We Made it to DC!
Hello everyone! I do apologize for not posting last week but in complete honesty, I was BUSY! Quinn & I had the best weekend with my cousins and it was nice to have a weekend without any work before we start our first projects! We left for our cross country road trip on Tuesday September 6th, so right when we got back to campus on Monday, it was packing and cleaning time! Then Tuesday morning we loaded the vans up and waited for campus to dismiss us! If you know me, you know I am not the best at saying “see you later” so in true Leah fashion, tears were shed!
Now let’s dive into this crazy cross country road trip with a 15 passenger van, shall we?
Our 1st night was spent in Utah! We woke up early on day two and we watched the sun rise at the Bonneville salt flats. YALL. That was the most magical act of Mother Nature I have ever witnessed. Mother, you have outdone yourself! The same day we stopped for a lunch break in Salt Lake City which I thought was such a cute peaceful little town! From there we went to the arches national park! Holy cow, I need to go back there. It was such a sight to see but we did not have much time due to our tight itinerary so we weren’t able to do the hike that goes right up to the arch, so I will be going back to do that. Our next stop was the Moab diner for dinner before we finished up our drive and parked the van in grand junction where we were staying the 2nd night!
The 3rd day, was spent driving through Colorado. We spent a few hours in Vail at the most amazing village where we shopped, walked around and had a delicious lunch at a local Italian spot! My team and I had to drag each other out because we did not want to leave… but we got back on the road and ended up in Quinter Kansas for our third night. I did not enjoy Kansas and do not plan on going back there anytime soon. So please, hold me to that!
We got an early start our 4th day and drove all day until we got to St. Peter’s Missouri. We got to the hotel at a decent time so it was nice to relax for a little! My corps members hung out at the hotel pool while I caught up on some TV and got work done. I got to bed early and I slept like a ROCK!
Day 5 we got another early start! We were staying at my family’s house that night so I was very eager to get there! On the way we stopped at the gateway arch in St. Louis and it was so cool to finally see it in person! I did not realize it was a national park?!?! So that was pretty exciting to see that! After what driving for what felt like forever we made it to my house! I was so excited to see my family and for them to meet my corps members! Luna peed on me when I picked her up because she was so excited…but I didn’t even care because I missed that sweet pup so dang much! My amazing parents and sister had so much food for us and it was so nice to have a home cooked meal. We all hung out and talked and made dinner together and then we all went out to ice cream! It was the teams first time in a normal car in a month and we were all so excited. We love our good ol’ 15P but it is so loud!
Day 6 we got to sleep in a little and have a home cooked breakfast before hitting the road! We drove all day until getting to our FINAL DESTINATION!!!!! Around 7:00 PM we made it to Alexandria Virginia which is where we will be staying while working on this project at FEMA HQ in DC. We all breathed a sigh of relief when we got into our rooms knowing that we will be here for some time and will not have to sit in the car for days again anytime soon. There are four other teams from the Pacific Region Campus that are staying at the same hotel and will also be working at HQ! It is so nice to have them here and have other team leaders here that I have spent the past two months with. We were only apart for 6 days but I missed them so much so I am so excited that we have each other here!
Our first day of work is tomorrow and I know we are all eager to jump in! I am excited for next weeks post where I can tell you all about the first week of work and what it was like! With that said, I PROMISE to get back to weekly posting because 1) I missed writing last week and 2) Aunt Susan will remind me until I post next LOL!
Now, my favorite part:)
Rose: Finally being here in DC and getting settled and ready for work tomorrow!
Bud: FIRST DAY OF WORK AT FEMA HQ TOMORROW
Thorn: The verdict is in...I am not a road trip girly. I was carsick almost everyday. On the positive side, we (hopefully) won't have another long drive until November!
Lets get after it this week! I hope you all have a beautiful week!
xo, L