The Road Trip Redux

We are pretty excited about leaving early Friday morning on our Road Trip Redux! We have been counting down the days, shopping for the appropriate warm weather items and trying to nail down all the details. In case you were wondering, here's where we are stopping along the way:

Nampa, Idaho
Ogden, Utah
somewhere in Wyoming*
Salina, Kansas
St. Louis, Missouri
Memphis, Tennessee
Lucedale, Mississippi
Zachary, Louisiana
Houston, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
El Paso, Texas
Tuscon, Arizona
Victorville, California
Kettleman City, California
Oakhurst, California
San Fransisco, California
Cresent City, California
Lincoln City, Oregon
then back home.

Phew...that makes me tired just looking at the list! It will take us a month to make the journey, stopping for a couple of nights here and there, and a few more than that in the south with family. We are looking forward to meeting several good friends along the way, and exploring as many National Parks and Monuments as possible. The itinerary includes the Rocky Mountains, the Alamo, a cool observatory in Tuscon, Joshua Tree, King's Canyon & Sequoia National Parks, Hearst Castle and the Presidio in San Fran. We would love to stop at every lighthouse we can along the breathtaking California and Oregon coasts, as well. We will also be letterboxing our way across the country, trying to snag drive-by and tourist 'boxes, just for fun.

A trip of a lifetime. Actually, this is our second such trip and we are so blessed to be able to do it. We are renting a minivan to pack to the gills with two moms, three teens, one tween and all the stuff to keep us comfortable on the way. We will be staying at hotels and are excited to take advantage of the pools, fitness rooms and continental breakfasts - that is such a nice way to travel, if you ask me.

I will be blogging as we journey. I am so fortunate to have acquired a netbook to utilize the free wi-fi in the hotels. Interestingly, since the last trip two years ago, we have all acquired a good deal of electronics. Laptops, cell phones, iPods and digital cameras all require charging plug-ins...so many! I am taking extra power strips to help accommodate our electronics addiction. And, don't forget the GPS; it was a life-saver last time around. Thankfully, I'm sure the rental will be fully equipped with the latest, updated GPS equipment.

In planning a trip such as this, AAA has been absolutely invaluable. Our agent, Michelle, was thrilled to be able to help us put this all together. Last time, we did all the hotel bookings ourselves. I'm happy to say that Michelle took care of all the arrangements for this trip, getting top-notch accommodations that were well within our budget. I can't thank her enough for all her hard work!

So, you probably are wondering why the name Road Trip Redux. The last road trip we dubbed The Biggest Field Trip Ever, because it was! Well, the younger travelers asked that we not call it that again, and when designing the stamp for the trip, I came up with, what I thought, was a clever title, Road Trip Redux. "Just passin' through on the Road Trip Redux" sounded pretty catchy to me. Unfortunately, my traveling partner read it and pronounced redux like it's spelled, rhyming with ducks. *frown* Well, there went my nice rhyme, eh? I liked it better when I thought it was pronounced re-do, but alas, my best bud was correct. So, do I re-carve the rubber stamp I carved to take along? Probably. I hate reducks. Just not good. Oh well...one more thing on the last minute list, I suppose.

See ya on the road!


*last minute change in the itinerary due to weather closures leaves us re-routing a bit; no Denver Mint...bummer.