And there they were, heading to British Columbia in a van with a broken $50 cap attached with a metal chain and a tampon locked looped around the door and above. the bumper. “We looked like real mountain people,” Jackie says, laughing and reminiscing. They had nothing but this broken pickup cap with an Eastham Rod&Gun club sticker with an NRA member sticker, all their clothes and each other. Devon and Jackie had gone to college together, but they never really started dating until spring. of their final year. “We were really good friends, but we hadn't been dating that long when we moved to Cape Town together. About 2 months later we decided to move to British Columbia,” Jackie explained with the biggest smile on her face. By age 22, they both had enough money saved from their jobs that they could take the risk of moving far from home, halfway across the country. It was that time in their lives where they knew they could be adventurous and try something new. Devon found a job in a biology lab at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. It seemed like a perfect idea, since Devon's parents lived a little south of there. They decided to go for it. They drove from one of the furthest east one could reach, Orléans, Massachusetts, to Surrey, British Columbia in 5 days. At 14, Jackie went to boarding school. She has always maintained a very close relationship with her parents and her brother. “I used to leave the house very often, but I always knew I would return in a few weeks or even months. It seemed so final. But just like that, Jackie and Devon packed up and left. There they were, stuck in a pickup together for the next 5 days to their destination...... middle of paper ...... with your boyfriend in a pickup crossing the country could be a bit overwhelming. This trip solidified Jackie and Devon's relationship. This gave them the feeling and knowledge that they could overcome many problems and come out on top. Even though they argued and disagreed during this journey, they got through it together. “It was like a trial by fire. We could have had a huge argument on this trip. But what could we have done at that moment? We were stuck in that car for 5 days,” she said with a laugh. Looking back on the trip, the only thing Jackie would do differently is leave early so they have plenty of time to sightsee and take a few detours. After living in British Columbia for a few months, they decided to return to the East Coast. “We loved British Columbia, but home called us.”