Wytheville, VA

I've been thinking of a cross country trip ever since we got the RV. Isn't that supposed to be the classic American vacation? Wes refers to us as The Griswolds, on our way to WallyWorld (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085995/ for anyone who has somehow missed this idiotic but fun Chevy Chase movie). So we've packed up the kid, the clothes, and the ailing hamster and hit the road, Jack.

The official destination/turnaround spot is the Grand Canyon, but there's a lot in between our neck of the woods and the American southwest. You have to drive through many, many very red necks of the woods, by the way, via the detrius of all that Westward Ho -- we'll end up tracing the footprints of Gold Rushers and other Old Tyme Carpetbaggers, and the tracks of the American Indians as they were pushed aside. I've been cross-country before, but not on this route. It's partly about seeing what it's like to really drag the RV around on a significant trip, partly a desire to see some of the "Best Ofs" in my own country, and partly trying to sneak in some semi-educational stuff into Keighley's summer vacation. Plus, it's an election year. This November she can say, Hey! I drove through those Red states! And that Blue one was really dull!

June 30: Wytheville, VA
July 1-2: Bowling Green, KY
July 3: St. Louis, MO
July 4: Tulsa, OK
July 5: Amarillo, TX
July 6-7: Santa Fe, NM
July 8-9: Petrified Forest, AZ
July 10-11: Sedona, AZ
July 12-14: Grand Canyon, AZ
July 15-16: Cedar City, UT
July 17-18: Moab, UT
July 19-20: Durango, CO
July 21-22: Pueblo, CO
July 23: Cheyenne, WY
July 24: Devils Tower, WY
July 25: Deadwood, SD
July 26: Marshall, SD
July 27: Des Moines, IA
July 28: Springfield, IL
July 29-30: Elkhart, IN
July 31-Aug 1: Buckeye Lake, OH
Aug 2: Home

One nice thing about leaving the DC area, is that no matter where you're going, you know you're escaping the bullseye of every terrorist in the world -- it's gotta be safer anywhere else. People ask me all the time if I'm afraid to travel, given the political climate. I always wonder how anyone can be comfortable staying put, given the circumstances. In any case, what we left in DC was haze and humidity, which, as far as I'm concerned, the terrorists are welcome to take.

The day before we were due to leave, I managed to blow up my air card -- the modem that goes into my laptop and keeps me online -- by attempting to download a firmware update, which crashed midway through, leaving it hopelessly hosed. After much wailing and gnashing of teeth and yet another experience that cemented my deep seated hatred of automated phone trees, I contacted an honest-to-God human being named Sam with an unflappable Asian demeanor and choppy reassurances (I email you patch, you unzip and install, every-ting be OK). I got the patch, unzipped, installed, and sure enough, every-ting now be OK. The computer has been online ever since, transmitting signals through T-Mobile, and collecting my email. However, the Phone Gods apparently still need more tribute, because the day we actually left, my cell phone went mute. It can receive text messages, but it won't ring or let me hear anyone on the other end -- people who can apparently hear ME saying, Hello? Hello? Hello? into thin air.

We bought a power inverter which lets me plug my 110v laptop cord into the cigarette lighter, and something called a Jotto Desk, which is a stalk mounted to the passenger seat rails that holds the laptop secure -- used widely in police cruisers. I didn't even *think* of geeking-in-transit (which I am doing right now! typing this as we fly down the road with a rainstorm in front of me, boinky-twangy BeeGees oldies playing on the radio, Keighley in the back seat inventing a special alphabet for her stuffed rabbit, and Wes driving -- I am truly writing "On the Road") but before we left, Wes bought a GPS device that USB's into the laptop, and when we drove around the neighborhood checking it out, it became apparent that holding a hot laptop all the way cross country would not be the greatest way to travel. So we found this gadget on the internet and had it overnighted, and now I am piloting a desk down the road. It's so cool! I planned our trip to coincide with T-Mobile's coverage so I could stay online -- but this is even better. I don't have to try to fit all my work in once we dock at the campground at the end of the day after all. Yesterday, I resolved a work issue online while cruising along at 65 mph. Check me out -- I'm at work! (actually it's 6 pm so I'm officially off the clock.)

The GPS is really cool, and comes with robotic audio directions, so every now and then Stephen Hawking breaks into your train of thought to tell you how long you have before your next turn. I can keep the map onscreen showing the overall route, and where we are in the perpetual NOW -- no more flapping open a map and figuring out where you are, while moving, just to see if you're still on track.

Our first stop was Wytheville, VA, because it was a good halfway point to our first "real" destination -- Bowling Green, Kentucky -- and because the campground had a heated pool with a water slide (Keighley). So we followed along the Blue Ridge mountains along I-81 down into the toe of Virginia's boot. Left this morning to drive south through part of Tennessee before we jag up into Kentucky at the end. Check out the attached pictures -- the laptop in front of me, and Keighley in the pool.