All good things must come to an end- or so they say. Sadly, this is one of those moments where this bitter-sweet sentiment has become true. After two months on the road on our not-so-bus tour where we began the process of opening homes around the country, Mason, Sean and I have finally reached the “end of the road,” so far. I cannot believe what we were able to accomplish and even more so what we were able to overcome. Let’s recap:
We began in Boynton Beach. The air conditioning was not working, but we figured it was a fluke and we would be fine. So we opened our windows, packed our pets and headed off to St. Augustine for an evening with two of our board members, the Hardmans.
The next morning, we made it to Savannah to visit old college friends only to have our bus locked in the parking lot. Barely avoiding the use of bolt cutters, we were freed and made it to Raleigh, NC by 9:30 am the following morning. There we met with our first mechanic to help us with our power issues, who informed us of the “Good news! You aren’t going to explode anymore,” a fear I hadn’t had until that moment.
Then we made it to Virginia where we were able to spend some time with Rob Haggerty with whom we are opening a duplex in Richmond. That was a great time. We were so excited to move on with our tour until the bus started spewing rather dark smoke…. Odd… We thought we had a non-smoking bus. Must be the oil (which I had just changed before we left). After draining several containers of oil back into the engine, we met with Dietra who helped us with our eCommerce needs and bid her farewell, only to have our beautiful bus finally break down.
In Baltimore.
Yes, Baltimore. That was a fiasco. We had to have the bus towed (eventually) to the DC area, which was the closest mechanic that knew how to service our bus.* (Yes, that is an asterisk.) Now we had to get a rental car. We downsized our belongings for what we assumed would be about three weeks, grabbed the cat and the dog and drove up to Jersey to meet with the lovely Granell family. What wonderful hosts! They took us to see Woodstock, the real town that the famed music festival was supposed to be held in. That was a hippie- dippy good time. Promising Mason that we would go to the Big Apple, we met Katerina for the first time and holy crap can she party! She took us to see the famous Stonewall Inn, ground zero of the LGBTQ Civil Rights movement.
We upgraded to a minivan because we were joined by Brian Yen who helped us immensely. We went to Harrisburg, PA where we met with Nardia and Olo with whom we are going to open houses to support pregnant mothers and survivors of human trafficking. Then we drove 10 straight hours to Indianapolis to reunite with some of my favorite investors with Infinity Investing. That was where Sean and Mason really started to understand the value of what we were doing- and where Mason found his angels who are going to help him with his top surgery in December.
From there, we had to figure out what to do. The bus was still not ready and we couldn’t go more west because the bus would ultimately be fixed* and we would have to drive her to Colorado.* (Yes, that is another asterisk. We should make this a drinking game!) So we went to Chicago where we spent time with the the lovely Joe and Nicole DiBraccio for four days or so before heading to Knoxville to see Ashleigh and Christy, our amazing lesbian board members. (I bet you they could have fixed the bus.* Drink!) Side note- that was the most gorgeous drive…
Anyway, we made it from Knoxville to Raleigh again, this time for Javier’s Mastermind and to meet with the LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce for their first in person dinner since the pandemic began. It was so exciting to meet other members of the local community and I feel so much better with their support. Sarah and Natalee are going to be amazing partners as we open our Raleigh House this month. Amanda and John were so gracious to let us stay with them for so long while we waited for more word on the bus.
At any rate, we eventually had to return the minivan in, so we drove up to DC to stay with my parents who were near where the bus was being held captive, I mean, getting worked on. It was great seeing them and I owe them a big “thank you,” for their help. (That is where my mom and I made the cool tee-shirts!)
Now it is Labor Day Weekend. WE HAVE THE BUS!!!!!****** (Yes, time to drink again.) We were able to drive her two hours back to my parents house to continue our tour, which is on a very tight schedule at this point. Everything was getting back on track.
Until she stopped working again. Like, completely. What the heck??!!! Ever try to find a bus mechanic on a holiday weekend?** Drink again.
Sadly, now we have to abandon Plan D and Sean, Mason, Sherlock, Gia and I had to fly to Colorado. So we downsized (yet again!) and made it to Jessica’s house mostly in one piece. I was there 32 hours before I had to fly to Cancun to host an investors seminar. THAT was a blast!! Sometimes I love my job. Katerina joined me in Mexico- and those stories will stay quiet until 100 years after my death.
One week later, I land tanned and ready for action back in Colorado. Instantly I was thrown to work. No foreplay, no easing into it, just dumped right in. It was our annual meeting where we were joined by Lauren, Alyssa, Brian, Teagan and so many others who helped us paint, tear up carpet, lay down hardwood and make the farm suitable for 8 more people (well, don’t look too closely. We still have work to do). Thank you all so, so much for coming to help us out.
As the week went on, one board member departed at a time.
Then Sean.
Then Mason.
The Journey had finally come to a close.
But that is the best part of this story. This one chapter, this event-filled, obstacle riddled chapter created so many new stories, so many new beginnings. Without this chapter, we wouldn’t be opening the homes that we are working on currently. We wouldn’t have the memories or the drive to do more, to do better. To make this world better.
And now we truly believe that we can do just that.
Mason, Sean- I honor you. May you get all that you desire out of life.
And to all the rest of you who helped us along the way (and there are so many more that I wish I could mention), thank you for being a part of this journey. We can’t do this without you.
I fly out this weekend from Florida to NYC to speak at a conference about nonprofit real estate. Then I will be setting out to open our new homes in Raleigh and Richmond. You can help us begin these new chapters by continuing to show your support. We need your help raising funds to furnish these homes and continue to pay the rents while we get the contracts in place.
Please share our mission. Share our story.
Share the love.
As always- Your fan,
Jacob Jennings