WELCOME TO OUR JOURNAL OF MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCES DURING OUR LIFE’S JOURNEY, ALONG WITH A PEEK INTO SOME OF OUR PASSION PROJECTS AND GROWING LIST OF HOBBIES, AND MAYBE EVEN SOME MINDFUL THOUGHTS FOR US ALL TO PONDER.
MOST OF WHAT WE SAW IN VIRGINIA WAS WHAT WE COULD VISIT WHILE STAYING JUST OUTSIDE OF D.C., WHICH WE LEARNED IS REFERRED TO BY LOCALS AS THE DMV AREA (D.C., MARYLAND, VIRGINIA).
SO, WE APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE TO ALL VIRGINIANS BECAUSE WE WEREN’T ABLE TO EXPLORE MUCH BEYOND THIS AREA, BUT, WE WERE CERTAINLY IMPACTED BY WHAT WE WERE ABLE TO SEE…
Read MoreIN THE MATTER OF A COUPLE OF MONTHS, WE WENT FROM CLUELESS TO ALMOST-EXPERTS WHEN IT CAME TO THE SET-UP AND TEAR DOWN OF OUR AIRSTREAM.
ALTHOUGH WE HAD A GREAT TRAINING SESSION FROM OUR FRIENDS AT WOODLAND TRAVEL CENTER BEFORE WE LEFT IN WHICH WE RECORDED AS MUCH AS WE COULD, YOU DON’T REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING UNTIL YOU HAVE TO DO IT ON THE ROAD. AND THANKFULLY, IN TIME, WE’VE FINALLY GOT IT FIGURED IT OUT. WE THINK…
Read MoreHIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO US WAS PRINT CLUB AT THE NEWARK PRINT SHOP. MY FIRST TIME SCREEN-PRINTING, I HAD AN ABSOLUTE BLAST.
IT WAS SO COOL TO EXPERIENCE, LEARN, AND TAKE PART IN THE PROCESS, ESPECIALLY SINCE ALL OF THE [HAS HEART] SHIRTS ARE SCREEN-PRINTED. TYLER DESIGNED ME A LITTLE [HAS HEART] INSPIRED CAT GRAPHIC WHICH WE PRINTED ON…
Read MoreIT’S ACTUALLY MIND-BOGGLING HOW OLD YALE IS — IT WAS FOUNDED IN 1701! AFTER WALKING AROUND CONNECTICUT’S VERSION OF HOGWARTS FOR A WHILE, WE POPPED INTO THE YALE UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY.
MY FAVORITE PART OF THE GALLERY WAS THE STUNNING HALL LINED WITH TALL PANELED WINDOWS LETTING LIGHT POUR ONTO THEIR ANTIQUITIES COLLECTION. IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL REMINDER HOW HUMANS HAVE BEEN MAKING IMPECCABLE ART FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS…
Read MoreIT’S ACTUALLY MIND-BOGGLING HOW OLD YALE IS — IT WAS FOUNDED IN 1701! AFTER WALKING AROUND CONNECTICUT’S VERSION OF HOGWARTS FOR A WHILE, WE POPPED INTO THE YALE UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY.
MY FAVORITE PART OF THE GALLERY WAS THE STUNNING HALL LINED WITH TALL PANELED WINDOWS LETTING LIGHT POUR ONTO THEIR ANTIQUITIES COLLECTION. IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL REMINDER HOW HUMANS HAVE BEEN MAKING IMPECCABLE ART FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS…
Read MoreI THINK ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT THE LIBERTY BELL AND INDEPENDENCE SQUARE WAS YES, THE CELEBRATION OF INDEPENDENCE FOR OUR NATION, BUT ALSO THE OPPORTUNITY THAT WAS TAKEN TO POINT OUT THE HYPOCRISY OF OUR NATION’S ORIGINS, THAT IT TRULY WASN’T FREEDOM AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
HISTORY BOOKS MENTION BITS AND PIECES OF IT, BUT IT’S NOT UNTIL YOU’RE IN THESE PLACES WHEN YOU CAN ACTUALLY FEEL AND IMAGINE THE DEEP ROOTS OF PREJUDICE IN OUR COUNTRY, SOMETHING WE’RE STILL DEALING WITH HUNDREDS OF YEARS LATER…
Read MoreYES, OUT-OF-TOWN TOURISTS (INCLUDING US) ARE PARTAKING IN THE SORT OF BIZARRE ACTIVITY OF WALKING BY MANSIONS IN AWE, PEERING THROUGH THE GATES AND WONDERING, “WHAT THE HELL IS IT LIKE TO LIVE IN THERE?"
A FEW OLDER MANSIONS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS MUSEUMS, CHARGING PEOPLE TO FIND OUT WHAT IT’S LIKE TO LIVE AS A RICH PERSON. BEING ON THE TIGHTEST OF BUDGETS IMAGINABLE, WE DIDN’T EXACTLY PAY TO GET IN…
Read MoreAFTER A COUPLE NIGHTS SPENT IN CABELA’S PARKING LOT IN HUDSON, MA, WE WERE PRETTY EXCITED AND SLIGHTLY ANXIOUS TO GET TO BOSTON, OUR FIRST “MAJOR” CITY STOP ON THE TOUR. AFTER SETTING UP CAMP AN HOUR OUTSIDE THE CITY, WE PARKED ON THE OUTSKIRTS AND WALKED ACROSS THE CHANNEL WHERE THE BOSTON TEA PARTY PROTEST HAPPENED IN 1173, “NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!”
THIS IS GOING TO TURN INTO A HISTORY LESSON, ISN’T IT?…
Read MoreAFTER SPENDING A COUPLE NIGHTS IN A HOLDING PATTERN IN PARKING LOTS AT A CABELA’S IN MAINE AND THEN A WALMART IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, WE FINALLY PACKED UP THE CAR WITH DRINKS AND SNACKS FOR THE ROAD.
AN HOUR OR SO LATER, WE FOUND OURSELVES ALREADY IN PORTSMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE — A MERE 68 MILES LATER! WE DIDN’T EVEN GET A CHANCE TO EAT OUR FAVORITES: PEANUT BUTTER M&M’S. SAD, I KNOW.
TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, THIS WAS WHEN NOEL HAD HER WORST MOMENT ON THE TOUR…
Read MoreLEAVING VERMONT, WE HEADED EAST INTO THE WHITE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST NEAR THE STATE LINE OF MAINE. WITHOUT ANOTHER CAR IN SIGHT, WE STOPPED THE TRUCK AND TRAILER ALONGSIDE THE WILD RIVER AND ROLLED OUR WINDOWS DOWN TO BASK IN THE FRESH MOUNTAIN AIR. WITH BIRDS SINGING ALL AROUND US AND THE RIVER FLOWED PEACEFULLY PAST US, WE WERE IMMERSED IN A MOMENT OF NATURE AT ITS FINEST.
IN A WORLD WITH A BILLION MOVING PIECES AND CONSTANT NOISE ALL AROUND US, THERE AREN’T MANY OPPORTUNITIES IN OUR DAY-TO-DAY LIVES TO PAUSE AND BE ONE WITH OUR WORLD, BUT THIS, THIS WAS ONE OF THEM…
Read MoreAFTER A FEW HOURS OF PLAYING “LET’S-GUESS-HOW-FAST-WE-SHOULD-BE-DRIVING” DUE TO US NOT KNOWING HOW TO CHANGE THE TRUCK’S DIGITAL SPEEDOMETER FROM MPH TO KPH, WE ARRIVED AT OUR HALFWAY POINT FOR THE NIGHT ALONGSIDE LAKE ERIE AND JUST OUTSIDE NIAGARA FALLS.
NOW, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT IS STILL A BIT OF A SORE SUBJECT AS WE HAD JUST EMBARKED ON THE ROAD WITH A BRIGHT NEW AIRSTREAM TRAILER AND SHINY BLACK TRUCK, BUT AFTER A COUPLE MINUTES OF TYLER BACKING THE TRAILER INTO OUR CAMPSITE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER AND ME ATTEMPTING TO GUIDE HIM IN, THE BACK CORNER OF THE TRUCK HIT THE…
Read MoreAFTER OVER A YEAR OF PLANNING, COUNTLESS EMAILS, PITCHES, GRANT APPLICATIONS, CONFERENCE CALLS, AND MEETINGS, THE DAY TO HOOK UP THE AIRSTREAM AND HIT THE ROAD FINALLY ARRIVED.
LIKE ANYTHING EXTENSIVE YOU PLAN FOR, YOU’RE STILL NOT READY WHEN THE DAY COMES. KNOWING WE HAD SOME BUFFER BUILT IN BEFORE OUR FIRST STATE PROJECT DAYS IN BURLINGTON, VERMONT, WE PUSHED BACK OUT LAUNCH DATE A COUPLE MORE DAYS. IN RETROSPECT, THE DAYS LEADING UP TO OUR DEPARTURE SEEM LIKE A TOTAL BLUR…
Read MorePLANNING AND EXECUTING A FIFTY STATE TOUR DOESN’T JUST HAPPEN OVERNIGHT. THIS CONCEPT WAS BREWING FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS AND REQUIRED A HANDFUL OF LIFE CHANGES TO PREPARE FOR THIS DRAMATIC LIFESTYLE CHANGE. AND EVEN THEN, IT CAME TOGETHER LAST MINUTE WITH A FEW MIRACLES AND A HANDFUL OF INCREDIBLE PEOPLE WHO MADE IT POSSIBLE ALONG THE WAY.
KENDRA AND I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ASKED SINCE WE FIRST SHARED OUR IDEA TO TRAVEL THE COUNTRY: “HOW? WHY? WHEN, AND FOR HOW LONG?”…
Read MoreTHANK GOD FOR INSTAGRAM THAT LED TWO INTROVERTED AND ONLY SOMETIMES EXTROVERTED PEOPLE TOGETHER. BACK IN SEPTEMBER 2014 WHEN I WAS WORKING AS AN ASSISTANT WOMEN’S BUYER AT A LUXURY BOUTIQUE IN GRAND RAPIDS. TYLER WAS VISITING THE STORE ONE SATURDAY MORNING AND WE WERE BOTH PERIPHERALLY CHECKING EACH OTHER OUT.
LATER IN THE WEEKEND, HE “FOLLOWED” ME ON INSTAGRAM. THEN A FEW WEEKS LATER, HE SENT ME A PHOTO MESSAGE ON WHILE HE WAS ACROSS THE WORLD IN CHINA WITH A MULTIPLE CHOICE DRAWING ASKING, “IF I WANTED TO GET TO KNOW YOU BETTER, WOULD YOU PREFER IT TO BE OVER…”
Read MoreWE KNEW LIFE ON THE ROAD WOULD REQUIRE US TO ADOPT A WHOLE NEW LIFESTYLE THAT WE’VE NEVER KNOWN OR EVEN IMAGINED BEFORE THIS TOUR, WE JUST COULDN’T COMPREHEND HOW MUCH.
AS A SHOE DESIGNER, I HAD A LOT OF SHOES. LIKE, NEARLY 200 PAIRS OF SHOES. MOVING INTO A 25-FOOT LONG TIN CAN, SOMETHING HAD TO CHANGE, AND I’M GLAD THEY DID — IT CHANGED THE WAY I VIEW SHOES, CLOTHES, AND ALL THE “THINGS” WE THINK WE NEED. NEWS FLASH: WE DON’T NEED MUCH…
Read MoreIN THE HILLS OF CÁRTAMA, SPAIN, WE HAD ONE OF THOSE SPECIAL MOMENTS TOGETHER. HAVING JUST SAID "I DO" A WEEK EARLIER BACK HOME IN GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, WE FOUND OURSELVES IN A STATE OF PEACEFUL BLISS WITHOUT ANY DISTRACTIONS OF LIFE.
LIKE MANY NEWLY-WED COUPLES ON THEIR HONEYMOON, WE DISCUSSED ONE OF THE BIGGER LIFE QUESTIONS A COUPLE COULD FACE TOGETHER: WHAT DO WE ENVISION THE NEXT 70+ YEARS OF OUR LIFE TOGETHER?…
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