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July 7, 2013

Home again, home again, jiggity jig!

We put in a long day of driving on Friday and made it home in time to sleep in our own beds. 
Penny was very glad to have Chris back in his favorite chair.
Total miles put on the van  = 4,236
Order of states driven through in 13 days = MI, IN, IL, MO, TN, AK, OK, TX, NM, AZ, (4 corners UT, CO, AZ, NM), CO, NE, IA, IL, IN and MI.
This road trip far exceeded everyone's expectations (especially our 15 year old).
Exactly 30 years ago, my parents had done a similar trip when I was Emma's age.  However, in 1983 smart phones didn't exist. Neither did portable dvd players, Or, instagrams.  Or texting. Or facetime.  Or vines for sharing videos. I was completely cut off from 15 year old friends.  My sister and I drove each other crazy in the  backseat of my parent's Buick sedan.  
In 1983, I made a scrapbook of our family's road trip vacation and have held onto it all these years.
Although we used quite a bit of technology to record our trip, I also brought along a 3 ring binder with plastic sleeves.  In the binder were our daily driving routes (which included how many hours we would be in the van each day), along with our motel reservations/addresses, and some suggested sights to see along the way.   The notebook was used to keep us organized, and it also helped the girls see visually how far we were traveling each day. 
 As we picked up postcards and paper souvenirs along the way, I slid them into the plastic sleeve for that day of traveling.
As you probably guessed,  I'm planning on helping the girls put together their own scrapbooks later this summer of our trip.
In our addition to our reference book,  EZ66 Guide for Travelers, we also used the Roadside American App on Chris's cell phone to find additional roadside attractions.  

My goal was to find at least one kitschy photo-worthy stop in each state. 
Despite the 107 heat, some of my favorite memories were around the Holbrook AZ area.  


 


If I would have had more time off from work, Chris and I would have liked to complete the entire Route 66 journey all the way to CA.

I can't say enough about the Junior Park Ranger program.  

Josie loved earning badges and learning more about our national parks.

Emma did a fabulous job driving...especially in Oklahoma city under rush hour traffic and construction zones.

The United States is such a beautiful country. 


I am happy to report that we were with each other 24 hours a day for 13 days and survived.  

The girls were troopers with time zone changes and hundreds of miles logged every day in the car.

It was definitely a family trip of a lifetime. 

22 comments:

KJ@letsgoflyakite said...

Incredible summer journey!! love all the resources you used to keep yourselves organized. Fabulous kitschy and family photos. What an awesome vacation.

I didn't have the opportunity to take road trips in America until my early twenties (I am still missing 4 states!), but every one of them has a ton of memories - yes, such a beautiful country.

Anonymous said...

WOW, what a wonderful trip. I've enjoyed the pictures you have been posting, everyone is all smiles:) Glad you made it home safely.

Patti said...

My parents took us on a road trip when I was12 all the from CA to NY. It was wonderful! And, I have never forgotten the sights we saw. This will always be a fabulous memory for you and your family. I asked hubs if we could go stay in the tee pee place and he said yes. How fun!

Lynne said...

Fabulous trip and it looks like four happy travelers returned to Michigan! Enjoy a good week . . . easing back into your old routines! Welcome home!

Lutka And Co. said...

Wow, what a trip! What memories the girls will have! If you had made it to CA, you could have stopped by our house for a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice on your way to LA :)

NanaDiana said...

I loved reading this, Kim. I took a road trip with my daughters almost 20 years ago (wow-how can that be) and they still talk about it like it was yesterday. Your girls will have a life time of memories with this trip- xo Diana

vintage grey said...

What a wonderful trip and sweet memories made!! So glad you all had such a fun time!! Loved seeing all the photos and memories you made!! Welcome home!! xo Heather

vivian said...

so glad you had a great trip! loved following along on your blog. That was a lot of traveling! did you get lost at all? we always would get a little lost somewhere along the way! LOL!
anyways, welcome home! and whats next? dont you have a beach trip in the works?
happy monday Kimmie!
xoxo

Tiff said...

This was so inspiring to read and you have me all pumped up for our soon to be road trip!! If all goes as planned, we will be heading from Maine to 29 Palms, California, with a pit stop at Fort Hachuaca, AZ. We will be driving my oldest son out to his new duty station. We are only going to hit part of rt 66, but I can't wait for it. And we are all excited to see the Grand Canyon.

And I know what you mean about traveling when we were young. I have done the cross country thing many times with my parents, no electronics and no siblings to talk too! Our kids have it way easier :)

You are going to have fun putting those scrapbooks together and reliving the trip again.

Tiff

Jboo said...

Wow -- what a great trip and wonderful experience for the girls -- and you and Chris too!! Amazing photos!! Enjoy putting together the scrapbooks! Back to work to get some rest - ha!! Welcome home!

Corey said...

HI Kim, just catching up, as we're on vacation right now as well... So glad you're all back home and survived! I remember many of those kinds of road trips with my family, and boy, do our kids have it good these days, right? And we had three kids stuffed into our station wagon back then, so someone was always touching someone else!
How fun that you got to go to the Pickers shop. When my husband and I were in NY recently, we went to the shop from the Oddities show, and it was the same situation- so tiny in real life!

Nellie said...

So glad you have safely returned home! What an amazing trip you have had! Emma and Josie will remember this for a lifetime! You are a marvelous planner! xo Nellie

~Damita's Pretty Wrap~ said...

Looks like such a great family trip for the summer!! Thank you for sharing wonderful pictures with us. Glad you had a great time and good memories were made! Welcome home! xo Holly

ImagiMeri said...

God Bless America, we are such a great country and your girls will have wondrous memories for a lifetime. Still wish we coulda' hooked up when you were here, though.

Love ya'
Meri

Pink Roses and Teacups said...

Wow, Kim what a fabulous vacation! Wonderful memories were created, and I am sure the girls will have fun making their own scrap books. Glad you arrived home safe and sound. Your girls are getting prettier everyday!

Hugs,
Debbie xo

laurie -magpie ethel said...

Welcome home and glad the trip was a roaring success. I love road trips...love them. Great job with the binder to keep all those paper items organized. Ben kept a journal on one of our road trips and I included it in my scrapbook. Is interesting to read his memories of the trip and what he thought to write about.

Pam~ Virginia Retro said...

Fabulous trip, fabulous of you to share it with us. Short comment, on my phone.

Karin said...

What an AWESOME trip!! Thank you for taking me on Route 66. :) What a great experience for the kids. wonderful pictures, too!

donna said...

That is some road trip. So glad y'all had a blast. But is always feels good to be back home.
Hugs
donna

Lee said...

Welcome home!
Vacations are terrific but it seems (to me) that returning home is wonderful!
Great pictures~so much fun to see where you went and what you saw. Memories with family-so important. Our sons remember the good parts of our trip out west years ago and seem to have forgotten the melt downs (Ha!).
Have a great week!

GardenOfDaisies said...

What a fabulous trip! Someday , years from now, Emma and Josie will take their own children on a similar vacation. And you never know... Josie may grow up to be a Park Ranger.

Debbie-Dabble Blog and A Debbie-Dabble Christmas said...

Kim,
What a fantastic vacation and what wonderful memories you made for your family!!

Hugs,
Deb