We are leaving tomorrow for our big 3 week road trip. I am full of nervous energy, but totally excited to get on the road and start the experience.
When I was 11, the summer before I started 6th grade, my family set out on a 3 month camping/road trip. We were in a Toyota 4-Runner pulling a pop-up tent trailer and we set out from Canyon Lake, Texas to Alaska. No real plan (at least I don't think we had one) - I was only 11 - full of sass, not wanting to be stuck in a car with my little brothers all summer. I had a Walkman with my Material Girl tape played over & over & over - it's a wonder it didn't wear out.
We saw some incredible sites - stayed at the Grand Canyon for a week, went to the San Diego Zoo, drove up the PCH, flew a kite on a beach in Oregon, hiked Mt. Ranier in Washington. And it turned out to be the most memorable trip I have ever taken. It was incredible.
Three summers ago, as I was driving home from a long visit in Illinois, I started to dream of a trip like this for my children. I wanted to show them all the amazing places I had gone to and seen. I wanted to take my time and check out the kitschy roadside attractions. I wanted to create a memorable trip for my kids.
Now I know it won't be the same. For one thing, I don't camp. So we will be staying in hotels. And we are not going to Alaska (side note - we made it to Washington, fell in love with the state and stayed). But we will be taking our time.
Matt will not be able to be with us for the whole 3 weeks, he will fly out to Los Angeles on the 2nd week and spend time with us there (Disney! Woo HOO!!). And the Walkman will be replaced by satellite radio...and iPads.....and dvd players.....iPods.....you catch my drift.
There are some great apps we will be able to use while we are traveling - Roadside America for all the "must-see" craziness will be my favorite. And we do have somewhat of a plan:
Sunday, July 7: Carlsbad, NM (to see the caverns)
Monday, July 8: Carlsbad Cavern's & Roswell, NM
Tuesday, July 9: Albuquerque, NM
Wednesday, July 10: Flagstaff, AZ (and the Petrified Forest & Meteor Crater)
Thursday, July 11: The Grand Canyon
Friday, July 12: Los Angeles, CA
Saturday, July 13: Huntington Beach, CA
Sunday, July 14 - Tuesday, July 16: Anaheim, CA (Disneyland & California Adventure)
Wednesday, July 17 - Friday, July 19: Carlsbad, CA (LEGOland & San Diego Zoo)
Saturday, July 20: Los Angeles, CA
Sunday, July 21: Death Valley & Las Vegas, NV
Monday, July 22: Zion National Park
Tuesday, July 23: Bryce Canyon National Park
Wednesday, July 24: Monument Valley & Four Corners
Thursday, July 25-Friday, July 26: Durango, CO (white water rafting!!)
Saturday, July 27: Clovis, NM
Sunday, July 28: HOME!!
We will be on all the fun Social Media channels if you want to follow along -
And my kids and I will be blogging daily here to record the trip.
As for today, I have a ton of packing to do - so I'm going to sign off and get to it. See you on the road.
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