Chasing Desert Dreams (MI to IN)

Last weekend, we loaded up the car with 2 suitcases of clothing, 2 mountain bikes and Peanut's toys, and headed west toward Arizona like a couple of modern day cowboys! Well, our covered wagon is a Mazda 3, our cattle herder is a lap-sitting min-pin and our saddle bags were made by L.L. Bean... but you get the idea. 

 









We're moving out to the desert in search of something more valuable than land or gold. The goal of this journey is to reach out, over the horizon and stake our claim on a vision for our future, a lifestyle to be proud of and passionate about and a better sense of our place and purpose in this world.

In preparing our road trip itinerary, Josh and I decided it was important to stop in a few places where we might someday want to settle down. So, I created a route that would take us through St. Louis, Colorado Springs and Santa Fe. Then, I diligently poured over CouchSurfer profiles and sought out some like-minded folks to bunk with in each city along the way. (And, of course, I printed copies of our itinerary and hosts for friends and family, just in case...)


The first official couch we surfed was the single sofa bed of Jay in Indianapolis, IN (actually, Peanut and I called dibs on the sofa and Josh got the floor!). Jay offered up his cozy little apartment and took us out for dinner in Broad Ripple, a quaint, low-key area north of the city, close to shops and the Monon Bike Trail (www.indianatrails.org/Monon_Indy). 

We had dressed-up salads and hand-cut frites at local micro-brewery called 'The Brugge' (www.bruggebrasserie.com), and of course Josh and Jay sampled the selections on draft. After dinner, we stopped at an enormous beer, wine and liquor emporium so the boys could grab a couple more local brews. Below is a shot of Jay, Josh and 'Grandpa Jack' Daniels at Kahn's Fine Wines Spirits (www.kahnsfinewines.com).

Back at Jay's apartment, we swapped stories about traveling, family and music and Jay introduced us to all sorts of new bands. He was even kind enough to upload tons of folksy, funky tunes onto our hard-drive to add to our CouchSurfing mix! Our first night as CouchSurfers was a smashing success, so we left in the morning jazzed about our new playlist and excited to meet our next hosts in St. Louis, MO.