The Journey Begins

We're up.

All is well again...

...battery is charging, fridge is on. The open road awaits us.

Thanks to all who have had any small part in us getting to this point.

Here goes nothing.

Matt

Recharging batteries...

...literally.

Took another load over to the trailer and the battery was dead. No big deal, other than we were hoping to run the fridge overnight to make food transport easy. UG is coming back later with an inverter to try to charge that baby up.

Ominous beginning, don't you think? Stick around for more...

A moment to reflect

Steph is out with friends, the kids are in bed. In two days we will be off on our wild journey. Been planning this for a year or so, been thinking about it since the end of the 2007 trip. Sometimes the moments you wait for can be the most intimidating. But they are a chance to rise up and show the best you have to offer.

Some random thoughts:

I hope that someday my kids will share my love of travel. I hope that they will learn to discover the magic that any new place can provide. I hope that they won't be travel snobs and can make anyplace in the world a destination, no matter how mundane it might seem on the surface.

I hope that mom really attempts to run the video camera when she's in the RV.

I know that, even with a major breakdown in the middle of Texas, we were incredibly lucky on our last trip to have so few problems. I hope we are so lucky again, but more importantly, if we are NOT so lucky, I hope we all handle it well.

I hope that some day I am able to share this kind of journey with close friends.

I hope that my camcorder holds out, and if it does decide to die, that it does so near civilization.

I hope I can find the time once school starts to make the DVD of this trip.

I hope I don't have to back the trailer up too much. I suck at it.

I hope people read the blog and are interested in our goings-on while we're gone.

I hope I don't forget anything important.

I hope I can enter this trip in a mentally good place, ready to open myself to the experience, enjoy the freedom of place, share the wonder of the world with my family, and come back a richer person for the memories.

I hope there are more trips like this one to come.

...

T-minus 34 hours...

Let's do this.

First things first

This is my new haircut:


Something had to be done. All the Anderson people...remember Mr. Kraus? That was happening to me. I had developed a little island of hair that was slowly distancing itself from the mainland. Got really obvious when wet. Anyway, we consulted with a reputable stylist today for the best thing to do and this is what we came up with. It does minimize the effect of the lonely tuft on top. I asked if we should just take the whole tuft right off but we were advised against going to war with my hairline...it could create a different "situation" she said. Anyway, what's done is done. If the tuft doesn't fall out soon I might have to go Chrome Dome, because this tuft is just silly. I like the new cut fine - I can get used to it - I just wish that my hair would bow out gracefully instead of hanging on in uneven patterns.

Anyway, beyond that, a busy day of trip-prep-shopping. Odds and ends and this and that. Tomorrow the trailer is moving to a closer location and we will be able to pack it whenever we want. Looking forward to it. Had a family meeting today to go over details of the first few days, and we all feel ready to hit the road.

Opinions on the hair are welcome.

Matt

Insert "Home" Quote Here

We're back!

This morning, hung out at the Baymont Inn and Suites in Knoxville. Okay hotel, but...well...the carpet was not what we would call clean. We waited as long as we could stand it, then headed for an early lunch at Cardin's Drive-In. As I said, no website, but here's a shot of it in Google Maps Street View (a very cool thing indeed). Gives you some idea of the character of the place. (I see now that it's not working right - if you can't see the image, click on the "view larger map" text below it - you'll get the image.


View Larger Map

Being our last meal of this vacation and all (and with Steph and I fully intending to eat a lot healthier on our big trip) we splurged. Good bacon cheeseburgers. Mari liked her hot dog, and the babies and Faith liked the grilled cheese. Good fries, good rings, good cheese sticks, good tater tots (hey, I told you we splurged) and good milkshakes. I had read good things about the peanut butter milkshakes so I got that - was NOT disappointed. So, Cardin's gets my seal of approval - if you're in Knoxville, a fun local dive to stop by.

Rest of the trip was totally uneventful. I am proud to say that we drove from Cincy to Jacksonville to Hilton Head and back to Cincy and only put in 2 movies the whole time we were driving. And very little TV during the week as well. I feel like a successful parent for that. And really, we are so blessed - the girls were GREAT during the trip, and the babies were so agreeable and pleasant most of the time. We have a great travelling family and it's a good thing.

Coming home...well. I think it's an indicator of a really good vacation if when you come home, your house seems a little unfamiliar. And it's not a question of being gone a long long time or anything...it's about where your mind has been while you've been away. If you've been just sitting there thinking about stuff back home then probably you won't feel like you've been gone. My mind has been completely in the moment for a week and a half and it's felt great. My house looked a little strange to me and I like that feeling. It's probably also a function of me already being mentally on the next big trip, too.

So now is the weird turnaround. Three days at home, trying to keep the house nice and neat and trying to get ready for a monthlong cross country trip. Also mentally switching from being with Steph's family to being with mine. No need to get into specifics - we love them all, but they function very differently and it's a different way of existing.

Keep checking in!

Matt

Getting back is half the fun

Who says the return trip has to be sad?

This morning was a little bit of a bummer as we loaded the car and headed home. But I am daddy and I always have a few more tricks up my sleeve. We're spending the night in Knoxville, so I of course did my research. The girls' first surprise was a trip to The Chocolate Factory for a few treats for being so good on vacation. Really a lot of selection and the girls were very excited to get to pick out a few things on their own.

Then, we headed down to World's Fair Park in downtown, where we let the girls run around in the public fountain. Again, they really enjoyed that especially on a hot day. See pics below:





Lastly, to give them a little time to dry off, we went up into the Sunsphere for a view of Knoxville. Got to see a major storm rolling in. When we came down I ran to get the car and bring it around because it looked like the heavens were about to open up and pour down rain.

Came back to the hotel and chilled for the rest of the night. Tomorrow we're going to take our time leaving - check out is 11am, and we'll use every last minute. Hoping to grab lunch at a local fixture (again, I've done my research) called Cardin's Drive-In which is a few miles from the hotel. No website available - should give you some idea of the kind of place.

Hopefully be into Cincinnati in time for dinner and a low-key evening. As always, returning home will be emotional - and even more so this time with the quick turnaround to the big trip.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by. See you at home!

Matt

Final night

It's been a great vacation week here in Hilton Head. It's 11:30 pm, and I'm about to turn in. The car is mostly packed and hopefully we'll get a good early start and be on our way quickly tomorrow morning. We plan to stop in Knoxville overnight, and might make our way to a couple of local landmarks, or we might just crash in the hotel. Depends on our mood.

Sorry I didn't get around to posting more pics - there are a ton of great ones. Again, maybe I'll get around to it some night this week.

I miss the relaxing beach vacation - but this one was fun and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

More tomorrow from Knoxville.

Matt

Pic experiment

I've been taking pictures in widescreen mode, since that's how I shoot video - just want to post one to make sure there are no distortions problems posting online.



This is our last morning here - the girls are sad to be leaving but they've really had a great time. And my own mind is turning to the next trip now. This is going to be a wild turnaround - home for 3 1/2 days and then OFF we go. Hard to believe that in one week we'll be in...oh, sorry, can't tell you that. Let's just say somewhere we've never been before.

But, going to enjoy our last day here first.

Thanks for stopping by.

Matt

Winding down

Just typed and lost a major long post. Stupid Marriott wifi.

Beach is fun.

Routine is crazy.

Bought new camera.

Eating too much.

Robby walked.

Two days left.

See you later.