Road Trip

Today I will be traveling across the nation with some great friends…well not in one day but you’ve got to start somewhere! We are actually taking an 11-day road trip. My friends Justin, Geoff, Noah and myself will all be on this adventure with some serious male bonding. Two of us will be driving the largest U-haul truck that you can drive with a regular driver’s license while towing my friend, AJ’s, Jeep behind it while the rest of the group drives our minivan behind. Aj will be moving down later this year to help start the church with us along with Laura’s parents. This is why we are taking the largest truck possible because we are taking some of our my in-laws’ property also. A lot of people have been asking what our plan and our route are, so I thought I would share the itinerary.  But before the plan you got to know the priorities.

Priority #1 --- Glorify God

All road trips can be crazy fun, and we want to filter ours though giving God glory. It will still be amazingly fun but will help in making decisions as we go--because a road trip is all about the spur of the moment decisions you make. So to help us decide what we are doing for the whole trip, we want to glorify Jesus.

Priority #2 --- Mature in our faith

All of the guys on this road trip are Christians, and we want to be more in love with Jesus when the trip is over. So we plan on praying with one another every day, studying God’s Word everyday, memorizing scriptures, listening to preachers’ messages on the iPod, talking with people and each other about Jesus, and seeking God daily.

Priority #3 --- People

We plan on visiting 3 key people on the road. Tom Rush and family in Walla Walla, Washington. Sarah Williams and Family (my sister) in Hamilton, MT.  And Kevin Fitzgerald and family in Atlanta, GA.  I am excited to preach at Tom’s new church in Walla Walla, see my family and niece in Montana, and reconnect with a man full of wisdom Kevin in Altlanta. I love people and can’t wait to see all of them.

Priority #4 --- Safety

We will be in the slow lane:)

Priority #5 --- Food

Here is a fun one…we are going to eat at some good and random stops. We have been doing our research and taking suggestions and are thanking God for taste buds along the way. A few places we are planning is like Minors in Yakama, Homemade Strawberry pie in Montana, Kansas City BBQ, St Louis Ribs, a secret place outside of Atlanta, Cracker Barrel in Florida and wherever else the Lord leads:)

So now that you know the heart of the trip here is the schedule:

Day 1: Olympia, Wa to Walla Walla, Washington (going to see Tom and serve at the church)

Day 2: Walla Walla, Washington to Hamilton, Montana (going to see my family)

Day 3: Missoula, Montana to Denver, Colorado (this will be the longest traveling day and we are hoping to actually make it to Denver)

Day 4: Denver, Colorado to Kansas City, Kansas or Missouri (hello BBQ)

Day 5: Kansas City to Nashville, Tennessee (planning on seeing a show some where even if it is country)

Day 6: Nashville, Tennessee to Atlanta, Georgia (seeing Kevin and enjoying the city)

Day 7: Atlanta, Georgia to Jupiter, Florida (we may make it in a whole day but we are passing through Orlando so you never know)

Day 8: Jupiter, Florida (unpacking the U-haul and going to the beach)

Day 9: Jupiter, Florida to Miami, Florida (just because we can)

Day 10: FREE DAY (only God knows where and what we will be doing)

Day 11: Jupiter, Florida to Orlando, Florida (I will be picking up my family: Laura, Jeremiah, Mailey, Mike and Jenelle; and dropping of the guys to head back to Olympia)

So there is the plan but we will see what actually happens. Appreciate your prayers for the trip and our family. We can’t wait to be in Florida and see how God works. Until then, we are enjoying this amazing ride.