californa here we come

So the show is almost over, the bags are almost packed, and I am about to head off on a road trip of gigantic proportions.

I have not been on a roadtrip of any significant distance since I was 10 years old and my dad dragged us and his Linda Ronstadt 8-tracks from the middle of California to Flaxton, North Dakota and back again. I have vivid memories of dirty Motel Sixes, eating Buddig Turkey straight out of the plastic envelope, and a cult leader in Utah giving me a necklace made of paperclips and contact paper.

Good Times.

Who knows what will happen this time around. My list of plans, lists, fast food coupons, MapQuest directions and possible educational stops are about 35 pages deep. I am pretty sure all my dad had was a gas station road map and a rough idea of where he could find Custer's Last Stand.

Both kids suitcases have been packed for days - double checked (daily) and nothing has been left out. We have food, two cameras, a borrowed GPS, an entire storage container full of books, two bottles of sunscreen - 50spf, educational supplies, junior motrin, sunglasses, kid-friendly atlases, freshly laundered blankets, and approximately 220 road-trip friendly songs on CD (which will make for a much more pleasant driving experience than the 3 partially melted tapes my father chose to bring with us).

In a nutshell - we are ready to roll . . . yet I am a little uncertain if all of this planning is going to serve us any better at all. My dad told us to throw some pajamas in a paper bag and make sure we had shoes on. I saw the better part of America wearing the same shirt and 78¢ flip-flops from the grocery store . . . I am not so sure that Keenes and an ipod are going to change things much.

Regardless, we will keep you all posted. 2000 miles is a long treck - I am sure we will have lote of adventures along the way.