The Adventures of Rybo

Downtown Rapid City

Yesterday was our first day at the new job and it was awesome!
We have met SO many nice people, here in SD.
The staff at the hospital is fantastic. I have yet to meet an O.R. staff that I haven't loved working with.
One thing I love about working in any O.R., is that it is one big family. (some more dysfunctional than others) lol
Most people that work in the O.R. take so much call that it feels like a second home.
I'm happy to be doing neuro surgeries again. Ryan is still doing CVOR/Vascular.



Exploring the Town

After work yesterday, Ryan and I went exploring some of the local shops/restaurants. This city is full of cool little coffee shops, micro-breweries, clothing stores and many MANY more places to shop.

Ryan excited to try out the restaurant

The restaurant we ate at last-night was absolutely incredible: Firehouse Brewing Co.
Check out their website: Firehouse Brewing Co.
Incredible food, great service and relaxed atmosphere!





















Tonight, we will be checking out the local mall: Mount Rushmore Mall
We are hoping to visit Mount Rushmore and/or Custer State Park by this weekend. (pics to follow!!!)



















Ryan and I are still not caught up on sleep (daylight savings plus crossing two time zones has messed with our sleeping schedules a bit)

One things is for sure, we are having a blast exploring this beautiful part of the country!!!

Badlands National Park

After 4 days of traveling through 6 states and driving over 1800 miles...we have finally  made it to South Dakota!! Our original plan was to travel a different route around 1400 miles, however due to both winter storm Thor and lots of construction, we ended up adding an additional 400 miles to our trip.
We are both relieved and in shock that we are finally here! I think part of us thought this was a dream and we were going to wake up at any moment.
I have to say that the last 100 miles were the toughest because we were SO ready to be at our destination. It's kind of like the last mile of a 5K, you know you only have one mile left to go, so you keep psyching yourself up to keep going (because it's almost over)
We arrived around 2:30pm mountain time (4:30pm eastern time)
After getting our apartment paperwork squared away, we got some much needed things accomplished. i.e.: wash our nasty salt covered cars, drove around the city to find the hospital we will be working at, ate dinner and made a necessary Walmart run for groceries and misc. items.
After unpacking most of our things and organizing, we are ready for bed!
We start work at 7:30am tomorrow, mostly just H.R./orientation stuff for a good portion of the day.
Anyhow, thank you, EVERYONE for the amazing prayers and words of encouragement throughout this process. We couldn't have made it out here without your support and love.


Today's travel map: *7 hours 53 minutes*




There is a part of us that thought this day would never get here!!

Got a decent start this morning. Left Lonoke, AR around 8:30.

The route we ended up taking for today:

So far, this entire trip has not gone as planned! It's okay though, I think it makes things much more interesting and fun. It just means that Ryan and I get to use our good ole' problem solving skills, that we've picked up over the years lol

We were hoping to make it further than we did today but as we found out, there was a ton of construction from Nashville to Arkansas. (note the yellow icons along our route below).
Due to the construction, it cut back our time by at least 2 hours. Here is a look at our travel map for the day:

What should have taken us 5 hours and 15 minutes, took us around 7 hours.












Here are some pics from our drive today:

Hitting the heart of Nashville. This place was busy!!!

On our way to Memphis. Construction area #1 *note wrecked car*

Tennessee River view

Crossing the Arkansas state line

Arkansas....it's really flat....

Pretty sunset at the end of our day

Thrilled to be off the road and in our hotel!!!

All in all, not a bad day of traveling.
We are getting up extra early tomorrow, as we are hoping and praying to be in South Dakota by tomorrow night.
Team Rybo appreciates all of your support and prayers. Please keep those amazing prayers coming!

I shall now leave you with my thoughts on the state of Arkansas:
1.) It's very flat
2.) There are a ton of potholes

I dedicate the following video to Arkansas:

Next post: Travel Day #3: Almost there!!!

After a delicious breakfast at Cracker Barrel with Ryan's family, we hit the road around 9:30am

This is how Ryan and I feel right now...we have officially turned into 'box people' (but hey, we're still smiling!)

In between working, packing, trying to visit our families and loved ones, as well as finding out last minute requirements we must fulfill before we can start work on Monday....let's just say that stress has been weighing us down a bit.
Thank God, there is a light...and we can see it!



Regardless of the overwhelming stress, we are still excited. We are going to a place 1400-ish miles away from home...in a part of the country that isn't southern (I bet they don't know what iced tea is), a place that is 2 hours behind EST and a place that basically has winter and summer weather year-round.

Things we will miss
We will miss a LOT of people in TN...
We will miss the spring weather and the mountains of east Tennessee.














I will have my first birthday without my twin brother, this month
(we've been thick as thieves for almost 31 years).
















We will miss Pal's and Chick-fil-a.








Did I mention that we will miss southern sweet tea???










Special Shout Out

We would like to give a special shout out and thanks to our wonderful and supporting families and friends. This is a big change for all of us.
To our parents: thank you for believing in us and having faith that we are making the best decision by choosing to travel.
Friends/family:  Joyce, Mark, Nana, Katie&Joe, Charla and CVOR peeps-we love you and thank you for everything.





















Now to finish laundry, packing, get my car checked and hit the road to see Ryan's parents tonight.


Next post: On the road again.