Wow! I just created a vacation e-mail for work which basically reads I will be out of the office through July 31st. The only time I have taken longer than a week off for vacation as an adult was for my honeymoon which I think was 10 days and now I am taking a full month. I must be out of my mind! We started packing last night. Yeah, I suppose we should have started earlier but we're still kind of in awe. This morning my wife said to me, "Enjoy your last day of work."
So, the lists are being created of things to bring. What makes it within arms reach and what gets buried?
The uncertainty of just roaming x-country is a little hard for me to grasp. Dale and I talked about it last night and she's like, we'll be fine, it will all work out. Just the calming influence needed. Ready or Not, here we come Cooperstown!
Friday, June 29, 2012
Thursday, June 21, 2012
The Family Truckster
The Family Truckster just got a tune up before our voyage: New Tires, New Front Brakes, an Oil Change and all our fluids topped off. Dale will be able to put a nice couple hundred miles on the caravan before we take off. Got to make sure that alignment is nice and straight with lots of open road ahead of us.
We added the Timster (I am having a case of the TER's tonight) to the insurance. He just got his official license last Friday. It wasn't that much of a scare. Between his good grades and me having a 13 year old car it was a mild dent. It will be nice to have a third set of hands on the wheel.
I peeked at the 10 day forecast tonight. Looks to be a partly cloudy weekend in the 80's as we depart. The realism is slowly building an adrenaline rush. I am seeing the Berube's re-in-acting The Crazy Train Commerical, playing some I Spy with My Little Eye and The Road Alphabet game. Oh yes, the memories will be priceless. I hope they're are many of the aforementioned. However, after two weeks in the car, could this happen?: Chevy Chase goes Crazy (Disclaimer: This last link is rated R for hard, strong language)
Here's hoping to lots of Crazy Train!!
We added the Timster (I am having a case of the TER's tonight) to the insurance. He just got his official license last Friday. It wasn't that much of a scare. Between his good grades and me having a 13 year old car it was a mild dent. It will be nice to have a third set of hands on the wheel.
I peeked at the 10 day forecast tonight. Looks to be a partly cloudy weekend in the 80's as we depart. The realism is slowly building an adrenaline rush. I am seeing the Berube's re-in-acting The Crazy Train Commerical, playing some I Spy with My Little Eye and The Road Alphabet game. Oh yes, the memories will be priceless. I hope they're are many of the aforementioned. However, after two weeks in the car, could this happen?: Chevy Chase goes Crazy (Disclaimer: This last link is rated R for hard, strong language)
Here's hoping to lots of Crazy Train!!
Friday, June 15, 2012
T-Minus...
...15 days and counting and we are onward to the West. It has long been my one of my wife's goals to go west of the Mississippi, on her bucket list even. My oldest will graduate from high school next year and we have been hoping to get one more "BIG" family vacation in before he spreads his wings and goes off to college.
So, last year my wife and I talked about doing it. We went to our prospective employers and asked if this is something that could be feasible, taking a whole month off during the summer, as both of us are year round employees with our normal vacation accrual. Both of our employers were on board. Naturally, we got excited but still cautious. So, just before Christmas, we made sure that our employers were still okay with the notion and they were, so the reality became a little more concrete. Well, as mentioned already, it's just over two weeks until the surreal idea of two middle class Americans taking their three kiddos x-country becomes a full blown reality.
Yup, we are all piling into the Caravan for a trip across the Northern U.S. No RV for us. Partly because neither one of us can see ourselves driving something that large and partly because we cannot see ourselves camping for 30 straight nights. We are planning to camp at the National Parks and are hopeful to crash at family members in California for a few nights but for the most part, we see Hotels in our future.
Invariably, $$$$ signs start flashing abound. We don't dismiss that. We are two people who have always tried to squirrel money away for some unknown future endeavor. Well, I guess this as good as anything to spend it on. No, we probably won't be able to cover all of it, but hopefully a good chunk of it before we have to rely on Mr. Plastic.
We have done our best to pay our July bills this month and the ones we are not able to at this time, will have checks written out to have sent out when they come in the mail. What? We are fortunate to have a good friend of ours house sit, so to speak. I have yet to let her in this little secret but she's a trooper. I suppose I could do online banking but I am a little old fashioned that way, where I still like to dictate how much I give everyone and when. I still reconcile my checkbook every month. Sometimes you need that extra day to cover that bill, you know?
So, anyway, this blog has been started of my family's impending trip across the United States due to some interested friends and family who would like to be updated and have pictures to look at. Depending how we fair, maybe you could be doing the same thing in the future. We sure never fathomed this and now we are two weeks and counting until departure.
Wish us luck!
So, last year my wife and I talked about doing it. We went to our prospective employers and asked if this is something that could be feasible, taking a whole month off during the summer, as both of us are year round employees with our normal vacation accrual. Both of our employers were on board. Naturally, we got excited but still cautious. So, just before Christmas, we made sure that our employers were still okay with the notion and they were, so the reality became a little more concrete. Well, as mentioned already, it's just over two weeks until the surreal idea of two middle class Americans taking their three kiddos x-country becomes a full blown reality.
Yup, we are all piling into the Caravan for a trip across the Northern U.S. No RV for us. Partly because neither one of us can see ourselves driving something that large and partly because we cannot see ourselves camping for 30 straight nights. We are planning to camp at the National Parks and are hopeful to crash at family members in California for a few nights but for the most part, we see Hotels in our future.
Invariably, $$$$ signs start flashing abound. We don't dismiss that. We are two people who have always tried to squirrel money away for some unknown future endeavor. Well, I guess this as good as anything to spend it on. No, we probably won't be able to cover all of it, but hopefully a good chunk of it before we have to rely on Mr. Plastic.
We have done our best to pay our July bills this month and the ones we are not able to at this time, will have checks written out to have sent out when they come in the mail. What? We are fortunate to have a good friend of ours house sit, so to speak. I have yet to let her in this little secret but she's a trooper. I suppose I could do online banking but I am a little old fashioned that way, where I still like to dictate how much I give everyone and when. I still reconcile my checkbook every month. Sometimes you need that extra day to cover that bill, you know?
So, anyway, this blog has been started of my family's impending trip across the United States due to some interested friends and family who would like to be updated and have pictures to look at. Depending how we fair, maybe you could be doing the same thing in the future. We sure never fathomed this and now we are two weeks and counting until departure.
Wish us luck!
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