Day 1 and Before

What better way for Ed and I to celebrate our 31st anniversay than to begin our cross country adventure with our family of five? Since I graduated with my Ed. S. on May 3 and then began the frenzy of all the end of the school year activities along with completely packing up my classroom, I didn't put as much time and energy into preparing for this trip as I normally would have. And, this being the grandest family trip we have ever planned, I feel a little guilty for not being more organized for it.
The day after my final post-planning day, it was a mad rush to get the AAA TripTiks finished, the *very long) checklists checked off, and our home prepared for our 42 day absence. I only had 6 days without any post-graduate studies or teaching to get all the final plans finished.
Ed and I decided that we'd travel the country in a pop-up camper, so we found a great deal on a good used one on Craigslist. Although I wasn't particularly fond of the tan laminate cabinetry and tan and blue patterned 70s style decor (Did they actually once think that this was appealing?), everything was in fairly good shape and working order. Unfortunately, as our luck would have it (Why is this always so?) two days after bringing it home, the mechanism that holds the canopies up, collapsed. Of course, the prior owners claimed no responsibility and off to the repair shop it went. There was a two week wait time to even get an estimate. I had no idea that there was such a demand! Ed and I discussed making sure that if any other repairs or maintenance was required that we better make sure to take care of them all before we go. We got the camper back during the last week of school, after being given the okay that it was ready to roll. I found as many organizational techniques as I could to squeeze as much of our home into this rig. Do you know how many wonderful ways Ziplock baggies (in all sizes) can come in handy? So, after extra long nights (and those of you who know me, can imagine what I mean by this), I believe that we have everything crammed into our camper and Odyssey van that is humanly possible. Because, you never know when you might need food to last our family for 20 days or more without access to a grocery store!

Day 1

We managed to get out of the house by 10am, only an hour later than originally hoped. I couldn't leave without making sure everything was picked up and cleaned before going (well, to be honest, not everything was done.), but at least all of the important things were done. Before today I had visions of what I had hoped that this would be like (wonderful memories being made, everyone getting along and happy all of the time), and then I woke up and realized that why would this be any different than any of the shorter trips we have gone on with spurts of bickering, boredom (how could this be with all the special care that went into planning these times?), and other stressors. Thankfully, so far, the day turned out to be more pleasant than not. While the kids were all plugged in for more than half of the time on the road, the fears that I had did not occur. Maybe it had something to do with the promise of respecting each other which I asked them to abide by before we even left our driveway? Or, maybe it was just because it was the first day.
Ed decided to do all of the driving on this day, maybe because he knew that I had been spending so much time/energy on the prep. work while he was working/watching soccer/sleeping with occassional packing. After driving 6 hours or so through Georgia and Alabama, we decided to veer off of the planned course (4 miles each way) to go to the beach for a meal in Biloxi or Gulf Shores, Mississippi. We found Snapper's Seafood Restaurant right on the water (thanks to the AAA guidebook), and ate our delicious PoBoys while watching the lightning and a huge black rain cloud get wider across the sky in the near distance. We quickly finished our meal so we could get our toes in the sand before heading to our final destination for the day~ New Orleans.
Just before the drops started to fall, we were back on the road and headed to Louisiana. I'm so happy that we decided to get another GPS the day before we left. I wasn't sure how reliable our Internet On the Go service was going to be. It helped us maneuver our way back to the freeway without any wrong turns!
We made it to the KOA campground before dark so we were able to get most everything situated in the waning daylight. Our site is situated right beside the bath house and pool. Convenient! Ed was exhausted and crashed early. The kids and I accessed the free internet to surf the web. I really don't know how it will all be when we get to the national parks that have no electricity and no internet. We brought plenty of games and activities, so I'm hoping it won't matter. Don't you like my Norman Rockwell visions?
We were pretty full from our PoBoy meals earlier, so I was happy not to make a big meal on our first night. The leftovers were heated up (I love having our microwave and our toaster oven along!) and some snacks were eaten. We are all very happy to have a working air conditioner that blows out very cold air when we want/need it. The plan was that Ed and I sleep on the King bed on one end of the camper, and the three kids sleep on the bed on the opposite end. But, at the last minute, Ian decided to sleep in his own bed beside Ali and Cameron. For the most part, we slept quite well. I hadn't know that New Orleans has an airport and a train, both seemingly busy all hours of the day! While we are quite used to hearing trains go by in the distance, they don't normally blow their loud whistles for a minute at a time. Oh, the joys of camping. You never know what awaits you at each stop. I really can't complain though. Ed and I have done our share of tent camping, and this pop-up is like the Ritz in comparison.