Last Wednesday Kelsey and I were just hanging around Madison, WI at our event with UW-Madison campus rep, Sara B. Things were running slow at the event so we were brainstorming what we were going to do for the next few days. We didn’t have an event until next Tuesday in North Dakota so we had originally thought we would go hangout in Minnesota for a few days. But then with a stroke of genius Kelsey asked a crucial question…“how long would it take to get to Colorado from here?” Hmm… interesting question, Kelsey, because conveniently our fellow Northwest Vagabond team was currently touring in CO. It was estimated to be about a 16 hour drive (though in reality it was actually 20 hours). Do-able indeed as driving time is no longer an issue for us having lived on the road now for a few months. So with a grand scheme in mind we called our boss, Mike Hammer, to run our idea by him. What if we drove to CO on a secret mission to surprise our Vagabond family at their event? At first Hammer must have believed we were just joking, but after we sent him a detailed email with at least 15 reasons why the surprise would be amazing, he said “Yes, dear ones, please go!” And away we went Thursday morning for a ten hour drive to Manhattan, KS where we stayed with some new friends for the evening. Then Friday morning we left early to make another ten hour drive to Gunnison, CO to meet up with Western State campus rep, Dave D. who was in cahoots with us and the surprise. Once we arrived Dave met us outside to lead us to the room where the event was being held. With our Flip video camera in hand we made our way to the room with a nonchalant saunter playing it cool as best as possible. All of a sudden Gypsy turns around and screams, Zach yells “OH MY GOD” and there is a rush of group hugs from Coop and Jojo. The surprise was a complete success filled with shocking screams, joyful tears, loving laughter, and huge hugs. Team Northwest had absolutely no idea we were coming. And it was AWESOME. The six of us spent the entire weekend together exploring Colorado Springs and sharing stories of past events and experiences on the road. We’ve been on the road eight weeks now so being around members of our Vagabond family provided us with a renewed sense of enthusiasm for continuing our trek for three more weeks. Our time together was much needed so big thanks to Hammer, Kara and Brenda, Dave and his roommates, Jodi and her family, and of course our amazing Northwest Vagabonds. HEEEEEEY COWWWWW!

(Be on the lookout for Vagabond video footage from the epic surprise at www.youtube.com/tomsshoes)

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Tags:   Colorado · NW vagabond · surprise · TX/Midwest Vagabond
Categories: Intern Adventures  Vagabond Tour Fall 2008No Comments