Hi everyone,

Maureen and Tony here. We are writing to say that we have had a change of plans in regards to this trip.

Let’s back up first and say this. We dreamed up this project many months ago. We’ve dedicated ourselves to it, building a network of friends and followers (you guys), designing a website, getting sponsorship and much more. In many ways, we think the biggest part was taking place before we even stepped out the door. This project is something we’ve loved to work on. Six months ago, we were not yet engaged, both doing jobs that didn’t excite us, and really ready to change up our lives. And so we dreamed this up. And it was a great escape for us. In those six months, we can say definitively, without a sliver of doubt, that we are in a different place than we ever thought we would be.

For a variety of reasons, we are not going to go through with the trip at this time.

We know that we don’t owe anyone an explanation, and we’re certainly entitled to changing our minds. But the hardest part of backing out of all of this was, quite honestly, having to address it to the people who have cared about us and wanted to watch us succeed. Even as I’m typing this message, a person we’ve never met just pledged us on our trip. The support we’ve received from so many of you will certainly be a highlight of this experience. So while we don’t owe you any explanations, you may be wishing for one. And to that, we’ll just have to say, it didn’t work out.

We are really okay with this decision. In the last six months, like we said, we’re in a different place.  We always feared that if we didn’t go through with this, we’d live our whole lives in regret. Now we see what the best course of action is for us.  Understanding that was difficult, but in the end we think that it takes a strong spirit to set out and do the sort of project we planned; it takes an even stronger will see the signs and walk away.  We believe God has a plan for us.  We don’t know what it is quite yet, but we’re walking confidently into our future.

In life there are successes and failures. We all go through them. We’ve all had our fair share. And while this didn’t work out like we had planned, we also don’t see it as a failure. We have come so far in our relationship. We’re more sure than we’ve ever been that we should be together. If that is the best thing that ever came from this, then we have nothing to regret.

Life is good, friends.

We are excited for the adventures that lie ahead. While we’re not quite ready to conquer America, we’ll be making our little adventures through life in ways that we can’t even imagine yet. And that is so exciting to us.

If we have anything final to say, it is this. Never be afraid to try something. Put yourself out there. While it is hard to write this and tell you all that we’re not finishing the project, what came from it is so much greater. And we are better off for having tried.

So thank you, everyone. Your support has meant the world to us. We can’t wait to see where life takes us next.

Much love,

Tony and Maureen

We get a lot of mixed reviews when we tell people about our upcoming trip. They range from:

-  Wow! That is the coolest idea!

- Sounds like fun. I’d never do it, but I’m sure you’ll enjoy.

- Only you guys would do something like this. Crazy idea. I can’t wait to hear about it!

- Are you crazy!?

We’ll skip over the first three responses because we don’t need to congratulate ourselves on coming up with a unique idea or reiterate the idea that we are more adventurous, or just downright more ridiculous, than most of our friends.

But let’s address that last one.

Are we crazy?

Here is the evidence to support the case. We are walking across the country. We are walking upwards of 20 miles a day. That’s almost a marathon, every single day. We are quitting our jobs. In a recession. We are moving out of our houses. We are giving up our incomes and putting our possesions in storage, and on our backs. And again, we’re walking. Across the country. It’s pretty out-there.

And it would be completely dishonest to pretend that sometimes? Sometimes even we are afraid of what lies ahead. We want to be real with you, our followers, and in doing so, let’s just be the first to admit that every once and awhile, we’re scared.

But we also want to defend ourselves here.

Hear us out.

(This is Maureen speaking now.) For the last several years I have been working at a 9-5 office job. I’ve had some really great experiences at said job. But in the last few years I have learned one thing. (Well, I’ve learned lots of things.) And that is that I do not belong at an office job. I can’t fake it any more. I hate the idea that I sit inside all day long, and by the time I leave work, it’s dark most of the year. I hate that I can’t see a window and I could go a whole day without knowing if it rained or was sunny. I hate getting stressed out over purchase orders and email chains. Because at the end of the day, none of it matters. And I feel too young to sit here and count down until 5:00. There is a big world out there, and there’s no excuse for unhappiness. I need to take charge of it myself.

Sure, I could find a new job. I could stay here and continue to build my photography business (that I’ve been working on the side for awhile now).  Once I have enough clients, I could quit my job with more financial security. We could stay and plan our wedding, buy a house, and have a nice life.

And you know what? We will probably do all of those things.

Am I crazy to quit my job? Probably. I admit that. This might be a huge mistake. But I have to take a risk on something. And I’ve decided to make it this.

We don’t know what will come of this trip. At the end, we could very well come back unemployed and poor, trying to make ends meet. It’s an absolute possibility. We could also find a part of ourselves that we never knew we had in us, like a love for a certain part of the country, a certain way of life, or a certain future career that we’re not even aware of as I write this. We could make connections, find people who we think are fascinating, create partnerships. We’re already learning skills that are so useful outside of this trip- everything from web design, social media, photography, film editing, marketing, budgeting, planning. And our future could grow from one of the many skills we’re developing.

So you see. We might be crazy. But we’re hopeful. We are hard workers, and we will not end up homeless or without food. We’ll make it work for ourselves, even if it’s a long climb to the top. Stay with us as we go, and hopefully many of these questions will be answered.

Thanks for following along.

We made an update video for you this weekend that shows what we were working on. We’re testing out our ability to upload directly to our blog, the speed at which we can process it, and a few other things. This is the first of raw, unedited videos so you get to see us in rare form!

Welcome!  Bienvenidos!  Yookoso!  Dobro pozhalovat’!  Välkommen! Bienvenue! Huan ying! (if I skipped your language I’m sorry)

This is the start of our new blog that will be our written link to the world while on our journey across America following the route of Lewis and Clark.  Most of you who are reading this already know about our trip, but for those who don’t let me give you a brief overview.

We are Maureen and Tony, a newly engaged couple who met here in Portland, OR and one day got the crazy idea to take a walk.  A long walk.  A really, really, long walk.  We are going to walk from Oregon to St. Louis, MO along the route that Lewis and Clark took over 200 years ago.  I am a film guy by trade (Tony), and plan on filming all our adventures along the way.  Maureen in the meantime will use her exceptional photography skills to capture the annals of our trek using still photos, albeit with a great deal more skill.  Both of us will do some writing which you can find right here, but for those pictures and videos you can check out our FaceBook fan page here or website at lewisandclarkwerehere.com.

We’ve already done most of the planning and have both a map and spreadsheet for each day of hiking detailing where we start, finish, and where we stay.  We’ve also contacted several companies for equipment sponsorship and are already being sponsored by Icebreaker, who will be supplying our very chic athletic clothing.  But we need more than just equipment, we need funds!  Through Kickstarter.com we will be raising the money necessary to get us to the “Archway to the West” by helping us pay for our camping and park fees, motel stays, and food (probably a lot of peanut butter).  If you or someone you know may be interested in our journey, Lewis and Clark history, backpacking, or just wants to help let them know about us and share our fanpage, website and this blog whenever you can.  With your help we can make this epic journey possible.

See you on the trail!