Double Dating in Brazil

Let me tell you about my best friends…

Christina and Taylor have been together for five years, but spent more than two of those years in a long distance relationship. Christina came to my college in Texas to play softball, where we first met. She knew Nic & I as a couple and I was first introduced to her counterpart about six months into our friendship. The four of us instantly clicked. There wasn’t a combination that was awkward or forced. Taylor went back to Reno, Nevada and their long distance relationship continued, while Taylor and Nic’s bromance just began. Y’all can deny it all you want, but Christina and I are firsthand witnesses.

When Christina and I graduated in 2014, she moved to Reno to be with Taylor. I was sad to see her go, but knew that we would keep in contact. Actually, with the help of Taylor, I was able to fly to Reno and surprise her months later. She never saw it coming and was floored that I had spent the money/taken the time to visit. That New Year’s Eve Nic and I flew out and spent the weekend with them doing absolutely nothing minus one day of snowboarding. It was refreshing and we honestly considered moving to Reno to make the fun permanent.

During this time I continued to travel to Rio for work. Nic had gone with me and if there’s anything that sucks about travel – it’s that you can’t magically transport your friends and family to somewhere you know they’d just love. It was during one of these trips that Nic and I thought, wouldn’t it be cool if Christina and Taylor could come with us?

Christina & Taylor are the type of people we need in our life. Not only are they incredibly social, which helps push Nic & I to get outside of our introverted bubble, but they are action takers. They are movers and shakers.

If you’ve planned any type of trip that involves input from others, you know that it has the potential to be an absolute nightmare. Especially if it involves a bunch of folks who are afraid to pull the trigger and book the flight. Luckily, that ain’t Christina & I. We orchestrated the whole thing like it was Ocean’s 11 and the payout was a beautifully planned and budgeted vacation.

Reminiscing about the trip hurts my soul because I want that to be my life all the time. I think we all contemplated quitting our jobs and seeing how far our money would go. The only thing that stopped us from such an irrational decision was the promise that there would be more. We were witness to what could happen if you put in the time and save your money. Until then, we will continue to tag each other in photos of exotic places that we want to explore together.

Anyways, that’s my tip when it comes to maintaining long distance friendships. It will only work if there is effort from both sides, but the experiences that we’ve had are enough to make up for the fact that we can’t just grab coffee or go shopping. Plus, I’d take a caipirinha on the beach with y’all over new shoes any day.

Alas, enjoy our pictures and get to planning an adventure of your own with those you love!