Day 3 – Grand Canyon, AZ

Today the kids entered Arizona for their 1st time, and they were pretty excited about it! We only had 3 ½ hours of driving to our stop (Williams). Christopher was honored with the front seat – and couldn’t have been more thrilled about it! (And I was actually quite pleased with the back seat!) I think he and Greg chatted non-stop the entire time. Plus the seat was a gold mine for finding out-of-state license plates (he’s already at ~32).

After lunch we headed to the Grand Canyon. Storm clouds and even lightning surrounded us, although rain never touched us. The kids’ reactions to seeing the Grand Canyon for the 1st time were: (Jeremy) “It is really cool. It is almost 1 ½ miles deep. It is kinda creepy to look over the edge.” (Christopher) “It was a lot of colors of red. I also saw a river looking like a road. In the canyon it was bare, except for occasional trees." (Kate) "I saw the Grand Canyon. It was fun. And we got ice cream.” Greg says it is impressive, and I’m changing my previous standing that it is just a big hole…it’s more than that. Walking along it was a memorable family event. We stayed long enough to get tons of pictures, buy a couple souvenirs, and walk along the rim for ~2 miles.

We are staying at the Grand Canyon Railway RV Park in Williams. It is perfect for an overnight stay – though not necessarily a destination. It’s still rather new so everything is luxurious. It was also convenient to not have to tow the trailer all the way into the Grand Canyon. The people are helpful, however I am wondering why they specifically told me how to get to the pool, how late it is open, but not that it is currently closed (drained!) - which we found out the hard way tonight.

We’re all exhausted tonight, and my fingers tapping on the keys are the only sound in the trailer. It’s time to call it a day!

Day 1 – Take 2 – Needles, CA

We’re sitting at the pool, just our family, and two bats dancing over our heads. Today was as excellent as the “1st day” we hoped for – thank God! Not anything exciting to write about (driving along hwy 99 and then cutting through the desert), but an incredible relief to us! We made up a little lost time, and are actually in Needles, CA (along the Arizona border) … which leaves a short drive tomorrow for a quick trip to see the Grand Canyon.

Today, very sadly, we said goodbye (for 2 months) to our puppy dog – Kiara. She started the drive with us, and then Grandma met us along the way – to keep her in good hands while we are away.

Today’s highlights (other than swimming) were driving on Route 66, and … and … seeing Joshua trees (Greg and the kids made me write that), and seeing a long train that literally wrapped around a mountain in the Tehachapi Pass. Chris, who will be blogging soon, also wanted to mention how cold his sandwich was since the microwave doesn't work at rest stops (but obviously the fridge is working)!

We’re staying at Desert View RV Park (on Route 66) and it’s really making out to be an ideal stay. They escort you to your site and guide you right in (Uncle Jim, similar to The Long, Long Trailer!). It has lots of vacancies. It’s quiet, private and peaceful (except for us, I suppose). It has palm trees decorated with white lights. It’s a very comfortable 83 degrees (at 8:30 pm) with no bugs or humidity. For our quick stay, it’s a dream place to be. Now - off to more swimming! I'm teaching Jeremy how to swan dive.

Day 1 - "Trip's Over - We're Not Going"

Sadly, this is no joke. Really – I’m not kidding. If you’re tuning in to today’s entry … it is quite the story. I’m not exactly sure if it was Jeremy’s bad “I don’t want to go” juju or my secret stashed extra case of beer. But - we started out on the big journey, with big smiles on our faces, shortly after 7am. Then, at the stop sign at the end of our street (bottom of a hill) – CRASH. The trailer fell off the truck. The big expensive new hitch (I mentioned in a previous entry) snapped clean off. Funny how you can plan for so long, take every precaution, and over-prepare for anything that can happen, but there was nothing we could have done to prevent this. Anyway, back to the story … we drag the trailer (attached only with the newly upgraded “extra heavy” safety chains) to the side of the road, and Greg peeks at the damage. (That’s when he announces the trip is over.) However, even though instantly overwhelmed in stress, he proceeds to move forward. He spent the next 6 hours getting the hitch welded back together, and connecting it back up. So, with a slight delay, we head out – again. Then, with our first major press on the brakes, Greg realizes something is seriously wrong. And now, he is definitely ready to call it quits. But reaching the closest RV service station means continuing in the direction we’re headed. So, almost 2 hours from home, the service shop confirms that indeed it is the hitch that is still not working correctly, and recommends that we do not proceed on our trip. We back-track to stay with brother Craig in Stockton while Greg drives all the way back home to fetch our old hitch. It’s late now, and he’s not back yet, but hopefully we can start out fresh again tomorrow, and all we miss out on is a visit to a random ghost town in Barstow. But, I don’t know. Stay tuned for the next update! And pray for us that we’re not writing it from home. (Though it’s obvious someone’s looking out for us because who knows what would have happened if the trailer crashed off at 65 mph.)

T -1 Day

I must say, it is quite weird – after all this time - to be 1 day out!! Surreal, to say the least. I find myself getting nervous - not knowing what our adventure holds in store for us! I thought I’d be pretty chatty right now, but my head is swirling with everything we still need to do. I need to get the trailer’s fridge loaded up, but since it’s 100 degrees here in Folsom, the fridge is struggling to cool down. (Our ice chest just earned its ticket across the country.) With work out of the way, the biggest stresser these last few days has been trying to get everything packed while running around with the kids' crazy last-wk-of-school schedule. Christopher is by far the most excited about our trip. He is going to squeeze every ounce of goodness out of it. Kate is excited too, but being the youngest, she can’t comprehend what we’re in for (heck, neither can I). Jeremy (our tween), says he isn’t even thinking about the trip. He’s excited about parts of it, but wants to stay home with his friends. And, I quote from Greg, “I’m looking forward to the fun-filled hours (and hours and hours) with my family.” (He really did!) Ok, well now … have you pulled yourself off the floor and stopped laughing yet? I gotta get packing …

Calling All Outbackers!

As we’re driving through your neck of the woods, give “Folsom 5” a friendly nod and welcoming wave! We owe you a big thank you for sealing the deal to make this journey! Greg didn’t commit to taking this a road trip until he got to know you guys on the boards, and became determined to make it to Topsail (Florida rally for the non-Outback folk) to meet so many of you!

Sabbatical is Officially Here!

No alarm this morning! Today is the official start of Greg’s long-awaited sabbatical! It’s funny how we used to joke about his sabbatical being a time to sit on the couch and determine his schedule by using the TV Guide. A trip around the U.S. doesn’t exactly fit the “couch potato” mold!

It’s going to be a blessing to watch Greg de-tox (un-stress) from work, and morph into vacation mode. For those of you who know Greg, I’m sure you’re wondering, as I am … will sabbatical give him more or less gray hairs than he has now??

Swine Flu H1N1 Threatens Trip

With plans to go through plagued areas like Texas and NYC, and hang out in tourist-rich areas, Greg makes the statement that – depending on the severity of the pandemic – we might not be able to take the trip. Huh?! With 2 months of food stocked up, and our self-contained, portable living space, we couldn’t be more prepared to hide away from society! We made it through the last threat to our trip - soaring gas prices - so I plan to survive this one too. "Stay-cation" is not in my vocabulary!