The W's of it all

You are wondering who we are, why we're doing this and what exactly is 'this'?

Let me enlighten you.

My name is Melissa. My sister Megan and I are going on a journey. This journey is going to lead us from New England to the Pacific Southwest, up the coast to the Olympic peninsula and across the great expanse of the Northern borders back home.

We will be driving across this country attempting to discover all of the wonder that is America. From small-town treasures to national monuments, we will explore as much of it as possible.

The idea for this road-trip came in early summer as we were both faced with the reality of living a life that had turned out to be quite a bit less than we had hoped. As a child I had dreamed of traveling to new places, meeting people and writing the great American novel. My path was going to be one of adventure and shared discovery.

Then life happened. I settled for a career that made sense and provided security while watching the path of life change disappointingly into a rut. A rut that threatened to consume that special spark that makes me uniquely ME. I re-examined who I had become, where I had gone in life and where I was going. Would the 8 year-old me, who recorded broadcasts on an old tape player while sitting in a hayloft dreaming of one day seeing the world, be happy with where I was?

Sadly the answer was a resounding "NO!". Things had to change and change they have.

Luckily, this journey is not mine alone. As events began to unfold and opportunities emerged, Megan was facing a crossroads. She could continue maintaining the status quo and face the same rut making lifestyle I had consigned myself to, OR, she could take a leap of faith and join me.

Gratefully, she has a lot of faith in her big sister. She is coming along, to share her unique perspective of our adventure. Though writing is my dream and not hers, she has agreed to help me fill this blog with stories, adventure and personality. The present is ours to share together.

This will be the first adventure we have taken together. She, being so much younger than I, was not part of my trips up I-5 along the Pacific coast when I was in my late teens and early twenties. She was still in high school when I moved to Boston all those years ago. She grew into the wonderful woman she is without much interaction with me. Sure we are sisters but it was her close friends that she went exploring with. The past is hers to share with them.

Recently we discovered that Megan has a little hitchhiker who will tag-along with us on our journey. I call this little lima-bean sized creature "Sticky". Yes, it is what you think it is and yes, we are very excited. A little freaked out, but incredibly excited. He or She will debut sometime toward the end of February so right now, before the limitations of pregnancy overcome her life, it is her time for adventure.

We are two sisters sharing our road-trip of discovery.