Blessed with an opportunity to stay over night at my Aunt’s house again, we gathered ourselves and decided which direction we were going to go. Sure, with everything against us we could start heading back south to Florida, call it a day. After all, we did see all of the East Coast, half the trip was done! How often do people get to say, “I traveled up and down the whole East Coast?” Not that often. What’s more rare than that though is, “I took a 90 day road trip AROUND the USA!”
How often have you seen me give up on something? I packed everything I owned, hopped in my car with no money, no job, and no real contacts and moved to Florida. This, really, is just the next step in the life of adventure. The decision was made; to the West!
Nashville was our first stop, and it was pretty cool place to be! Memphis was our second stop on our route. We HAD to have Memphis BBQ (so that we could compare it to Kansas City BBQ and apparently known to us now a place in Rosecran’s CA called Phil’s BBQ). And man, was it delicious! A dry rub BBQ and unlimited sauce on the side. A perfect combination of flavors. We walked down to the Jazz strip, but this time of year it was slow.
Making our way West, our next stop was Arkansas. We arrived late in Little Rock, and stayed the night there. We woke up very early the next morning and caught one of the most beautiful sunrises! Good friends from college put us up for the next night, and fed us gourmet home cooked meals. Spoiled with a spa bathtub and 3 square meals a day, great conversation and an opportunity to meet my twin. Life is good. Ballroom dancing at the Arlington was probably one of the highlights of the trip. The next couple of days was spent visiting with Adrian’s college friends, teachers, mentors, host family… the list goes on. It was very eventful, and so nice to finally put faces to all of his college stories. It was a great feeling having our life being spoken into from people I know molded Adrian’s life. Every day the trip goes on we find ourself seeing just a little glimpse more of what God is calling from us. As sad as it is going to be to see the trip come to an end, we are so excited to see what God’s big picture from the trip is supposed to be.
Driving from one Coast to another is a daunting task, unless you have friends and family scattered across the US! We have been blessed with friends new and old who have offered to put us up over night. Spoiling us with good company, video games, and great food. Tulsa was just another one of the stops we were spoiled at. Gifted with books from one of Adrian’s mentors and teacher. Taken down to one of the biggest displays of lights, we got in the Holiday spirit. Endless Christmas lights for miles! Though I would say one of our favorite times in Tulsa was just laying back with a cup of coffee, getting our butt’s kicked in Mario Kart. Life on the road is enticing, exciting, filled with adventure and mischief, but a sense of normalcy and belonging helps you recharge. It was like laying back with more friends we’ve known for a lifetime, eating cookies and talking. Those opportunities are priceless, and we’ve been gifted with many of them up and down the Coast and now the road West.
END The Trail West Part 1
The Trail West Part 2 will be up next Sunday! So keep us in your prayers!
Ashlee Karin 
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