Every Country Couple

A Step, a Mile, Thousands of Miles

September 11, 2014September 11, 2014MelodyLeave a comment

When describing our travels and adventures to others, the most common response received from friends, coworkers, and random strangers alike is something akin to “Really?! Are you crazy?”

Melody and I enjoy a challenge.

Whether it be to visit 48 States and take a picture of ourselves next to each “Welcome to ______” sign, or to get from Portland, ME to Baltimore, MD in 6 1/2 hours (not a favorite memory for Melody)…we welcome the challenge.

Our first ‘real’ outing was many many moons before our relationship began, but from the moment I met her – amid the deafening roar of the first top-fuel dragster event at Palm Beach International Raceway (formerly known as Morosso) – I knew that this was the person I wanted to get to know better and a person whom I would take great pleasure in having the company of. The only problem was…I was in a relationship, and so was she. This would prove to be the greatest test of my patience to date.

After a series of trials and tribulations with other people, I decided to take a year off of the ‘dating’ scene. What I found within this year was that I am much stronger than I gave myself credit for, and that if I wanted to…I could do great things. I focused on work, developing my business, and thought about the future and where I wanted it to take me. This was also when I began traveling and spending more time with friends, developing stronger relationships with my friends.

In March of 2012, having worked as a Valet attendant at a condo in Boca Raton, FL for the previous 2 years, I realized that I was living a stagnant life and needed to make a change. I decided to pursue my business full-time. The first few months were a little tight, but with the insight from other young professionals and my mentor Dr. Kerensky, I soon began to build my client list and develop my specialization into Efficiency Consulting.

Seven months later, I secured the job which I am still at today, implementing policy and procedures at a construction company based out of Miami, FL as a Special Projects Manager.

One late night in February, after a long day at work, the decision was made that I would take a random trip up to Jacksonville – final destination unknown. I had been speaking with Melody off and on since October of the previous year, and I invited her to join me for a road trip. To my delight, she agreed – sparking our non-stop travel since.

Our first trip totaled 1700 miles in 3 days, driving nearly non-stop. We left from Boca Raton and drove to Jacksonville, FL through the night. We watched the sun rise at the Jacksonville Beach Pier, snapping beautiful photos along the way.

Sunrise at Jacksonville Beach

Melody on Boardwalk

Exhausted and weary from our travels, we got breakfast and coffee, then visited the local Walgreen’s. We procured a map and four quarters, dropped the quarters, and drove to the intersection of the coins – which happened to be Fitzgerald, GA.

Along the way, we had a cotton – pickin’ time!

Built some Snowmen!

Made Snow Angels!

We drove across Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina, talking and laughing, with only one night of sleep in Georgia.

This trip marked the first real time that we had ever spent together alone, and was a true test of endurance for us. We spent nearly 40 hours in the car together, and what’s more…we didn’t kill each other.

Since then, we have logged about 12k miles driving around the United States. We have taken pictures of ourselves next to 46 of the State Welcome signs (we managed to miss Massachusetts somehow after driving through it 4 times and it was raining when we went through New York), and have been on many amazing journeys, with many many more planned.

Travel Diary: Waterfalling in Tennessee

September 10, 2014December 21, 2015Melody1 Comment

Oh goodness, I love a waterfall. I will stay up for hours on end to get to a waterfall I can hike to.
Lucky for Mark, he likes them too.

On our way back to Miami, he asks what waterfalls are on the way back. Thanks to Pinterest, I found a pin for Cummins Falls. It’s part of a free state park where hikers can swim at the base of the falls, in the falls or hike behind them.

Needless to say, Cummins Falls fit the bill. It’s about midway between Knoxville and Nashville, a little over an hour from each city. The falls are off a very nondescript road: you have to be looking for them.

The hike down is scenic and nice. You are best off in some type of open toed hiking shoe but if you don’t mind getting sneakers wet then you will be fine.

It is free to enter and free to park your car. Relaxing hike down the mountain and in the river.

We trekked along the river capturing all kinds of cliff shots. I had to ditch the shoes walking in the water and the water felt so good in the sun.

Mark and I spent some moments hiking up the sides of cliffs.

The falls get really packed in the afternoon, so try to arrive at 11am or earlier.
The falls are big and beautiful.

You can climb as high as you want. Sit behind waterfalls. Swim up to them. The water is refreshing and clear! This experience is one of my life’s best moments. Bliss is what I experienced.

Mark had a great time hiding behind the levels of waterfalls and showing me how a backflip is done.

By the time we were done traipsing around the falls, we were pretty spent. It was a perfect way to spend a few hours in the summer.

Beautiful place. Will visit again!

#MarkandMelody

Separate but Together

September 7, 2014September 7, 2014MelodyLeave a comment

As I write this, I’m sitting at a Panera just outside Chicago. Mark is probably waking up just outside Los Angeles. He’s traveling for business, and so am I. Not without play first, of course. Here is his sunset picture at Redondo Beach.

I spent the day exploring the bounty of Chi-town with my mom. We are meeting a contact for a move management meeting. It was a perfect day for exploring Millennium Park. And we happened upon the giant silver bean completely by accident.

Flashback Friday, or How the West was Won

September 5, 2014September 5, 2014MelodyLeave a comment

Working title. But last Labor Day weekend we decided to drive all the states west of the Great Plains. This ability to stay up for 40 hours may quickly disappear, but we took advantage of it since we are still “so young.”

We flew into Denver from Miami and arrived just shy of midnight. Picked up the rental car and took off for the Four Corners monument: that place where Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico all meet. The only place where you can be in four places at once. Amped on our travel high, we set off to cover the hundreds of miles separating us from our destination.

Mark has a really good way of switching driving responsibilities at like, 2am. He takes a nap and with the blessing of a black sky and a blanket of stars, we pull into the southwest corner of Colorado right as the sun comes up. Beautiful scenery. Everything I dreamed and a lot I didn’t expect.

We arrive at Four Corners right at opening – 8am. Surprising enough, there’s a line of cars we join. We pay the fee and walk to the four corners outlined neatly on the ground. It was too early for vendors, so we and some other early risers had the place while it was quiet.

Maybe I was really that tired, but I felt a little underwhelmed by the experience. Certainly it’s something to cross off but the idea of it may be better than the actual place.

Interesting enough, a fact finding father told us that the monument outlining the boundaries of the states is incorrect according to modern GPS, so I insisted on taking a picture with the right coordinates (according to this guy’s phone in the middle of zero township.)