PCS Road Trip from New York to Arizona

When my husband re-enlisted, he re-classed to another position.  As a result, that meant he needed to attend school in Arizona in between his current duty station to his next one.  He PCS'ed with TDY en route, so that meant right after his left his duty at Fort Drum, he needed to report to school and after that, he goes straight to his next duty station in Korea.

We decided to plan a road trip.  I took off work for 10 days to accompany my soldier on his drive.  We stayed in six different locations during our trip:  Strasburg, VA; Chattanooga, TN; Biloxi, MS; Austin, TX; Albuquerque, NM; and finally, Sierra Vista, AZ.  It was quite the adventure.  I've actually had lots of experience with LONG - and I mean long - car rides.  This PCS wasn't my first rodeo and I actually had a great time!  My husband on the other hand, had difficulty sitting in the car for long amounts of time.  He was pretty much done with the driving 400 miles in.  It didn't help that we went a roundabout way.  I wanted to drive through Biloxi because I have family there and Austin because that's where my parents live.  At the end of it all though, I believe my husband enjoyed himself too.

Anyway, another important event that happened during this particular trip...my husband and I got engaged.  Before we started our journey, I had an inkling he was going to pop the question - and on the day I was there he woke me up by presenting a ring to me.  I will not forget this amazing trip.

 Our first stop, Virginia!  We spent a lot of time getting to know the rest areas of America.

Smooth sailing down the interstate to Tennessee! Chattanooga here we come!

 The Smokey Mountains.

Made it to Mississippi!

My husband and I with my grandma!  My grandparents were amazing and so were the rest of my family!

I made my husband stop at the Texas state border, duh!!  Showing some state pride!

West Texas catus...there were lots of them!

 Passed through Roswell, NM!  The whole town was UFO-focused.

 

New Mexico had lots of winding roads.

 

Sunset before reaching out destination in New Mexico.

 

 Finally in Arizona!!

I had to drive the last leg because my husband got food poisoning in New Mexico.  So much for trying "authentic" food!

 Hiking in Sierra Vista, Arizona!

 

After going through this amazing journey with my now husband, I recommend that every couple should at least once to the cross-country road trip together.  It was a perfect opportunity for us to explore new places and undergo some stress too.  We overcame all the adversity that came our way - from my husband's stomach bug to making sure we woke up early enough to get all our mileage in - it challenged us in a way that no other experience could.  All in all, I had an amazing time and would do another cross-country trip in a  heartbeat.