Yesterday, in my blog, I announced that I would be reposting some old blogs I wrote during an 18-day trip my family took back in 2014 to 20 states (in the shape of a heart across America). During this trip, we did 1,000 acts of kindness. And then, I wrote an ebook about it. Which you can find here.
It’s so crazy to me how far technology has come since we took this trip. We didn’t have cell phones with fancy cameras. I don’t even remember if our phones had cameras. I took all of the photos I will post with my Canon Rebel. We had a tablet, but it didn’t have cell service. We didn’t have GPS. We would stop at McDonald’s along the way and bum their wifi to find our next hotel on Expedia, and then get mapquest directions. It was really chaotic.
I had bought a Go Pro and planned on making short videos to share along the trip, but at the end of each day, I was so exhausted from driving and trying to cram in some kindness… that I was almost too tired to blog. I did NOT plan this well…
But, I will never regret taking this trip.
I remember the first day being super stressful. I remember it feeling like food costs too much, and gas costs an unreal amount. I remember feeling bad for spending money on some of the acts of kindness because I didn’t think we had enough money (I initially tried to fundraise, but that has never been something I’ve been successful at). I remember wanting to cry as we drove from Florida to Georgia because it felt like it took forever. I remember my husband, Levi, pulling out our camcorder (which I ended up not using like I wanted to) and asking me how I felt. I remember it being a really sweet moment when I felt like this was the beginning to something disastrous. I remember being scared of failure.
AND I remember being super excited too. I remember thinking I was making a difference. I remember thinking I was writing a book. I remember all the times I wanted to do something BIG with my life and see the world. I remember the freedom I felt being on the road. I remember all the good too.
Our first act of kindness was at Petco that morning, where I made a small donation at the checkout counter. Then we drove to Daytona Beach (we started in Orlando, Flordia) and paid for someone’s parking at the beach, and I gifted someone a Five Guys gift card.
There were a lot of first on this trip. I believe this was my first time visiting Georgia (and my family’s too).
We crossed the state line and got a hotel for the night.
I remember it was a really “cheap” hotel, but to us, it seemed so nice. I had not done a lot of traveling before, so it all seemed so new and so magical.
Here is the blog entry I wrote on the first day of the trip:
Day One: Daytona Beach, Florida
“The first step is always the hardest.”
And today was rough.
We woke up late, took way too long to pack up the car, and I think I may have had a few minor nervous break downs through out the day.
But looking back, I have a lot to be thankful for.
Here we are, in Savannah Georgia on our first night, and we survived… and we even managed to pull of a few acts of kindness.
Today we put our toes in the Atlantic Ocean, donated a $1 to the Petsmart Charity, Payed for someone’s parking at the beach, and payed for some guy’s dinner at Five Guys.
Time to make my day 1 video, and get some rest…
Good night,
Kelly Airhart
In my next blog post, we will continue this journey. I look forward to sharing more about this trip and my life with you guys.
Remember to dream big. It might not always work out the way you want, but if you let yourself, you will enjoy the journey.
Love you all,
Kelly Airhart
