Ashley Grigsby and Kyle James

In 2015, Ashley and Kyle were living together in Denver, Colorado. They moved to Denver because they were tired of small-town living in their home in Asheville. The couple longed for a private life, which was something that they couldn’t have in the small town where they grew up. Small town living meant that everyone knew everyone, and people were always in your business. Ashley and Kyle dreamed of big city living, where people didn’t know them. They were sure that they would have more privacy if they were to move to a big city. In big cities, people don’t know one another, and most don’t want to. For the couple, it was the perfect solution. Their need for privacy took them to Denver, Colorado.

Denver Colorado

The population in Denver is around 716,500. This was more than enough people for the couple to live in private. They moved into a lovely apartment, and they were shocked when they discovered all of the fun things they could do in Denver. Back home, in Asheville, where the population is under 100,000, the couple’s options were limited. If they wanted to do something fun, they often had to go out of town. Now that they had were living in Denver, they had a chance to do fun things without driving far. After moving to Denver, the couple had to find jobs.

Rewarding Careers

When they got to Denver, Ashley and Kyle started looking for jobs. Because Denver is such a large city, the couple had many options. They both had dreams of making a difference in the world, and Kyle got a job as a fundraiser for a charitable organization. Being able to help the charity bring in the necessary funds was Kyle’s definition of making a difference. He felt as if he were doing something worthwhile. Ashley had her teaching degree, and she looked for a teaching job. Like Kyle, she wanted to make a difference in the world, and she believed that the best way to make a difference would be to teach young children. She thought that molding their minds early on was the best way to help them to succeed in the future. It didn’t take her long to find a job as a kindergarten teacher. Both Kyle and Ashley loved their lives, and they loved their careers, but Ashley wanted more.

Adventurous

Ashley had always been an adventurous person. Living in Asheville, she never had the chance to set out on any grand adventures. Moving to Denver was the first real adventure of her life, and she loved it. She loved the exhilaration and the excitement that went along with being in a new place. After she and Kyle had settled down there for a while, Ashley became restless. She realized that after a while, it was no longer a new city. There was only so much that she could explore, and after a while, she grew bored. She often talked with Kyle about her dreams of setting out and seeing the world. The couple talked about it often, and they planned what they would do when they had a chance to travel. They spoke of backpacking, staying in hostels, and seeing the sights that they had only been able to see on television and in books. Soon, talking about setting off on the journey of a lifetime became all that they talked about.

Nothing Holding Them Back

One night, when the couple was having dinner and talking about their dreams of traveling, something dawned on them. Both Ashley and Kyle wanted to have a family. They realized that when they started a family, traveling wouldn’t be an option. When they had their first child, they would be stuck at home. Traveling with a baby was not something that they wanted to do. They couldn’t travel when their children got older, because they would be in school. If Ashely and Kyle waited until their children went off to college, they wouldn’t have the energy or the stamina to take the trip that they wanted. It was that night that they decided to set off on their adventure.

Setting Out On An Adventure

Finally, the couple left behind their lives and their jobs to set out on an adventure together. They started in New York and then went to Paris. They visited 38 cities in 15 countries, and the whole trip took 114 days. The trip gave the couple an overall new perspective on life after everything that they saw.

Inspired a Book

When Kyle and Ashley returned home, they returned to normal lives. When Kyle got home, his trip was so exciting that it inspired him to write a book about their travels. It was called Not Afraid Of The Fall. He used the photos that he and Ashley took along the way. Before he brought the book to his publisher, he wrote the dedication. After a guy went traveling with his girlfriend, he wrote her a message that will leave you in tears.

The Message

Kyle dedicated the book to Ashley. In the dedication, he wrote, “Every cliff I jump off, every moped I crash, every morning after a night of food poisoning, every Mediterranean sunset, I want you by my side. I never want to stop exploring with you, Ash. Will you marry me?” It was a beautiful message and a beautiful proposal. The couple is engaged today.