Earlier in the week we traveled to Chiefland, Florida to say goodbye to Cole’s family. Now it’s Emily’s turn for tearful goodbyes: we packed our bags and boarded a plane to Nashville, Tennessee.
We wanted to make the most of our time in the city, so we were thrilled when Emily’s cousin arranged dinner at an international food mall—plus salsa lessons (because there’s not much room to salsa on a boat)! We also got to meet up with Emily’s good friend Lauren who runs a podcast called AmpStigator. Already in Season 3, this podcast is all about finding your purpose in life. Emily felt incredibly privileged to be a guest, to share her story of going from news anchor to full-time traveler. Check out the episode here.
So much of our time saying farewell to the special people in our lives has involved ‘parting advice.’ When we met up with Emily’s journalism professor, Dr. Foust, he gave us some words of wisdom.
“Go with the flow,” he said. “Enjoy it, and don’t get mired in second thoughts.” He knows what he’s talking about: in the 80s, he had his own traveling adventure when he walked across America. He even wrote a novel based on this adventure called A Leaf in the Stream. Definitely worth a read!
Our trip just kept getting better. Emily experienced the Grand Ole Opry for the first time; we visited Thistle Farms, a breakfast spot which helps women rebuild their lives after coming out of sex trafficking; and we got to see RCA Studio B, the recording studio where Elvis Presley and other music legends captured their classic songs.
We then met up with more family, and the main purpose of the trip hit home.
Goodbyes are hard, aren’t they? But amidst the tears and hugs and more parting words of wisdom, it helped us to remember that a difficult goodbye is evidence of a strong and loving relationship. We are so grateful for the people in our lives who have supported and loved us up to this point, because we couldn’t have gotten here alone.
It’s really happening—next week, our adventure begins. Stay tuned for our next video, where we leave the dock and set sail for our first destination on this crazy journey: Cabbage Key.
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