Arlie Opal, A Love Story

I decided that since my husband and I recently passed our 7 year dating anniversary this Valentine's day. I would tell you about our love story!

How we looked as babies! I had just turned 21 a few months prior and My husband was 24. We worked together at an electronics retail store. 

We hung out with the same friends and casually flirted back and forth. I actually had a date with someone else on valentine's day that I didn't want to go on. It so happens that the guy cancelled and with a quick text to the cute guy at the help desk. He whisked in on his day off and asked me out instead!

Feb 14, 2010:

He took me to New Orleans to the City Park and out to eat. Our dinner date was eventually pushed to a Chili's restaurant because we didn't realized it would be busy on a Valentine's day. (young and dumb)

I was immediately smitten. 2 months later I moved in! It may sound crazy, but at the time we liked each other and didn't want to mess with formalities. We are all or nothing kind of people. 

We lived with roommates all of 2010 and got to know each other best. My love of books, his love of nature, my hatred of scary things, and his hatred of tomatoes. 

Somewhere towards the end of the year we started coming up with this crazy idea! We wanted to quit our jobs and travel the country. We originally planned it for an RV, which eventually went to bicycles!

So we moved out of the house with roommates and moved in with his parents!

In 2011, we did absolutely nothing. Lost a lot of friends and invitations to things because we were so hellbent on going on this trip. (spoiler we did)

We stayed at home, played video games and worked our butts off. 

His parent's were so nice, I was in awe of how wonderful they are. I still can't believe it 7 years later. The nicest, most in love, couple you could possibly imagine and then some. They were very supportive in our crazy adventure plans. Especially when some crazy girl was coming in and taking there son away to gallivant across the country. 

And that's what we did. Scrimped and saved our way to somewhere around $50,000 dollars before all of our crazy gear.

website proof

and instagram proof

And then once we had all the things saved, we quit our jobs and left.

Our trip now seems almost unreal. It lasted a total of almost 6 months.

We started as we had planned on bicycles. We biked from New Orleans, through Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. 

We met amazing people, had amazing experiences and built amazing calf muscles. 

We got about halfway to St. Augustine, FL when genetics finally caught up to me and my knee crapped out. :/

After I was assured that I was indeed not going to die, we gave my knee a full month to see if it was going to recover. It didn't, and I can't bike too long anymore. :(

But we were determined, so we just bought a used Miata to finish the trip in. The closest thing to bikes as we could get. 

We did agree to take no Interstates and set the GPS to such. 

And off we went again! 

Back through Mississippi, Alabama, Florida ( and back to St. Augustine), Georgia, both the Carolinas' (we got to see Williamsburg, Roanoke, and also an amazing private island state park called Hammock State Park), Virginia, Washington D.C (amazing museums), New York (city and the Adirondacks, and into Canada through Ottawa. 

We came back through to US through the Niagra Falls (Canadian side is better), then we did something crazy. We drove all the way back to Louisiana to catch my Dad on his yearly trips in Tennessee. Fun drive, 22 hour drive. We took shifts and it was exhausting. 

After Tennessee with my family, we left again driving to Missouri, where we hung out with my friends and then bee lined it through the Midwest. 

I'm sorry, but there was not much to see that we didn't already see through the first part of the Midwest. Then we went to Denver, Colorado(amazing) and met up with another friend. We went up to Wyoming and saw Yellowstone, Montana for Glacier National Park (my favorite). Then towards Washington to Seattle (where my husband grew up) Then took a ferry to Olympic National Park (his favorite) and down to Portland, Oregon. (we miss Portland.)

After Portland we hit the coast to Crater Lake National Park (another fave) to California.

Redwoods, beaches, Sequoias, Hwy 1, San Francisco, Yosemite (like a week before the bad fire), and Big Sur.

Then to Las Vegas, Nevada. Around this time we were gone a long time and we were tired of not knowing where we were sleeping everyday.

So when we saw the Grand Canyon in Arizona, we were in awe, but only for like an hour. Then we took a nap in our tent.

After that we went to Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, and the last one being Arches National Park. And we came home, with only $100 in our pocket. The trip was over.

Insane would be a word for it.

In 2012, we worked again and saved money to go to our favorite city in the whole United States.

While, there were many cities in the US that we loved, we had to be reasonable. At the time it was cheaper to live there. Now not so much.

So we decided we wanted to move to Portland, Oregon.

We had to lock ourselves away again since we spent everything. Back to video games, scrimping and saving. And we lived with the In-laws again!

We loved Portland. I was able to get back a lot of what I had lost. I was going back to school, and working again. I was making it on my own and made amazing friends.

The city was full of art and was my safe place. Unfortunately, I didn't do much art while I was going to school. (massage therapy)

But I was doing well. Until March of 2015...

The year my Dad died and I lost almost everything.

We moved back to Louisiana, I quit school, we left our new home and that was it.

I don't remember a lot of this year except that was when I got Gilbert, my pug. And I started Arlie Opal.

I went back to painting and gave up everything else.

I worked very hard at my painting. I gave it my absolute everything. 

Also in 2016, we decided after all we have done and been through in such a short time it only made sense to make this permanent. 

We got married in May.

We moved to a little camper, where I paint pictures and play with my best friend, Gilbert.

It still hurts, but I'm very determined to make it. I want to make it. I have to make it.

So here I am. In 2017, we still don't know what we are doing or what adventure we may embark on. But I'm in the process of gong back to school, for ART this time.

And all I know is, that of all the changes and craziness that have happened.

He has been my constant. He has always been with me no matter what.

And he will be there until the very end.

Tell me in the comments below about love.

I will try to post a new blog every Wednesday!