New D-Day! New Parks! New Questions?

Greetings family and friends, followers and felines!

Our newest departure date for GART is Tuesday, June 29, 2010 (fingers crossed). The first stop along the way is Ashland, Oregon and the glorious Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where I plan to cram as much theater as humanly possible into roughly 48 hours. Reviews and comments to follow.

In other trip-related news: We have added new National Parks to the line-up! Grand Teton, Hot Springs, Petrified Forest, Bryce, and Zion could not be turned down, bringing our total to twelve national parks and one national monument during this summer alone. Since the house is now littered with books containing pictures of these breathtaking parks, we cannot help but be blown away at the realization that these are places we will actually be seeing.

We have also purchased a keyboard that will be accompanying us on the road, so you know the ride will be full of Elton John and Journey.

Now we are wrestling with packing. How do you pack for a three-and-a-half month trip, spanning so much of the continent and so many different activities? How is it possible for three members of such a consumeristic society to pack up and travel lightly for the sake of education and family? How in the world are we going to make this happen?!

Best of all is the fact that I have yet to drive the van on the freeway, which will be the bulk of this summer's driving. And the few times I have ventured onto the freeway at all were not pleasant experiences. This is promising.

Sitting, waiting, wishing...

Regardless of all the work we have to accomplish before we can even hope to leave, I have faith that things will work out and this will be an incredible journey.

Thanks for reading along!

--Lisa

D-Day Now June 17, 2010

Salvete omnes!

The latest news on our front is our planned departure date (hitherto referred to as D-Day) has been moved up from June 27 to June 17 due to scheduling conflicts.

What does this mean?

We are all riding on significantly more stress than we were before as we try desperately to grapple with leaving in three weeks exactly from today. Clothes need to be laundered, books need to be packed, goodbyes need to be said. Suddenly we move from the theoretical to the actual and the effect is startling.

Ironically enough my biggest concern at the moment regarding the trip is how Matthew and I will keep up with our piano lessons. That and showering. And carsickness. And mood swings.

I think it still needs to sink in...

--Lisa

9000 Miles?! Whatever For?

Greetings family, friends, and folksy fighters!

As many of you know, my godmother, Cindy; her 10-year-old son, Matthew; and myself, Lisa, are embarking on what we have lovingly termed the Great American Road Trip (GART for short) this summer of 2010.

Our mission: To hit up as many historic landmarks, national parks, monuments, campgrounds, and such, interspersed with visiting family and friends on our three-and-a-half-month trip around the States and part of Canada as humanly possible without strangling one another in the back of our Odyssey. :)

Our current route from the Bay Area, CA: Bakersfield, CA; Phoenix, AZ; Albuquerque, NM; Amarillo, TX; Oklahoma City, OK; Little Rock, AR; Memphis, TN; Birmingham, AL; Atlanta, GA; Nashville, TN; Louisville, KY; Indianapolis, IN; Chicago, IL; Madison, WI; Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN; Duluth, MN; Sioux Falls, SD; Helena, MT; Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Vancouver, BC, Canada; Victoria, BC, Canada; Seattle, WA; Portland, OR; Ashland, OR; Redding, CA, back to the Bay Area by October.

Our stops along the way: the Grand Canyon, Mammoth Cave National Park, a rendezvous with Former President Jimmy Carter, the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, the Black Hills, Yellowstone, Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, Mt. Saint Helens, Crater Lake National Park, Mt. Shasta, and the Ashland Shakespeare Festival. We will also be visiting family in Georgia, Minnesota, and British Columbia, as well as friends in Arizona, Oklahoma, and Illinois.

Parts of our trip are yet to be hammered down, but this is our working map at the moment.

The trip promises to be filled to the brim with smelly car rides, angsty episodes, educational hikes, desert storms, jammin' music, gripping theater, fried frog legs, and family bonding.

Please keep checking back on our progress! We will be updating this blog, as requested, so our adoring fans (you, silly!) can keep tabs on us and live vicariously through our awesomeness.

--Lisa