Well, we're about to embark on this great adventure and I thought it would be fun to document it not only for our memories, but also for the entertainment of our family and friends. Here's the deal... we've rented a fabulous 25 foot RV from Cruise America and will be driving from Los Angeles to Chicago. Our route will take us through the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park in Utah, Yellowstone, Mt Rushmore, Kamp Dels in Minnesota (yes, with a K...) which sits on a lake and boasts of a petting zoo, water park AND an underground storm shelter and then finally on to Oswego, IL where my brother and his family live. None of us have ever stepped foot into an RV and we have absolutely no idea how to drive one, hook it up to electric, water and the all-important sewer, etc... Cruise America provides you with a training video which I have yet to watch! Yikes...

So, how did we get here?? We've talked about doing this for years, but never very seriously. I believe one night the topic came up again and we decided to actually do some research and found this great one-way deal with Cruise America. Apparently they needed RV's taken from LA and dropped off anywhere east of the Mississippi River. They take 50% off the whole deal. Perfect! We sat on the idea for a while and finally decided to book it. They only required a small deposit for the reservation... figured we could always cancel it! Well, it never got cancelled and after a while we realized we needed to start reserving sites and making this happen. It seems like everyone that we talk to about this responds by saying "we've always wanted to do something like that! Tell us how it turns out." I feel like a guinea pig.

I asked the girls what they're most excited about as we prepare for this trip. Gabby (age 6) says she's excited to "see all the places" and for "rock climbing and sprinklers"... I have no idea where she got the idea that we're going rock climbing, or where these sprinklers might be! Olivia (age 8) is most excited to see her cousins in Illinois and to see "all this like cool wildlife." She's also very excited for horseback riding in Yellowstone.

We'll be on the road for 2 weeks... lots of together time!! I know we'll have our ups and downs, good days and really bad. I'm certain that we'll have funny stories, amazing photos, frustrating moments, tales of RV parkmates and who knows what else to share along the way.

Here we go!!