Scottsburg Trip.

First off I want to send you to check out probably my favorite guest post I've EVER done here on Darby's blog.

(boarding passes printed, Thursday @ work)

As I sit down to write this I'm having the urge to sing 'all my bags are packed, I'm ready to go, I'm standing here outside your door'....

I love to travel and lucky for me the last two weeks have been full of it. They're really only the beginning though. Later this month I'm headed out of the country for the first time to the Caribbean to help build a church in tent city, 30 minutes outside of Port au Prince, the capital of Haiti. I will return just before the end of April, work my first NFL event of the season with former Super Bowl Winning Head Coach Tony Dungy, before jetting back off to explore Washington DC for a few days in mid-May.

When I promised you that year of experiences? I wasn't lying. I've put my money, my passport, and my suitcases where my mouth is and I'm going big this year. Travel, travel, travel I will. I love it. I wouldn't trade a second of my time away, even though I always feel a sense of relief about coming back home as well. Keeps me grounded.

I started my Scottsburg trip (my second of the year) with a 6am flight to Baltimore where I endured a layover with a bag full of books and my Christmas iPad (thanks Dad!). I normally fly direct but to be honest, I don't mind the occasional layover when I don't have a deadline for work or a holiday to rush too. I enjoy people watching in airports, reloading on fountain diet coke, and snagging a few postcards to send to my favorite 'penpals' across the states.

Bags of books - literally.

Hello from Baltimore!

This trip started out rough. Everything that could go wrong the week in advance pretty much did. I got sick, for starters. Then I had a relapse of my stomach drama of the year before to follow my sickness. My ride to the airport cancelled 24 hours before my flight. Naturally this was also the week nothing I own fit right, my AC needed servicing, and I learned that diet coke supposedly causes anxiety. Ack! Well, you get the idea...it was off to a such a rough start I remember texting Jo on Wednesday night as I was working on packing and saying, 'I'm starting to think my planes going to crash!'. But have no fear, I've lived to write to you all.

My flight to and my time in Baltimore were freezing. While I had thought through packing for my time in Kentucky/Indiana I had not taken the time to realize it would be blizzard worthy weather in Baltimore. Br! But I managed to finish a book and start the next, while being watching by a creeper.

My flight left Baltimore late but arrived in Louisville, KY early. Candy picked me up and we had lunch at Panera downtown before she went back to the office to finish up for the week while I loitered at Panera watching Lipstick Jungle on my ipad and reading.


When I felt like I mooched enough diet pepsi (bleh) and loitered long enough I took a walk around the L. It was absolutely beautiful there, although I kept saying it was 'chilly' and getting strange looks. Everyone there was in flipflops, I couldn't leave the house without a sweater. Florida has made me a real wimp.


One afternoon we took a drive through Henryville, IN - where the tornados recently hit. It was both humbling and a great reminder to make sure we're storing up our treasures, not on earth. To think you could lose it all in a second really puts things into perspective.

Henryville.


Candy & I at Lights Barn.



And again.

Tyler and I. I'm basically built exactly like that.

It as a relaxing low key weekend in the burg. It was hard to catch a 7am flight back that Monday. We got up at 430, drove to Kentucky, I flew to Tampa, picked up my car and headed straight to the office. Nothing like coming back to the real world.

I feel grateful I was able to go back so soon. Two trips to Scottsburg already in 2012 and it's only April. Truly a blessing.

Love,
B