It’s exciting to plan a trip with friends. Taking an extended journey together however can test your friendship.
We planned a 3,500-mile trip with our 2 best friends that spanned nearly 4 months. They, at the time, lived in Massachusetts while we lived in California. We’d regularly have Face Time planning sessions and fly across the country to plan our vacation together. We were all so darn excited!
For over a year we were actively engaged in the planning. When the day came, we met in Mesa Verde, Colorado. It was June 11, 2016, and from there, we caravanned together along our predetermined route taking in some of the best America has to offer together.
For Donna and Michael, who sold a home and business just prior to the trip and purchased a brand new 42’ RV, the trip was one very long, epic!… vacation. For us, having retired several years prior, we’d already eased into the casual lifestyle of adventure travel, which encourages a certain rhythm and balance.
We toured the mid-west with a spirit of “Go-Go-Go We’re On Vacation” and no opportunity for a memorable moment will be missed! Then took a day or two of total collapse (though not many!). And the magic of really great friends is in the truth and honesty of your relationship. It is beautiful, and it can be well, like family. You accept and love each other for who you are. I know I’m not always the person I want to be, we all have warts… weird habits, quirky behaviors and hangups. But in the end, for us we’d turn up the volume on iTunes, blast out a great tune and just dance! When you make the great times many, it warms hearts and helps traverse the occasional bugs.
Together we traveled through Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and into Utah. The trip planning involved incorporating unique events and attractions into our itinerary. We took in the Nation’s biggest rodeo, Cheyenne’s Frontier Days in Wyoming, and the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. We visited many National Parks as we journeyed along, leaving us in awe of this great country we are so fortunate to be citizens of.
And along the way we laughed, and we cried from laughing too hard. We ate and drank (often) too much. All the incredible scenery became like a moving picture show. One great vista after another. And it was all a beautiful backdrop to the loving friendship we all 4 shared on this epic journey. We created an extraordinary opportunity for ourselves. And ultimately we didn’t just talk about it. We did it!
But before we head out on our next adventure together, I really need to talk to Mikey about that Chevy Chase thing he does when he’s driving, and stops at a scenic lookout. Look Quick!
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