Coming at you this Friday evening from Phoenix, Arizona. Its been a very long week. My boyfriend and I drove from Boise, Idaho to Phoenix on Wednesday night and all day Thursday. The drive took 15 hours, plus we stopped to nap for 2 hours and spend almost an hour in my college town Flagstaff. All in all, went spent 18 consecutive hours in his truck and we are about to do it again tomorrow…..pray for me 😅

When Zeb planned to drive down to Phoenix for a couple of nights, I jumped at the chance to join him. I lived in Flagstaff for four years of college, and I’d drive down to Phoenix at least a couple times a year for track meets, to visit friends, and get some warmth. I did an internship at the Phoenix Open PGA tournament, attended ASU’s homecoming football game, spring breaked there with my ASU friends and rang in my 22nd birthday bar hopping around Scottsdale. Arizona has a lot of familiarity and good memories for me!

When we drove into flagstaff yesterday, my stomach had that giddy feeling like Christmas when you’re a little kid. It was just the feelings and the good memories….of course there were plenty of low moments and bad memories from my time there, but over time those are a lot easier to block out and focus on the good. I really missed the town that I became a NCAA Division 1 athlete in. The town that has the most beautiful incredible endless running trails that I would conquer snow or shine with my teammates. The town that I felt like I really truly had a good idea of what I was really good at, what my strengths were. I question those a lot lately.

More than I missed flagstaff itself, I miss the girl I was when I lived there.

I don’t really know how to get that back other than putting my prime focus on the fitness passion that I have so much. Running, strength training, yoga, Zumba, Pilates classes, spin classes…they were all part of my daily routine when I was a college student and most of the time they were the highs of my days. They left me feeling strong and confident and proud.

Flagstaff is quirky and hippy and unique, so my boyfriend didn’t really find the appeal of it. But for me, it’s a town that comes with a cozy feeling all it’s own. Not because it’s a mountain town, but because it’s where I found myself after I moved away from my parents at 18 and figured out how to adapt to a totally new environment.

We spent the day around Phoenix today and met up with some of Zeb’s college friends and one of mine. I got to wear shorts and a T-shirt in November so we certainly weren’t in Idaho anymore!

We are about to end the night with some dinner and drinks with Zeb’s friends before we load up the car for another 15 hour ride back to Idaho. I am no newbie to road trips, so I stocked us up with clementines, dried fruit, nuts, crackers, pickles, cheese, holiday Oreos, gummy worms, iced coffee, kombucha, and protein bars. We entertained ourselves on the way down with “Guess that Song,” “Never Have I Ever,” trivia and our own version of the swear jar…..we picked a word the other person says a lot and banned them from saying it until we get back to Idaho. The word Zeb picked for me was “tired” which I guess is pretty telling of my personality… 😂

Despite the long drives, I am lucky to be able to take off a couple days of work and spend them traveling out of state. Driving through Utah is stunning, and I wish we had more time to stop in Bryce, Zion, & Horseshoe Bend because we were so close! But as good as I’ve felt being in Arizona again, I’m sure I’ll be back soon for another opportunity to add these tourist stops 🙂

XO, Kenz