JBandStacy2014

11/29 – A New Adventure and a New Life…

As 2014 comes to a close, this year was filled with many ups and downs. I will let Stacy tell her story, and I will tell my own. In the end however, the results of this year is leading me towards one of my biggest dreams that I have ever had…The Appalachian Trail.

This is a dream that I began around 3 years when I began prepping for a thru-hike of the AT. I had a family, wife, and a world of responsibilities at that time which prevented me from being on the trail. You can find that madness at my NEW 2 THE WILD YouTube channel. Well, after spending 2014 on vacation in Orlando and taking my kids to amusement parks each and every day, my home life basically fell apart. I left home with my son and looked towards building a new life. During that time, I met another dream of mine…the beautiful Stacy. The past 4 months have had their ups and downs as we both are coming off of a marriage and beginning our own special bonds. The love built up over the past four months have grown to an amazing level.

Well, we left Orlando, went to Vegas, and bumped into a world of new problems. It was almost as if everything in the world was trying to separate the bonds that we were trying to build. We were at a stand still. We didn’t know what our next move was until we remembered something that I had brought up in Orlando….The APPALACHIAN TRAIL. We knew instantly that the trail was where we needed to go. We needed solitude from society and all of the bondage that existed within that was threatening our relationship and lives. We needed time to just walk...talk…and grow. The Appalachian Trail seemed perfect. This gave us the opportunity to accomplish something…..TOGETHER. We had already left our jobs in Orlando anyways and with Vegas soon to fall apart, we figured that no time was BETTER than right now for the AT.

I admit that she was a little nervous at first due to the length of the hike, but hell, I think we all were at first when we heard how long the trail was. The Trail has been calling me for years and now she feels as if she needs it for her own growth as well. This journey is about growth…love…passion….sacrifice…and challenge. We look forward to where it takes us…who knows where we will go after the AT, but as for now, this is OUR dream….OUR FUTURE….OUR JOURNEY…We look forward to becoming part of the AT for 6 months…Yes, we know it’s gonna be cold as we set off on December 18^th. We know that we are leaving WAY earlier than most people do…However, that is also part of the challenge and part of the wonderful reason that we are going…peace and solitude. My personal hopes is that we grow during this hike more than we ever thought we could…My personal hopes is that the accomplishment together will be the most romantic (and smelly) bond that a couple can build. I am looking forward to this challenge…This is my dream….I thank her for adding her beautiful face to my dream….LETS DO THIS! This is definitely a new adventure and a new life in the end REGARDLESS of what happens on that trail….

JB aka Tear Drop (TD)