On The Roooooad!

Hello, hello!  I'm currently blogging from a hotel room in Amarillo, Texas!

We finally left on 'Our Great Adventure' last Wednesday and as of today, we have been on the road for exactly one week.  We've made it through eight states so far and have been having a blast.  We've been doing a lot of camping, hiking, and visiting awesome towns.

I just wanted to stop in and say hi real quick since I haven't blogged in a whiiiile!  I'm hoping to get some pictures posted from our trip so far in the next few days!  For now, here's one of us right as we were leaving Pittsburgh to embark on our trip!!

Till next time, adios!

Our Great Adventure!!

First of all...

Happy May!!
The best month of all, my birthday month! ;)

So, I've been getting a lot of questions about our Big News, so I thought I'd let you know more of the details of it all.  My official start date at UC Irvine is July 1st and from now until that date, we've got a lot planned!!

My last day of work at my current job is this Friday, May 3rd!  Since I don't start my new position in California until July, we are going to spend this two month gap during May and June traveling around the United States and slowly making our way to California.  I am deeming this "Our Great Adventure".  :)

Originally, I was going to work at my current job through June and then head straight to California to start my new job.  But after working out the details with my current manager, I was able to put in my notice much sooner to allow for this once in a lifetime mini travel gap.  And Brett's company offered to have him continue working for them remotely from California, so all he will need to do is check in every once in a while during our travels before continuing full time remotely in California.  I cannot even begin to explain my excitement!

This is all happening so fast.  Between finishing up at work, visiting with friends & family, renting out our house, the insane packing process, and planning out our cross-country travels, things are getting crazy over here!  You don't even want to see my to-do list, trust me!  But in the midst of all the craziness of picking up our lives and moving them across the country, I can't help but stop every so often and just pinch myself that this is all happening.  I am so so grateful to have opportunities like this.  And I'm even more grateful that I get to experience this great adventure with Brett.

I hope you stick around to see how it all plays out.  I am definitely planning on blogging along the way during our summer travels cross country.  And of course, I plan on blogging about our new California life once we get there!  And as always, I'll be posting on instagram / twitter / vine because I have a serious social media problem.  :)  Hope to hear from you along the way!

And now, continuing on with the craziness that is this week!

Is this really my life?!

Scenes from the Weekend

Brett dedicated one of his homebrews to our big move to California - Sayonara Saison

Delicious treats while visiting with some family at my parent's house Friday night

A glorious and beautiful day on Saturday

Brett's parents came down to visit and we spent the whole day outside

Sunday was the start of it all... lots and lots of packing!!

This will probably be the last "Scenes from the Weekend" for a while.  We are heading out on our great adventure this weekend!  I've been getting a lot of questions about our Big News, so I think I'm going to do a little post on some of the details this week.  Updates coming soon! :)

Mountain Getaway - Charlottesville

Last mountain getaway post, I promise!

On our last full day of vacation, we headed into the cute little town of Charlottesville, VA.  It was only about a 20 minute drive from our cabin.  We spent the afternoon wandering around the quaint downtown and checking out all the local shops.

And then headed over to dinner at Mellow Mushroom!

Pretty much one of our most favorite pizza places ever!

And topped the night off with some froyo, of course!

The perfect end to a really great vacation!!

Hope you enjoyed my recaps of our little mountain getaway.

Now, onto the next adventure!!*

Mountain Getaway - Breweries

Continuing on with my little recap of our mountain getaway...

When we weren't out hiking and biking and enjoying nature, we were hitting up every single brewery within a 20 mile radius of our cabin.  The Blue Ridge Mountains are surrounded by some of the most amazing breweries we have ever been to.  Our vacation was only 4 days long and somehow we ended up going to 4 breweries.  Coincidence?  I think not.  We may have even went to some of these breweries more than once because we are kind of obsessed...

Devils Backbone Brewing Company

Wild Wolf Brewing Company

Blue Mountain Brewery

Starr Hill Brewery

Umm, can you tell we really like beer??

Mountain Getaway - Hiking

First of all, thank you for all your well wishes for our upcoming California adventure!!

You guys are the best!

I'm trying to make a point to finish blogging about our little mountain getaway

before we head out on this next adventure, so bare with me here...

Brett and I are both huge hiking fans.  And that is exactly what we spent most of our time doing on this little mountain getaway.  The Blue Ridge Mountains are seriously awesome.  Every hike you go on, you are bound to run into amazing views and awesome trails.

 Stairway to heaven?

Hiked part of the AT! (Thought of you, Alan!)

Try not to be too jealous of my awesome fashion sense...

Off the beaten path... a plane crash from the 1960s!

Hiking is the best.  And more often than not, Brett and I tend to get into really deep conversations while hiking.  Must be the whole 'one with nature' thing.  I'm a fan. :)

Big News!!

I'm sure if you follow me on twitter / instagram / vine, you already know...

We're moving to California!!

I accepted a position at the University of California, Irvine and start July 1st!  We are in the middle of a crazy couple of weeks trying to get everything sorted out with quitting our current jobs, packing up our house, visiting friends/family, and planning our cross-country travels to California.  It's a lot to take in, but we are so so excited!  

We even made a little video to announce:

Here's to new adventures!!*

{Above photo from our vacation in San Clemente, CA - September 2012}

Scenes from the Weekend

Scored big time at the REI Garage Sale on Saturday morning

Had to go for a long hike in Mingo Creek to test out our new gear!

With a little stop in the middle for a (chilly) picnic

Delicious Sunday lunch at Market District

And another great hike to round out a very outdoorsy weekend!

Happy Earth Day!!