Women Who Wander: Jenea Bell

Hi everyone! Welcome to a new Women Who Wander post! I’m so excited to talk about Jenea and her cross-country road trip. Jenea and I met a few years ago, and she is seriously the sweetest soul. She recently took a road trip with her friend Ana, from Florida to California, and visited some amazing spots along the way. She also got some incredible photos, which you’ll get to see in this blog post! 

Day 1

On the first day, she drove from Florida to Louisiana. She went to New Orleans and stayed with her aunt and uncle. She and Ana walked around French Quarter Street and Bourbon Street, checked out some antique shops, and got some drinks. They ended the night at her family’s house with a crab boil and some football. 

Day 2

The next day was her longest drive day. She drove through Texas and stopped in San Antonio for the River Walk and lunch. She and Ana continued their drive afterwards and almost had a run-in with a family of boars on a back road. After almost 12 hours of driving, they finally made it to Odessa, where they spent the night.

Day 3

The next day, she got up super early and drove to New Mexico. She and Ana planned to visit White Sands Park, and she said the drive there was so beautiful. One of her favorite parts of the drive was passing through Cloudcroft.

When she made it to White Sands, she said it almost felt like a beach in the middle of the desert. She was so amazed and thought the views were just insane.

That night, she stayed in Las Cruces. She described the town as having a very pretty, historic vibe to it. She walked around, got some Mexican food, and watched the sunset with the mountains in the background. She stayed at Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces and highly recommends it!

Day 4

The next morning, she was off to Arizona to visit the Grand Canyon. She drove on Route 66 and loved the views along the way. She also enjoyed driving through Flagstaff and Phoenix. When she and Ana got to the Grand Canyon, they walked around, and she said seeing the sunset there was the most perfect view ever.

They were planning to stay at Yavapai Lodge and had to take a shuttle to get there. Unfortunately, they got off at the wrong stop and were running around trying to find the lodge in the pitch black dark and freezing cold weather. However, they eventually found it, and Jenea said waking up to a view of the Grand Canyon in the morning made it all worth it.

Day 5

The next day was fully packed. Their first stop was Zion National Park, which Jenea said was super beautiful. Then they planned to drive to California. They made the most of their drive by stopping anytime they saw something cool. They went to Swig for some soda and made several stops in Vegas. Their mindset was “When else are we going to be able to see/do this?” They finally completed their road trip and made it to California at 2 a.m.

Her Favorite Part

Her favorite part of the entire trip was when she was sitting at Black’s Beach in California with Ana. There were cliffs to her right and the ocean to her left. The waves were huge, and they were just watching all the surfers as the sun was setting. The sun was making the whole beach glow, and she said it was one of the most beautiful things she’s ever seen. She and Ana weren’t even talking, just sitting and admiring the beauty around them.

Her Highlights

The highlight for Jenea was getting up and being active every day. Every single day of the trip, she had something to look forward to, which motivated her to get up early and experience something new.

Appreciation for Ana

When I asked Jenea if there was anything she struggled with during this trip, she said that anything that did go wrong, she couldn’t even remember because Ana was such a positive travel buddy. She said they both woke up every day happy and excited for the next adventure. During my time talking with Jenea, she only spoke about Ana with admiration and discussed how great she was to travel with. It was a great reminder that traveling with someone who is just as motivated as you can make such a positive impact on your trip!

What She Learned

Jenea expressed that this trip opened endless possibilities for her future. She said coming from a town like Jacksonville, you sometimes feel stuck. Hitting the open road, being able to explore, and meeting new people really showed her that there are so many other people out there making big life changes, and she doesn’t have to feel stuck in her hometown. It became so much clearer that she can travel or even move to a new city, and she would be okay.

Her Advice

Her advice when it comes to taking a trip like this is not to have any expectations. She said don’t rush because you’re going to want to take everything in. For example, if you see something cool, pull over and go check it out because it could be a beautiful hidden gem. Her final words were to just slow down and enjoy every single second.

Thank you so much for reading and if you would like to read more Women Who Wander stories, click here!