Road Trip: Day Three

Day Three: Oklahoma bound, we crossed the Mississippi River into Arkansas which was a little surreal - it's just one of those states I never thought I'd go to! All the sudden the drive got very flat, the temperatures started to rise, and farmland was all we could see for miles and miles. We were originally going to head to Texas for the night but an impromptu Instagram meet up changed our minds. We were able to get the small town Oklahoma experience staying with the Morris family on their lovely farm. Ju + I were so thankful for their warm hospitality! Before we left the next morning, we went downtown to Hoboken Coffee Roasters. After buying souvenir mugs and sharing unforgettable coffee talks, we were back on the road, but not without a layer of red dirt covering the car!

Road Trip: Day Two

Day Two: Leaving Virginia, we headed to Tennessee where we stayed with some family friends just outside of Memphis. This honestly felt like the longest day of the trip because the day before we went through 5 states, breaking up the drive somewhat. We did stop in Nashville for a hot second to taste some Barista Parlor, which was amazing, but other than that we went from one side of TN to the other. (me & Ju def wish we planned more time to explore this cool city more... we will be back!) For the last few hours of the day, we got to experience some true two-lane country in some major farmland at sunset. It was one so beautiful, iPhone pics don't do it justice at all. You can bet we throughly enjoyed it with the windows rolled down, country music blasting and singing along too loudly.

A21 + Road Trip: Day One

After graduating college, I moved back to CT to really figure out what the next step might be for me. I knew it would be temporary - to spend time with family and save some money... because we all know the life of a poor college student is very real. So I dove into working two jobs and that kept me busy to say the least.

My senior year of college I took a class on human trafficking. It was then that I discovered how prevalent it is in our society and how passionate I am about fighting this atrocity. Even amidst working like crazy, I couldn't let go of the drive that I wanted to do something to make a difference within this issue. On a whim in February, I applied to volunteer for the summer with the A21 Campaign, a global anti-human trafficking organization, at their California office. I went into the whole application and interview process thinking, "if I get this, I know it's the next thing for me to do... but I probably won't." 

Turns out, I got it. 

Because it is solely volunteer work, I set out to raise $4,000 to support me during the program. Three weeks later, I had every penny and was packing my life into my new car to drive across the country. To say that God provided for more details than I can even list is an understatement. That's how I know this is exactly what I am supposed to be doing at this time in my life. I can't thank everyone enough who has contributed to this experience, by giving monetary support or through prayers. 

That being said, my sister Julia and I embarked on a once-in-a-lifetime, would-do-it-again-in-a-heartbeat, never-will-we-forget road trip from CT > CA.  First stop? Lynchburg, VA. To see my dear friends Seth and Jaime. Time with them always includes deep life talks and laughing too much. Here's a few pics from day one.

Starting the trip off at 5:30 am...

We got pics of every state welcome sign except New York and Virginia.

10 hours later we made it!