Friday, May 27-
Destination: Lowell, Massachusetts
The guys drove from Vermont, through New Hampshire, and into
Massachusetts. They were graced with the presence of some
females for a change! They stopped in to see an Auburn friend, Malia. That was
so nice for them to relax and walk around a
new place with a couple of fresh faces (as well as eat an entire tub of ice cream)! They found a spot to park for the night
in Massachusetts. "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Saturday May 28-
Destination: Vernon, New Jersey
Driving was another huge part of today. The guys drove from
Massachusetts to Vernon, New Jersey. On the way, they stopped at a beach in Connecticut to catch some rays and some waves; and back on the road they went.
In Vernon, there is a park called Mountain Creek Bike Park. Tomorrow
(Sunday) there would be a Pro-GRT race (a downhill mountain biking race with professional bikers - super cool). Until then, the guys went up to the base of the park, and met a guy named Brody on the way. Brody ended up giving them free lift passes that enabled the guys to go ride the trails in the bike park the next day! The guys were thrilled and couldn't wait for tomorrow to come.
They also saw a big black bear in the woods near the park!
Thankfully it was far enough away and was minding its own business. Back at the campsite, there were tons of bike-lovers
beginning to crowd for tomorrow’s big race! So the guys hunkered down and heated up a
meal that Molly had made before their trip. She had stocked their freezer full of
home-cooked meals and they’ve really enjoyed those! They went to sleep, dreaming of tomorrow's excitement.
Sunday May 29
Destination: Mountain Creek Bike Park
This morning, the guys woke up and went biking at
Mountain Creek Bike Park with their free passes from Brody before the races began at 1:30 later that day. Leo and my favorite mountain biker, Aaron Gwin, competed in this race and came in 1st
place! Leo even got a picture with him and was able to encourage him in the
Lord! Aaron is a brother in Christ and he is not afraid to stand up for what he
believes, even in the biking world. It was amazing to see that answer to prayer that Gwin would
take 1st and Leo would be able to meet and encourage him as brothers! So the guys enjoyed watching the race. From there they drove through Pennsylvania,
through parts of West Virginia, through Maryland, and finally came to a stop in Virginia where
they parked in a Wal-Mart lot for the night.
"So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." Genesis 1:27
Monday May 30
Destination: "Backpacking in Virginia"
Upon waking up, the guys realized they had a problem. Due to
an accidentally open valve, about 8 gallons of fuel had leaked out across the Wal-Mart
parking lot! Thankfully the management was very nice to them, so the guys did
their best to clean up as much as possible, and the management said they would
handle it from there. So that could have been a much worse situation, but thanks to the
Lord, it turned out okay!
Now, here’s where things take a little twist. Leo told me
they were headed to go backpacking somewhere in Virginia for a couple of days
and wouldn’t have good service. Little did I know, he was actually coming all
the way to Birmingham, where I am. All day, he had me totally fooled. People
constantly ask me “where are the guys today? what are they up to now?” and of
course I told them today, “oh they’re backpacking in Virginia for a few days!
They’ll be back in Auburn on Thursday for a wedding.” But in fact, they were
back in Birmingham, sleeping soundly in their beds, because tomorrow would
bring quite the surprise my way..!
Tuesday, May 31
Destination: Birmingham Surprise
The guys woke up this morning in Birmingham. Again,
practically everyone but me knew this. I texted Leo this morning, checking in
on how the night was camping outside, were there any bears, etc.? Leo went
right on along saying yes, “just had a bar for breakfast and we’re fixin to hit
the trails so I can’t talk long!” So I went on about my day here in Birmingham.
I had lunch with my good friend Catherine. My sister Katie had planned a “sister date” that night to "celebrate Caroline getting a job". That night my sisters and I went out to The Depot in Helena for dinner around
5:00, to celebrate Caroline! I
realized, hey- Leo and I had been at that creek over there a few times! The 3
of us ordered and ate our meals. Meanwhile, Leo was with his whole family and
several of our best friends, preparing to ask a very important question. A
little later, maybe around 6 or so, all of a sudden, I see this bus out of the
corner of my eye. It’s funny because every time I see a school bus nowadays I
think to myself, “oh it’s Leo” kind of as a joke. But then it really was him..
That’s when everything started feeling like a dream. I hardly remember anything
from here on out, but here’s what the pictures show. I ran down the restaurant
steps to him and we hugged and were excited to see each other after 3 weeks. I was
already shocked enough just to see him, Leo gets down on one knee, pulls out the
most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen and asks me to marry him!!!! I have
never been more shocked and excited and speechless in my whole life! And now
one of the famous Adventure Bus guys is engaged! The Lord has been absolutely
amazing and dependable in our relationship and all glory goes to Him! We’re so
excited! I wish I could type the fuller story, but I’ve got to cut this short!
Leo and Jonathan will be headed back out for leg #2 of their adventures after a
wedding this weekend, and I’ve got some planning to do! "We love because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19
The Adventure Bus 2016 will continue on the second leg of the journey next week!
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