What's Next?

By Emily

The Grand Adventure.  That’s what we’ve been calling this trip for a while now.  And what an adventure it’s been.  We are now in Atlanta, GA.  What’s that you say?  How did we get here?  Well my friends, that’s the story, is it not?

While hanging out in Huntington Beach and then San Diego we had a look at our dwindling finances.  We decided that we needed to settle down for a few months and make some money.  Then I sprained my ankle our first day in San Diego visiting friends.  Thankfully they were amazingly supportive and had ice readily available at their house, as well as reading material and pillows for my foot.

So, while I was recovering enough to travel we looked at our options.  We chose Tucson, AZ.  Then we chose Phoenix, AZ.  Then we got to Phoenix and decided not to stay at all but to continue on our Grand Adventure eastward.  As you can see we change our minds a lot. 

I think it’s interesting that changing one’s mind often is viewed as “wishy-washy”, viewed in a negative way.  When we thought about settling down somewhere we thought about Tucson, but after looking at the area we felt that Phoenix might better fit our needs.  And when we got to Phoenix, it just didn’t feel right.  It felt… desolate to us.  We just didn’t feel that this was a place we could call home for any length of time.  So, after a drive out to the desert and a long talk, we decided to move on.  I think that changing one’s mind when new information is presented is a good thing.  Sticking to one’s guns is also good…. It’s hard to know when to do which one, that’s for sure.

So, we continued on our Grand Adventure.  A stop in Rockwall, TX just outside of Dallas to see my best friend from college was very rewarding and eye opening.  I had not seen her since our wedding, and it was wonderful to be a part of her life for a few days.  To hear about her recent “Grand Adventure” to trade stories and share lives.  And then it was time to move on, to head to Atlanta to see my sister, my niece, my brother-in-law, and as I found out the day before we left, my mother.

We’ve been in Atlanta for five days now.  Three of them were with my mom here.  It is wonderful to be near my sister again.  I used to live 10 minutes away by bike in California, and have been five hours away by plane for the last two and a half years.  I am glad to be around, to see my niece, and to be a part of their lives.  We are here until the 19^th of February, and then we head to Ashville, NC for Kevin’s WFR course, and to see where the course of our lives will bring us.  We are once again discussing our options, trying to figure out where we will be for the summer, trying to weigh the options and see what makes sense for us, both short term and long term. This is not an easy decision, and I’m sure that our plans will change many times in the next month or so based on new information received, and new towns experienced.  Wish us luck!