We are going on our very first road trip E.V.E.R.!!
Wait–not that I haven’t traveled across state lines to visit family, because I have. But it was not, I am adamant, what I would call, “a road trip.”
Driving from one place to another while only stopping for gas to visit family for a few days and come back is *not* a “road trip.” That is “traveling to see family.” There are distinctions.
—>And when you drive with a very “point A to point B” kind of person. . . stopping for gas is pretty much all you do.
So I can’t tell you how excited I am to be prepping and planning for our very first road trip! (And I’m leaving my “Point A to Point B husband” behind! 😉 )
Very soon, my mom, my three kids, and I will be traveling to see family in Washington–and road tripping all along the way. We will take two different routes there and back, and we will stop and see things in every state.
TEN DIFFERENT STATES IN TEN DAYS!!
- Texas to Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Albuquerque to Kingman, Arizona
- Kingman to San Jose, California (through Nevada)
- San Jose through Oregon to Washington (hopefully–unless we need to stop for the night!)
- Washington to Salt Lake City, Utah
- Salt Lake to Colorado Springs, Colorado (through Wyoming)
- Colorado Springs back to Texas
Ten states!
We will see farm land, mountains, valleys, several different types of desert, forests, beaches, oceans, rivers, lakes, waterfalls and more. We will drive through the painted desert, drive a little bit of Route 66, see the redwoods in California, drive up Highway 1 on the coast, and drive through lot and lots of mountains. We will see bits of history related to Lewis & Clark, the Gold Rush, the Oregon trail, American Indians, and a bunch of other stuff, too.
And I would be remiss if I didn’t let my Homeschool Mom tendencies flourish under circumstances like these. 😉
Of course we will stop to see things like the Grand Canyon and the Golden Gate Bridge. We have found many smaller interesting and kitschy thing to see along the way, too. Most of it free! My main goal has been to find plenty of good stopping points and interesting things to see without spending more money. =) I’ve also consulted with some friends to find the best way to save money on hotels and we have a plan for saving money on food. I have plans for in-car-entertainment, space-saving, packing, and more. (Including, but not limited to, some audiobooks for Mom
Between my mom and I, we have come up with a lot of clever solutions for on the road life for a week and a half. . . if I do say so myself. And I do. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t open to more clever tips. So tip away!
I’m excited. My mom’s excited. My children are groaning. (Is that a prerequisite?) Never mind—they will have fun! This is how childhood memories are made, right?? =)
Photo Credit: Public Domain by Ken Kistler
Wait wait wait! You’re coming to Washington!? Amber you have to come through Eastern WA and see me!!!!!!!! Make a loop, from California up to Seattle, head East to Spokane, and then down to Utah. Got it? Okay? Hmmm? Email me woman! 😀
In case you’re wondering…. 4.5-5 hours from Seattle to Spokane, and 11 hours from Spokane to SLC. We made the Spo/SLC trip a number of times when our daughter was down there for a year.
That is the kind of road trip I’d LOVE to go on.
We went to Alburqueque as part of a trip to Colorado a few years ago and LOVED it. The botanical garden there is amazing. Hands down, the best botanic garden I’ve ever visited.
Travel tips? When the kids start whining about time spent in the car, I say “get over it.” If they don’t, then it’s probably time to stop and stretch for a few minutes. That worked on our last major road trip…our boys were 9, 5, and 2 at that time.
Good luck and have fun!!
We have been planning a similar trip from WA to Missouri to San Diego and back with six kids. Ok…some of my teens are backing out….but we are going and they WILL have fun! Ha! Can’t wait to see the tips u have in store for us and pics.