Day 2575 – Our Updated Scratch Off Map!

Posted on July 29, 2016 by 365 days of marriage

I’m happy to share our updated scratch off map! We’re so mad about missing two states that were RIGHT there! Ah well. Gives us a reason to get back on the road. 🙂

p.s. Want one of your own? Click here!

Day 2574 – The Worst Road Trip Mistake I’ve Ever Made

Posted on July 28, 2016 by 365 days of marriage

I didn’t realize I had made the biggest mistake of my “road trip career” on my last trip until over a week after we got home. My typical road trip beverages are soda and Rockstar. My typical road trip snacks are chips, sunflower seeds and anything from the salty family.

I had the WORST adjustment period I’ve ever had after returning home from this road trip. At first, I thought it was just a “I just saw some of the most amazing things and I miss being on the road” but I realized I had pretty much poisoned my body.

On the trip out, something happened that has NEVER happened to me on a drive. My feet swelled. They were huge and it was very freaky. I’m actually surprised it was the first time it had happened to me! So, on the trip back, I made sure to not have as many salty snacks. Unfortunately, I did not slow down on the sodas and Rockstar. I purchased a CUBE of Cherry Pepsi and had finished it in just a few days after we returned home. I was so discouraged and down that first week back. It wasn’t until the soda and Rockstar were long gone and a new workout plan was started that I felt better.

It’s crazy how much what we eat and drink can mess with our bodies.

So, my next project is figuring out how to eat even healthier on my next drive. The biggest question is what to drink to help me stay awake that isn’t filled with sugar or super acidic like coffee.

Any tips? What’s your worst road trip mistake?

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Day 2572 – Goodies From Our Road Trip!

Posted on July 26, 2016 by 365 days of marriage

In an effort to save money during our earlier road trips, we didn’t buy many/any souvenirs. This trip, we decided to splurge a little. I had the idea to get magnets, since they would be useful for a long time. I feel the same way about pens. I think we got some pretty good stuff this trip!

The shirt was WAY more than I’d ever normally spend on a shirt, but it was Jenny Lake and my namesake, so I had to. Bret actually got a hat here too. It’s not pictured because it’s current in California or en route home. 🙂 Anyways, that shirt is now one of my favorites and I will definitely get my money’s worth.

The corn palace pen is also a super fun find. I love that it’s like an ear of corn. The Bear Country pen is fun too, but they both rank high because of the smooth writing. Ahhhh, so important in a pen.

The magnet on the left was a perfect find, I think. It has the Badlands, Rushmore, Devil’s Tower, Mesas, a buffalo AND prairie dogs! lol, it’s a solid magnet too!

The last magnet, on the right, has quite the tale. This was a Jenny Lake purchase and I looked for a good 20 minutes for a good magnet. I finally settled on this and added it to the loot of the trip. While in California, I realized I couldn’t find it. I was pretty disappointed. Even after re-packing for the trip home, I still didn’t find it. As I was unpacking at home, I was growing more and more convinced that it was lost. Each bag was emptied and put away, still nothing. When I had just about given up, I found it. It was the very last item in the very last bag I unpacked. Ahhhh, yes. 🙂 Happy camper, right here.

Day 2571 – Devil’s Tower And Close Encounters Of The Third Kind

Posted on July 25, 2016 by 365 days of marriage

During our road trip, we visited Devil’s Tower. Seeing it up close again made me want to rewatch Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. We finally did that yesterday and it was so cool to see it again. We were able to say things like, OH! We were there! That’s the gate! lol, and we were able to notice it was a set. 🙂

Have you ever seen a place and wanted to watch a movie filmed there? Or have you seen a place on a movie and had to go?

Day 2567 – Road Trip Part 8 – Leaving Utah to Denver to Garden Of The Gods to Giant Things In Kansas And Illinois to Home

Posted on July 21, 2016 by 365 days of marriage

Ah, the last post on our road trip. Did you see all of them? Here’s a link to each:
Road Trip Part 1 – Baltimore to Philly to PA to Chicago
Road Trip Part 2 – Minnesota to The Corn Palace To South Dakota To The Badlands
Road Trip Part 3 – Bear Country To Rushmore To Crazy Horse
Road Trip Part 4 – Devil’s Tower To Montana
Road Trip Part 5 – Yellowstone to Jenny Lake
Road Trip Part 6 – Leaving California to Arizona to Zion National Park
Road Trip Part 7 – Arches National Park

Oh and this post (How To Go From “I’ve Always Wanted To Do That!” To “I Did That!”) is good to read before today’s post. Mostly because of the “I’ve always wanted to do that” section.

Ok, now that you’re all caught up!

We left Arches….bye Arches!….to go to Denver.

One thing I love about driving cross country is seeing the changing landscapes. In a matter of hours, it can change completely. Sometimes, it’s a matter of minutes. Our transition from South Dakota to Wyoming was like that. It was crazy how quickly it changed. Look at how different the landscape is as we transitioned into Colorado!

But you still have those red rocks. Ah, so beautiful.

Another cool thing about driving cross country is seeing things you never expected. This lake was just such and example. I’m not sure why I didn’t think I’d see something like this, looking back, but there are sailboats in a mountain lake! So cool!

We arrived in Denver at sundown. Seeing the sunset over the Rockies was just plain amazing. This was another time I wished I had a professional camera and not a phone. Because phone pictures aren’t as good at capturing how things really were.

We arrived at our friends’ place and what incredible hosts! We took showers and just relaxed and chatted while Jen made dinner. Now, I want to take a minute to talk about Jen and Jeff. These two are such cool people. They embody the “I’ve always wanted to do that, so I’m going to do it” mentality. They have had several dreams of doing things and they have attempted to do them. I met Jen at a photographer meet up in the Baltimore/DC area and we became friends. She does amazing photography work in Denver now. Ha ha, as I pulled the link to her website, I was distracted for a good ten minutes. 🙂 Anyways, as we were talking about many things (I think all told, we talked about 8 hours between the evening and the next morning), I mentioned how I was excited to write a blog post about “I’ve always wanted to do that,” Jen echoed many of my same thoughts on the subject. Later, I asked why they moved to Denver. Jen’s response? “I’d always wanted to live here, so I did it.” THAT my friends made my heart sing. 🙂 I’m so grateful for the time we spent with Jen and Jeff. I’m also grateful for friends in Denver now! 🙂 Bonus? Friends that can cook! I was the FIRST to get seconds AND I cleaned my plate! I’m normally one to leave something on my second plate and give the rest to Bret. Nope! All mine!

It was like home away from home!

Our next stop was Garden of the Gods. It was a quick loop to see everything, so it didn’t take too long. But a nice side trip.

And then…everything got flat. 🙂

Kansas wasn’t as hard to drive through as I expected. I think because we broke up the drive with some fun side trips. The first was a giant Van Gogh painting! Fun, quick stop only about 5 minutes off the highway.

Since we weren’t stopping at another hotel on the way home, we decided to splurge on meals. We stopped at a local restaurant and I got a WHOLE catfish. Oh baby, it was delicious. Melted in my mouth. Mmmmmm.