Wow, what a drive.

13 hours and 31 minutes passed when Ben and I finally decided to pull in for the night. We could have gone longer but felt that Nebraska and Iowa were just about killing us! We left Boulder CO. early on the morning of the 2nd of February. To be exact we left at 6:04 am. 

During our stay in Boulder, we naturally tried to acclimate but found it to be quite difficult. The wintery conditions and altitude were rejected by our bodies almost immediatly. Ben got a head cold the first day and I began running a fever 2 days into it! We kept saying that we were allergic to winter. Our friends could only laugh at how lame we were being about being in a real winter climate. We were coming by honestly about all of this though. I tried to laugh it off but felt like my head was detached from my body most of the time. Except for our minor illnesses, we had some fun mixed in. We visited Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. 

We also spent some time sampling local breweries and mostly catching up with good friends. Two of our friends, Sarah and Grant, had just moved to Denver and so we took a couple days to check out their new digs and raise a pint in honor of their new home! We really enjoyed being around them because they seem to have some good dreams up their sleeves. I also consider Sarah one of my sweetest and dearest friends. 

                            Me, Tina, and Sarah

By the end of our time there Ben and I were VERY ready to get a move on. We could not wait to get back to Indiana to begin our search for jobs and homes. We plan on networking as much as possible and hopefully moving to North Carolina by the first week in March.  We arrived in wintery Indiana on Tuesday evening just in time for dinner and nice big hugs from my parents. We stay at my parents house when we are home because they have a set up where we have our own personal space to spread out. 

As far as our trip goes, I view it as a sweet success. We were able to revel in the California sun as long as we could and also experience more of our most beautiful country we have. Blessings abound and dreams are coming true. My advice to everyone is to seriously, never give up.