On the Road Again (Soon Anyway)

Last year when Ben and I drove across the country, I was expressly forbidden to plan anything. I couldn't plan a route, where we were going to stay, or what we were going to do. The only objectives that we had were to visit his sister in Phoenix, go to his parents’ house in Illinois for a couple of days, and arrive Atlanta in time to see the whole Braves/Red Sox series. We achieved all of those objectives and overall had a stress free trip across the country.

For me that was a huge accomplishment.

You see, Ben calls me his “Master Planner.” Until last year’s trip, I highly doubted the existence of a spontaneous bone anywhere in my body. I will plan every minute of the day out if you let me. I love lists, schedules, and calendars. I use enough sticky notes to remind me, my cubicle mate, and anyone else within a two block radius what the plan of the day is.

This year’s trip across country is going to be a little different. You see, this year I HAVE to plan this trip...at least a little bit We will be traveling with my dog Coda, a 70 pound German Shepherd.

He's kind of hard to hide, so I have to find dog-friendly hotels to stop at. We could bring a tent, but I’ve been camping with Coda before. I’m afraid that an experience like that would swear Ben off of camping forever.

The time of year that we are traveling is also a concern to me. It may dictate what route we take. Will the mountain passes on Interstate 80 be open during the first week of April? What if there’s a freak snowstorm (because there haven’t been enough of those this year or anything)? Should we take Interstate 40 again? It's a shorter route that will get Ben back to South Carolina quicker (AND we can stop in to see his uncle AND go see the Grand Canyon). Either way, my biggest concern is whether or not there a Dairy Queen anywhere between San Francisco and South Carolina that serves Blizzards with Nerds in them. If I bring my own Nerds, will they put them in the ice cream for me?

No matter what, this trip will be interesting. Last year's trip was fun, so I'm sure this one will be a blast. Wish us luck :), only 43 more days to go!