Zion is breathtaking.  Just look at this view!  You definitely need to visit Bryce Canyon as well.

I had honestly never heard of Moab before Colin told me we should stop there on our road trip.  And if you Google "Moab" right now, the first things that pop up are actually about MOAB, the Mother Of All Bombs that was dropped in Afghanistan.  That's not where we are -- we are in Utah.  There are 2 national parks that are pretty close to Moab, UT: Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park (pictured above).  They are both insanely beautiful!  I'm surprised that I've never heard of them before, but add them to your list of places to visit RIGHT NOW.  ​

After having visited Kansas City, it's now on the list of potential cities to settle down in.  However, previously to actually visiting, I really had no idea what to expect.  Just having "Kansas" in the name of it made me think of corn fields (maybe?  Does Kansas grow corn?).  And I'm not great with geography to start with, so wrapping my head around which state Kansas City is in was hard too (it is on the border of Missouri and Kansas, but the main part of the city is actually in Missouri -- tricky, tricky).  ​

Maine was my favorite spot so far!  The weather was gorgeous (it was the first good weather they've had this year, so we got super lucky!), and the people were lovely.  ​

We spent the day in Providence for 3 reasons: 1) Colin needed to visit so he could get his 48th state, 2) Colin wanted to visit Pawtucket Brewery from Family Guy, and 3) Colin has been listening to Crime Town which is a new podcast all about the mafia in Rhode Island. ​

I literally cannot stop singing the theme song from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air in this city.  It's insane that a TV show could have shaped me so much that every time I think the word "Philadelphia" along with it comes "In West Philadelphia, born and raised....."  

I've been to Philly a few times before, but the most memorable was in high school with one of my friends for a psychology conference.  Look at how pretty my hair was!!

Colin and I walked over 25,000 steps on Friday exploring the city. It was 35°F, drizzling, and really windy, but we made the most of it! While there is a lot to do, I don't think we want to live here. Never say never and all that, but I'd prefer Atlanta to Philly. The people, however, are really nice. I felt welcomed, and this is for sure a spot I would visit again!

​See our USA photos here.

The house cooling party was a hit!  I think that everyone found at least a little something, and some people were carting out bags and bags or even furniture!  We still had to make a trip to Good Will with a lot of stuff, but I don't even want to think about how many trips it would have been without the party.  My brother, Matthew, his girlfriend, Kelly, and one of our besties, Erika, stayed the night and helped us pack / clean everything on Saturday.  I don't know what we would have done without them - we are so grateful :)

On Saturday night, we drove up to Waxhaw, NC and stayed there with Colin's family for a couple of days.  They're watching Indiana Bones for us while we travel (again, so grateful - we really have amazing people in our lives).  Matthew is watching Kilimanjaro for us too.  In about 2 years, they are going to have the BEST reunion!  On Sunday, we went to a Bon Voyage party with all of Colin's family at a super cute brewery in Charlotte, and it was so nice to see everyone!

It is a small world....
Colin and I are trying to use Couchsurfing for most of the trip to 1) save money and 2) meet cool people.  On our way to Raleigh, I was re-reading our Couchsurfing host's profile.  I saw that he went to Duke, and I figured that he might know one of our friends in Atlanta (somehow, we got in close with a bunch of Dukies).  Turns out he knows Colin's old roommate, and Colin had even met him before!  How crazy is that?!

Raleigh was super chill.  It seems like a nice place to live.  Smaller than Atlanta (read: less traffic!), so seems like it's easier to get around.  Our host showed us around some cool places and took us to a Couchsurfing meetup to meet other Couchsurfers.  He also took me to a krav maga class!  It was pretty awesome - I now know how to get out of a choke-hold from behind :)

​See our USA photos here.