Three, two, one.. blastoff!

That is, three days, two girls, and one reallllly long road trip.

10 states. 2,236 miles. 728 songs on the playlist with countless of them belted out at the top of our lungs. Lots of snacks. So many laughs. Plenty of pointing at the cool stuff along the road (or lack of stuff.. hello Midwest at the end of day 2 haha!). And lots of texts sent back home to update on our whereabouts (*hey hey* everyone following along and cheering us on from afar!!).

Speaking of saying hey, let's give a wave to all of the wonderful people we encountered on this journey. If there's anything you need to know about me, and my partner in crime, Shel, it's that we accidentally make friends with.. well.. literally everyone. Lemme introduce you to some of the characters on our trek. So, first, we have the very sweet barista from Starbucks who rehydrated us by graciously filling our water bottles while sharing with us that her sister was a nurse! Then, we have the server at dinner who was so personable and bubbly and go SO excited to share with us that she was from Tucson (and then to share about all of the burritos we had to try that were "as big as my forearm! ...and wrapped in BACON!"). Can't forget about the random encounter with the gas station clerk who gave us a little, "have a great day, ladies!" on our way out the door. Extra special mention goes to friends who last minute let us stay at their place in NM and then took us to get some verrrrry tasty coffee (shout out Matthew Thomas Roasters)-- which is where we met two more characters and found out that it had been a bit of a Pennsylvania themed morning with the previous coffee drinkers all having some connection to good ol' PA.

Now that you've met the supporting characters, lemme give you a little more of an introduction to your main characters. I'm guessing that many of you reading this already know at least one of us, so if you don't want to re-meet us, by all means, scroll past.. but I don't know, it might be fun.

So I'll start with my girl Shel, who is happiest with music on, wine glass in hand, damn good food in her belly, and friends all around. Put her on a barstool, in the drivers seat, in front of the TV with her Steelers playing (and winning), or in the kitchen cooking some of her deeeelicious secret chicken, and you'll likely see a smile on her face. She is quick to lift you up when you're down and remind you just how much you're worth (but be careful because she will just as easily put you in your place with a little sarcastic humor). You'll always catch her with some sort of vessel of water (and if you don't, do us a favor and grab her one, she's probably thirsty!). She is always down for just about anything, and I am so excited to be going on this journey with her.

Next up, hey, hi, hello, it's ya girl Al, which is short for many things but truthfully is only a bit shorter than Shel. With legs for days and a mind and mouth that both run a mile a minute, I'm always wishing you luck to keep up. Similarly to Shel, throw some good tunes on, and I'm smiling. I'm even happier when the music is playing in the dance studio or when I'm next to a friend at the bar (but unlike Shel, I'd prefer gin in my glass). I'm an enneagram 2 through and through, which if you're not familiar, means I'm the helper or giver. This lends itself nicely to my career choice of nurse and is how Shel and I first met 3+ years ago at sweet sweet Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, PA. But that's a story for another time..

Right now the story is about our big long cross country road trip. It started in Pennsylvania (at Shel's home base); our journey took us through West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and fiiiinally to sunny Arizona!!! Wanna know what it's like to spend 32+ hours in a car with two girls? Click here to watch!!

Presently, Shel and I are about to start our third and second travel nurse contracts respectively, and we are stoked to FINALLY be traveling together. We are also very excited to be sharing this adventure with you all! This blog will likely just be a catch-all for me to document the things we eat, drink, do, and enjoy. Recommendations are welcomed with arms WIDE OPEN.

The few places we have already checked out include...

• Ocotillo-- walkable from our house, such a dream!! We indulged in some verrry tasty cocktails and fancy & delicious food which was a nice change of pace from the snacks we consumed during our drive

• Snooze --felt kinda like a dining hall, but was super fun and fresh with bright colors, an awesome vibe, and a lovely bartender.. who told us, "my job is easy when I'm waiting on two beautiful ladies!!" *cue the blushing!!*

• The Wayward Taphouse-- the theme of making friends with.. well.. literally everyone reigns VERY true here. When we asked the bartender whether we should start with the Spellbinder or the Terebellum, his recommendation for the Spellbinder was echoed by the gentleman sitting to our right, who we then found out had also lived in York (Shel's hometown).. small world! We spent the evening tasting beers thanks to recommendations (and decisions or surprises rather) from the bartender and our newest friend.

• Pigtails Cocktails-- a SPEAKEASY! (my favorite hehehe) definitely was a bit of a challenge to find, but once we actually found it, we very much enjoyed ourselves! It was especially fun to have the bartender picking out our drinks (can you tell we don't love to make our own decisions).

Where should we try next?