ROANOKE, Va. – The end of one chapter is leading to the start of a new adventure for a group of friends and recent Virginia Tech graduates as the fraternity brothers hit the road one week after graduation, in style. Hokie Style.
The plan has been in the works for months.
"Been planning this for about two years," said Clay Scott. "Down to the last detail -- where we're going, when we're driving."
And what they'll drive in.
"Very slow process. Most of the work honestly got done in the last three for five months," he said.
The Virginia Tech fraternity brothers hit the road Thursday, stopping to meet us in Roanoke, for a cross-country adventure on board the Hokie Express.
"It's got every component: full kitchen, full bathroom, TVs," he said of a yellow school bus converted into a maroon and orange near-luxury ride for themselves, the self-proclaimed Novem Nomads.
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There are eight friends about Frank, the bus, named after none other than coach Frank Beamer.
Is there room?
"Kind of," Scott laughed. "Maybe not comfortably. We can fit. Maybe a few people on the floor. We have bunk beds, a couple couches."
But this trip is more about the friendships, the backpacking and seeing the country.
"Twenty-eight states, 17 national parks. We're kind of hitting everything, almost outlining the lower 48."
It's an opportunity this group of new graduates might not get when they start jobs, which, by the way, all eight already have lined up to start after their road trip.
"We are never ever, ever, ever, ever going to be able to do this again. At least for the next 40 years until our children are in college," Scott joked. "We'll never be able to do this again. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
And a chance to spread their Hokie pride along the way.
"I think Virginia Tech more than a lot of schools has a lot of passion for the school and the sports and the people in the community that it fosters."
Scott credits his father for doing all the work, at all hours of the night, on the bus.
The adventure will take a month-and-a-half. The Novem Nomads will track their adventure through Facebook and Instagram.