Stacerzzzzz: Road Trip Pt. 2

[Feel free to skip down to the photos, Party People!]

So, I never finished my road trip story. I don’t know who reads this really, and frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.

I want to document these memories, so I can cherish them later. For when I’m old, ya dig?

I left off in South Dakota.

Since we couldn’t get through Yellowstone, we had to trek back North through Montana. We ended up going to Billings, which for being the capitol, was insanely small! But we loved it and made a barista friend. Shout out to Rio; hope you get to move to Seattle, bro! After din din, we drove through the darkness (like honestly, I could hardly see!) into no-wifi-man zone. (Not gonna lie, this was kind of scary because if my car would have broken down, we would have been sunk).

Once again though, the Lord provided and we came across the glorious glow of the Wal-Mart sign, signifying our humble abode for the night. Woohoo, Spearfish, South Dakota!

Day 3: (SD>IA>NB>MO)

The next morning, we went about our typical routine of finding the elixir of life, AKA coffee. A quaint little shop where, sure enough, I made another friend. Falcon Man.

Falcon Man carried around a little point-and-shoot camera. (Don’t worry, it wasn’t filled with anything weird). Well, I mean, it was, since it was completely filled with pictures of his pet Falcon and tens of other types of birds. Oh, and also a picture of a Praying Mantis on a town pool table. Yep, good ol’ Falcon Man. Thankfully, some other men saved us from this conversation that seemed endless, so we could be on our way.

It was a truly beautiful morning filled with blue sky and sunshine. We drove through the Black Hills, filling our souls with joy. Both Briauna and I have a love affair with trees and windy roads I think. Soon enough, we came across Mt. Rushmore! We’re cheap... I mean thrifty! So, instead of paying to see it up close, we just took photos from the highway. We’re pretty classy like that.

We then went onto the Badlands, which sprouted up in the middle of nowhere. It was a detour to get there, but it was worth it.

After the Badlands though, there was basically nothing but flat….

We just kept driving until we needed dinner, which we got in Omaha, and then we decided to chug along to Missouri, where we slept in another Wal-Mart Parking lot in St. Joseph.

Day 4: (MO>IL>KY)

On this day, more car trouble struck. Briauna and I got up and went to get coffee as per usual. However, after I gassed up my car and tried to pull away, I heard a funny noise on my car… After test-driving it a bit, we decided it would be the best idea to have it looked at while we were in a populated area and not risk it. (Part of this test involved Briauna running alongside my car… please picture this for me, ha).

We first tried the Chevy dealership, not much help. Then we went to Firestone and just simply asked a guy to ride with me to see if he heard it. Right away, he was like, Uh-oh, turn back. “Have her write you up a ticket for a wobble.”

Alex, our mechanic found the tear in my axle boot to be the problem. Thankfully he could fix it. Unfortunately, it would cost me a pretty penny, but it would have had to be done anyways. Fortunately there were other people in the waiting area who gave us some suggestions of what to do in Missouri, (hello wine tasting in a little German town, Hermann) and also, there was a mall across the street for Briauna and I to hang out in and charge our phones. Yeah, God!

Two hours later we were back on the road and headed towards Hermann. The town was so cute, it looked like it belonged in Bavaria, and the winery was brilliant. Highly recommend if you’re ever in Missouri…

Back on the road! Back to another Wal-Mart parking lot!

Day 5: (KY>TN)

My friend Spencer’s parent’s live in Knoxville, TN, so we knew on this night we were going to stay at their place. We were ahead of schedule though, so we decided to check out Louisville.

We went to the Mary Todd Lincoln Museum and had a blast! I think Briauna and I both wish we could have been her BFF. Getting some history into our diet was a definite plus. We then went to the University of Kentucky to walk around their arboretum… it was nice to walk, but their arboretum sucked. UW’s is so much better that they shouldn’t even be compared… It was fun being there during March Madness though.

We drove on to Tennessee and oh my gosh, finally something other than flat! Beautiful hills started to rise up almost immediately after crossing the border. We arrived at the Vance’s house and it was full of great food and amazing Christ-centered community. We sat in on their bible study and it was beautiful to see a multi-generational group of people loving on the lord so far from home. Staying with the Vance’s in their beautiful home was dreamy.

Day 6: (TN>NC>SC)

Since we were ahead of schedule, we decided it would be fun to go to the beach. Charleston wasn’t too far, so we packed up my car and headed east. Yelp suggested this restaurant, Bowen’s Island where we had southern fare. READ: Fried fish, fried shrimp, crab cakes, hushpuppies). Briauna tried hushpuppies for the first time, and I think they won her over.

We asked the cashier what beach to go to, “Folly Beach, of course!”

Parked my car, took my sandals off and raced Briauna to the water. She won, but my momentum was too high... my pants got a little wet from running too far in. I hadn’t touched the Atlantic since being in Iceland. The ocean still speaks to my soul like nothing else. Well, maybe mountains are close, but they sing to me.

We walked the shore, watched the surfers paddle and took it all in while the sun went down.

On this night, we splurged and stayed at an AirBnB. Noel and Kristen of Charleston. They were strange, but they were good hosts. So can’t complain.

Day 7: (SC>GA)

Not much to say about the last day. Briauna and I drove to my new home. I almost hit a wild turkey. I met my new roommate. The next chapter began.