TBT to That Time I Road-tripped Across The United States.
Well, the first time.
I've mentioned it before, but I thought I'd share the story. And the ridiculous photos. So here it goes.
Nine years ago, during my senior year of high school, I was all set to go to college like a good little girl. I even had a roommate lined up. We were discussing our dorm's color scheme in between classes. But then something happened. Through friends at church I kept hearing about this wild and crazy cool ministry school in Redding, California where students were getting their lives changed and having their faith in Jesus ignited in a way I had never experienced. I was intrigued. Something inside me leapt at the thought of abandoning all good reason and just going for it. Moving to California. Having this experience for myself.
So. I decided that if there were ever a time to completely changed the course of my life and try something outside the box, being 18 and straight out of high school seemed like the best option. It took some major convincing to get my parents to okay such a bold move. My dad wasn't pleased. California was far. And he had worked very very hard to provide for all his kids to go to college, and here I was... asking to instead to go an unaccredited ministry school as far away as possible within the U.S. I mean, I kind of get why he wasn't thrilled. He's such a good father and he just wanted the absolute best for me. But I explained to him what I had heard about this place and all incredible things that were happening at this school and church, and after we both visited and spent some time out there, I felt absolutely sure. It was definitely a place that I wanted to immerse myself in and a program that I wanted to experience for myself. Dad consented. Mom bought me laundry detergent. It was decided.
The thing is, the more I talked to other people, my friends and family members who were also interested in the school, the more we all got excited and there was a bit of groupthink going on and suddenly - I found myself in the middle of a wonderful, vibrant gang of outside-the-box souls who were, indeed, on board for the adventure too. Before I could even finish laughing about the irony of it all, my sister and her husband, a couple of my friends, a couple of my cousins AND my boyfriend (yes, in case you're wondering, that's STEVIE) all decided that we were in on this gig together - we were going to trek across the country and go to ministry school. Together. We were going to take out loans, find jobs, invest in some camping gear and just do this California thing. It was an enormous risk. It was probably going to change our lives forever. It was very possibly going to ruin some of our best-laid plans for stability, security, savings and career trajectory. It was going to abandon all of our hopes for the American dream. Abandon all normal.
It was going to be SO. MUCH. FUN.
I can't tell you how many people thought I was joining a cult. The college advisers at my private high school couldn't really figure me out.
Why an unaccredited school? Why??
But I had my safety net of people and I had my goals and most of all, I had that incredible feeling of peace that trumped all the whispers and judgements of those who didn't understand.
That's a really long way of saying that in August of 2006, I hopped into my '97 Honda Accord with Stevie by my side, and we (along with our 4-car caravan!) began the road trip of a lifetime: from Georgia to California. Two weeks. All the states. And ALL the awesome stops in between.
Our caravan consisted of 7 people and we all took turns picking out destinations that we wanted to see along the way. We did some of the obvious sights, like the Grand Canyon and Route 66. And we did some super weird ones, like catching the dancing ducks at the Peabody Hotel and driving through the Petrified Forest. Logistics were crazy. If we stayed at a hotel, we would all hunker down in one room (to save on cash!), which included two dogs and all our bikes. Because we couldn't very well leave our bikes hitched to the back of our cars in the parking lot - there are looters lurking! But hotels weren't the norm, we also did a good bit of camping. KOAs became a friendly stop, especially as we entered the West. And I'll admit that we bathed in more than one body of water. I told you- we did some super weird things. And kind of quickly slumped into hippie life. And when I say that, I mean it. I found mud in my hair weeks later from the Colorado River "bath".
I could talk for hours and hours about this trip, but I might as well just show you.
