are the needs God promises us that He will care for, and they are being met daily. We both continue to trust that He will meet the other financial needs that we face during this time of very little.

Emotionally the adjustment back to "reality" is difficult, especially in light of the 6 losses we experienced over the last year. We are both trying to figure out what it means to move forward without the ones dear to us. Grief has hit in a new way now that we no longer have the distraction of traveling. We are moving forward and working to process both the new normal and our grief. Each time it becomes overwhelming, God meets us through a song or a text or another encouragement. Uncertainty and unknowns are our normal. It can be daunting, but we know that our God is bigger than it all. So we continue to trust...just as we did on the trip, so also we must do at home.

We feel as though we have seen the beginnings of new adventures and cannot wait to see where they lead. Once a week we serve at the food pantry that our church offers to those in need. We have been greatly blessed by them during this season of our lives and are so excited to be a part of helping others! The past two weeks we have sorted the many many canned items that the kids of the church collected last week in their neighborhoods! It has been such an example of God's gift of abundance. Neither of us are sure where this will go, but for the first time in a long time we feel drawn to become involved in our local church. Before we left the trip was our main focus. Now it is time to invest in our local community. This trip was just the beginning. Now...it is our calling to continue on the Road Trip's legacy. We cannot wait to see where that leads us!

If you are interested in helping us financially restart or want some of the amazing photos we were able to capture, please visit our etsy shop here.

Thank you for the roll each one of you has played in our trip. We could not have done it alone! It has truly taken Christ's church body to accomplish this!

10/24-10/26: Maryland

We were honestly exhausted when we got to Maryland. The day before had been full with seeing Philadelphia and going to Delaware then we got up early and went to DC. We had been on our feed for those two days and put a lot of miles on the car. Our hosts were so gracious and welcoming that we immediately felt at peace in the home of strangers. This was exactly what we needed to rejuvenate and find refreshment. They were so excited to host us!!

Sunday was our main day there. We loved attending their church where they were talking about loving generously and living a life full of intentionally showing love to those around you. This is what our trip has been about! We were excited to see a church desiring to live this out in their day to day lives and to learn more about living this lifestyle of abundance through obedience to God and loving of others. That evening we visited the small group that our hosts' attend. Everyone knew we were coming, so it felt more like a reunion than an initial time of meeting. They asked us to share with them about the trip...so we did! Many people told us afterwards that they were encouraged to see people living out what they were studying. We too were encouraged to see how our lives are making a difference for people we had so briefly met! I think everyone left that evening with their hearts full. <3

The next day we enjoyed a relaxing morning and amazing conversations. :D We may not have toured much in Maryland, but we definitely left a piece of our hearts there.

10/24: Washington D.C.

Most of my memories of Washington, D.C. from this trip are of exhaustion. Alyssa and I had been on the go for quite awhile by this time without much down time to relax...and our bodies hit a the point of exhaustion melt down. Thankfully we were able to summon enough energy to make good memories from our time. (Even so, the underlying exhaustion does tint the memories quite a bit!)

Entering the city took some endurance since many of the roads were closed for a walk. We finally found a place to park in a 2-hour spot, but this meant returning back there instead of leaving the car in one spot for the whole day. Oh well!

Then we hurried to Ford's Theater before our ticket time! We were both thrown off when we were brought to the downstairs and then dropped off at the museum to wander around. It was so crowded with so much information that I absorbed very little of the information in the museum. Thankfully we signed up for a time when we could attend a ranger talk in the theater itself. Again, sitting in a place where important history took place brings up so many emotions. Neither of us had heard all of the details of Lincoln's assassination, so hearing all of the details in order was eye-opening. Staring at the box where he sat made me sad...and wonder how our country would be different if he had survived. We had the best intentions of going to see the house where he died, but, alas, had to move the car!

After re-parking the car at the cheapest parking structure we could find (that was a tricky, confusing venture!), our quest was to discover where to meet up for a national parks tour some of the monuments. When we finally made it to the location we discovered that few people know about the treasure of the free tours that the national parks service provides in D.C.! There were only 3 of us plus the tour guide. Our guide showed us the Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, and World War II Memorial. He shared with us a wealth of information about the meaning behind the structures as well as stories about the creation of them and response of the people. We learned so much!!

The sun was beginning to set as we finished the tour, so we decided that we should head to our host home in Maryland shortly. But first! we made the last minute decision to stop by the White House. There was security and barriers everywhere (so different from my last time there!) which made getting a good picture difficult. Thankfully we did a "picture swap" with a couple other people which turned out great!

Now that we had seen the most that we could in a day, it was time to bring our tired bodies to a home to rest...and not do much for a couple days...

(Btw, for someone who grew up in Washington State, the east coast term of "Washington" for what I have called "D.C." for years is very confusing!!)

10/23-10/24: Delaware

Delaware was probably the briefest visit to a state yet! However, we DID spend the night, so it counts towards our 50! ;) The day that we had set aside to visit Delaware, we ended up visiting Philadelphia. This means that our timing into Delaware was delayed more than anticipate. In our search for where to explore, we found a town on the coast that seemed to have the most to see. We wandered around the town and saw adorable houses and historic building. In our wanderings, we stumbled upon a beautiful park. Oh how I wish we had more than 30 minutes to enjoy the beautiful scenery! Enjoy some pictures from our time there:

After our brief stop at the park, we headed to dinner with a friend. She is one of my good friend's sisters who I have enjoyed some Thanksgivings with in the past. She technically lives in Maryland, but is JUST over the border from Delaware. I guess it counts as time in Delaware? I'm not quite sure. Anyway, she made us a wonderful meal of chili, corn bread, and local apples! What a treat! We had a wonderful evening of swapping therapy talk, since she is going into physical therapy and we are studying for speech therapy. So fun. :D

We then left to drive to our host family for the night. This was an amazing connection through a long chain of other connections that came together only a few days before we stayed! God is amazing in providing things...in His timing!! We were thankful to not have to pay for a night. Our night was spent with more talking and sharing about travel and ministry. What a blessing our night was with them. <3