Getting this trip started! (Only made possible with the support of family and friends)

By abakr, September 16, 2013

 

 

Whew! After completing the many finishing touches needed to head west, our first few legs of the trip went a little like this…

We bade, “see you later, Vermont”, a midst the sunrise on Tuesday, Sept. 10th with Craig driving the Supra and Amira in the Volvo with the trailer in tow for the first time.

We spent the next 4-5 days in Wolfeboro attending to final details such as reviewing the sorted piles of “staying” and “going”, packing the trailer and Thule box with items destined for Tahoe, fixing an exhaust leak and changing out tires on the Volvo (thanks to the help of Murdawg Custom), considering route plans, and, most importantly, spending time with loved ones–family and friends. We rolled out of Wolfeboro in the afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 14th, and even received word from Kevin Bourque who happened to drive by us as we took off down Route 28 that our ride looked “legit”.

Our first official destination on the trip was Madison, Connecticut to see my Aunt Roma. There, we had dinner at a diner and a great visit with my aunt and mother, before getting a solid night sleep since tomorrow would be our first big drive.

After a quick pit stop through Yale and a visit to Lowe’s for some final needed supplies, we headed west. With the need to really put some miles behind us and get this party started, we decided to drive through the night and headed straight to Chicago; passing through Pennsylvania by 10pm, paying the $25 toll in Ohio at 2:30am, the $12 toll in Indiana around 4am, and, minutes later, we were greeted in Chicago with a $4 toll that jumped to $12 with a 3rd axle. All of this was well worth it to be greeted by our good friend, Brandon, at 4:45am who showed us immense hospitality just when we needed it!

Nevertheless, while starting the first portion of this trip, we had time to reflect on how blessed we are to have good family and friends in our lives. From storing a fully loaded 6’x12′ trailer in Craig’s dad’s garage, to the prayers and well wishes from Craig’s mom, to a surprise visit from my mom in Connecticut who hooked us up with a good dinner and good night’s sleep, to care packages from Shelly full of delicious cookies and from Aunt Roma with muffins for the morning’s drive, as well as from Jenn and Cris; theirs containing explicit instructions that brought us laughs. And yet, these are only a sampling of the blessings we were given in the final moments leading up to the official start of our trip, and doesn’t list the many important conversations, words of advice, and well wishes that began back in February when this notion became a real consideration for us.

So, to those who may be reading this, we love you and truly treasure the unique role that you play in each of our lives. You have helped to make our adventure possible! Thank you much!                                                                                                                                                                                                     —Amira & Craig

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