As you may (or may not) know, I am about to embark upon an awesome adventure with one of my best friends, Katie. Oh, and I did I mention that her dog Elphie is tagging along?

I am flying out to Seattle tonight. Tomorrow morning we’re hopping in her car and driving about 2,200 miles back to St. Louis in just THREE DAYS! We’ll be driving through Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.

As I write this, I am sitting at the airport waiting to board my first flight to KC. Then my second flight will take me from KC to Seattle. When I get there, Katie and I are going to have dinner with Chris’s friend Ryan. I haven’t seen Ryan in probably 3 or 4 years. So I am excited for that!

Why haven’t you heard about this before? Well, maybe because we planned it in the last week! Aside from the ticket, I also booked hotels across the Wild West and mapped out my trip on road maps.

In order to get to the airport today, my mom was kind enough to drop me off with my best work buddy, Lindsay. Lindsay was nice enough to drive me to work AND drop me off at the Metro Link station so I could head to the airport.

While I waited for the train, two school kids decided to get into a street fight. That was cool.

Then, I boarded the packed train and ended up standing next to four soldiers also on their way to the airport. One soldier, Dakota, struck up a conversation with me. He is on his way to basic training at Fort Leonard Wood. In addition to telling me that Colleen was a pretty name, Dakota also offered to marry me. The other soldiers got a kick out of that one. Apparently Dakota is right out of high school… and looking for a wife! If anyone is looking for a husband, please let me know and I can put you in touch with him.

I hope that all four of those guys make it to their destination safely. And more importantly, I hope they make it back home safe, too.  It’s guys like Dakota that make it possible for us to live in such a wonderful country. I can’t thank them enough for their service. Next time you see a soldier, please make sure to thank them, too!

If the beginning of my trip is any indication of what’s in store for the next few days,  I am sure to be in for a wild ride!

Stay tuned for the next update!