Technically, we rolled into town on Saturday afternoon. Because we had time (our moving truck would take a week to arrive in Colorado), we took a longer-than-necessary route through Memphis, TN; Little Rock, AK; Oklahoma City, OK; Lincoln, NE; and North Platte, NE. I won’t recap those adventures here but I’ve linked each of these cities’ names with my favorite stop from that location.

Originally I wanted my first post-move post to center around fun before-and-after shots of the new house or reviews of restaurants we’re visiting for the first time — but I am fresh off a homesickness-induced crying jag and am choosing to begin honestly. This relocation has been hard! Dan and I planned for about 2.5 years to make this move happen, but while you can foresee the heartache of leaving your home, you cannot stop that ache. It’s a-comin’.

I am extremely fortunate to be sharing this adventure with my ride-or-die, and also to have friends in northern Colorado already, many of whom have already hit me up for hikes and coffee. (Bless you guys.) However, I have previously only lived in Ohio. I am unmoored. It is exhilarating while it is exhausting.

I am racking my brain for something new to say about homesickness but this is well-trodden ground. And so, onward.

Dan and I travel more than the average bear, and Colorado was the first place we visited where we felt called to stay for any real amount of time. We visited often for gut-checks — did we really love it, or had the weather just been exceptionally nice that weekend? But no, Colorado called to us, lured us back, made a place for us.

We are here. Time to dry my eyes, time to unpack. Our adventure is just beginning.