My New View of U-Haul

In a town near where we live there is a U-Haul dealership. All of the trucks are plastered with huge decals that look like postcards. Each postcard is from a different state and has an illustration of something that represents that state. It used to be a habit of mine to look at the pictures and see if they were states that I had been too. Most of them I had not visited.
Yesterday, I was passed by one of those trucks. This particular truck had gigantic horse-shoe crab painted to look like it was flying right at you. It struck me that I knew exactly which state that "postcard" was from, Delaware. Abby had held a crab just like that one and we had walked along Slaughter Beach and seen hundreds of dried up shells of those same crabs littering the sand.
The thought that I will be able to spot U-Hauls all over and have those states checked off made me smile. The fact that my kids will have experienced 48 states before they are able to drive is awesome to me.
In Ozark, MO we ate dinner at Lamberts Cafe, Home of the Throwed Rolls. It may become Abby and Carter's favorite stop on the trip, and all because they throw dinner rolls at you if you raise your hand. As we sat at the table, we talked about their memories of the trip so far. They have astounding memories, both in number and detail. I told them that I hope that if they have children, that they will bring them to some of the same places we visited. Maybe this experience will affect not just Becky and Me, but Abby and Carter and their children as well. Maybe someday I will throw a dinner roll at my grandkids, and my daughter will know why.

Home Away From the Road

Coming home for the holidays was something we all looked forward to. We had very little planned outside of spending Christmas with our families, but our schedule quickly filled in on its own.
The great part about our stop home has been the amount of time people have found to spend with us.
From the moment we pulled into the driveway, until today we have been surrounded by people we have anticipated seeing.
Some have stopped by only briefly, others have been able to stay for an extended chat. We have maintained contact with most of them all along our trip. For those we have lost touch with it has been great to reconnect. For those that we talk to regularly, nothing replaces the casual conversation and connection of an evening around the diner table.
The holidays can cause a lot of stress, with gifts to buy and food to prepare, but I find that the time I get to spend with people I care about makes that tension fade and positive feelings flow.
Thanks to all our friends and family for their thoughtful gifts, generous helpings of holiday snacks and most of all their time.
I hope everyone had a great holiday and we wish you all a Happy New Year.

Top 5

Well we finally have it. We have the map on the side of the RV with the little stickers for each state. It seems like something we should have had before we left, but for whatever reason it took until now to put it up.
The kids took turns putting the states on in the order we had visited them. I was allowed to put on a few and Becky placed Ohio where it belonged. It reminded me of a question that comes up often when we talk to people about our trip. What is your favorite place so far?
We have visited every state east of the Mississippi except one, sorry Mississippi, and a few west of it too. In total we have travel through 26 states.
So for the sake of argument I posed myself the question, "If I had to pick another state to live in for the next 15 years, and I could not leave it's borders, which state would it be?" In making my list, I took Ohio out, because I have lived there, and probably will return there when the trip is over. So below is my list from 5 to 1. I hope that if you don't agree, that you will email me and let me know why you think I'm wrong. danhirn@ourtriptakesus.com

#5 Massachusetts - I think any state I pick has to have a major city in it, and Boston is pretty amazing. We didn't spend enough time in Boston, but being there on the 4th of July was a great experience. I still don't understand the Neil Diamond obsession, but I liked the city. Then there is the Cape. We debated driving all the way to the tip, but enjoyed every mile. Massachusetts has coast, big city clout and some great interior natural beauty as well.

#4 Maine - This is something about Maine that separates it. It is green, and bold and rugged. The people of Maine respect the wilderness, and they work within it. The city of Bangor seemed quiet for a town of it's size, but still had a lot to offer. Although the summer is short, the coast of Maine isn't. I think I liked the pure toughness of Maine from the lumberjacks, to the fisherman to the moose.

#3 Florida - If we had stayed strictly in beach towns, Florida might not have made the list. I can only look at brightly colored t-shirt shops for so long. I think what really made me connect with the state was a visit to Everglades National Park. Standing next to alligators, and watching 10 different kinds of birds feeding all around you is remarkable. Sitting on the beach drinking margaritas in November doesn't hurt either.

#2 Minnesota - Spending a week in Minnesota is not nearly enough. We feel that way about most states we visit, but our time in Ely near the boundary waters was truly eye-opening. Just the drive north up the coast of Lake Superior was worth the trip. One majestic tree lined cliff after another, and then we turned left into a national forest that consumed us. I will never forget the sunset that we happened upon while driving past a lake in the middle of the forest. The colors of that sky and purity of the setting were like nothing I've ever encountered. I didn't even mention the Twine Ball.

#1 New York - Aside from a desert, this state has everything. Niagara Falls in one corner, New York City in another and every type of landscape in between. Mountains, lake fronts (Erie and Ontario), a city that contains more than you can explore in a lifetime, and plenty of area to escape the city when it gets too loud. For me it was surprising the variety of natural surroundings contained in this state. I hadn't thought much about what I would see after we left Niagara Falls, and I was really impressed.

I know that there will be a lot of people that don't agree. I hope that you take a minute to tell me why. I'm sure my list will change after we visit the next 22 states on our tour.

What's the big idea?

There is a point in the evolution of an idea when it passes from a funny preoccupation into larger than life reality. In the case of our road side stop today that point passed many years ago.

Over 50 years ago Alan Schafer had a beer stand just south of North Carolina on I-95. Today when you near this exit at night you are greeted by an unusual glow in the sky. Part of that blaze emits from the 200-foot tall Sombrero Tower and from a 100-foot tall neon clad Pedro who welcomes guests to the South of the Border Motor Hotel. Mr. Schafer created a destination where there was no destination before.

South of the Border is somewhere between unique and tacky, and at some point was just a crazy idea. It's exactly the kind of offbeat attraction that makes my wife light up. If not for her I would have marveled at the glowing collection of t-shirt shops, arcades, rides and hotels (yes, more than one) from the highway and kept driving. Instead, we stayed at Pedro's campground, walked passed his car wash, walked through his many souvenir stores and mailed out postcards at his post office. All the while laughing at the sheer improbability of the whole place.

The short stop makes me appreciate people like Alan Schafer who follow through on ideas no matter how bizarre. It also makes me thankful for a wife who expands my horizons, even if that means paying a dollar to ride an elevator to the top of a hat.

Not What You Know...

In high school I was told it's not what you know, but who you know. When I heard it I understood what was meant, but it was one of those phrases that I couldn't completely understand until I had more life experience. At the time I didn't know that many people, and I wasn't sure what I knew.

After a few years in college and few more in the work force I understand more clearly what I was told. What wasn't clear after that time has become obvious in the four months that we have been on the road.

Since the first mention to the first person about this journey, we have been given so much by the people that we know. Neighboring campers have helped with firewood or offered us a seat at their fire. Friends old and new have opened up their homes to us.

We could spend the year after we get back doing favors, running errands, making phone calls and performing other tasks for the people we know that have helped us out with our trip and still be in debt to them. Perhaps that's the greatest thing about the people we know, they don't look at it as a debt to be repaid.

From parents who forward mail, and paint apartments, to friends and family who look after our house and sponsor our trip, and the many giving individuals along the road, we are truly blessed by the people who surround us.

In planning Our Trip, we spent months trying to anticipate all the things that might arise as we went along. Looking back we were pretty successful in our planning. One thing that we were not prepared for was the selfless outpouring of generosity we have given by so many people.

So now, what I know is that I know some phenomenal people. Thanks to you all.

Hindsight

When we test drove the "Cruiser" in January of this year I distinctly remember the uncomfortable feeling of looking into the rear view mirror mounted on the windshield and not being able to see what was behind me. I thought to myself as I looked into the mirror and saw the reflection of the RV kitchen, "Why did they bother putting this mirror in here. I can't see anything." As Becky, the salesman and I drove up and down I-75, I continually looked in that mirror, each time seeing the same thing and each time wishing I could see the road behind me. I have since learned to use the side mirrors much more effectively. I've also discovered that the mirror on the middle of the windshield is my favorite one to use. Now, when I look in that mirror, I see that Abby is working on her math homework, or Carter is just about to fall asleep, and most enjoyable of all, is watching the two of them giggle when Carter says "Poop."
I know that by the time the trip is over, I'm going to have to adjust the mirror to see the top of Carter's head, and that the little girl that we left with will be more grown up. I'm sure that some of my favorite memories from our time on the road will be framed by that mirror.
So I'm glad they decided to leave that mirror hanging there, although I'm not sure it will be there when the next guy drives the Cruiser.

New Places, Great Old Friends

We've had the chance to see so many amazing sights in the few months we've been on the road and met a lot of great people. We have also made a real effort to stay connected to the family and friends we left back home. Sharing our experience through our photos, blog, facebook, twitter and email has been enjoyable too. However, it's hard to beat having someone show us Chicago's best pizza or talking baseball with a friend at the Louisville Slugger Museum. In the past few weeks we have made rendezvous with relatives and friends at a few of our stops, and we have plans for more such meetings. It brings an entirely new dimension to our journey and a welcome addition to our daily routine.

At our stationary home, we loved to host parties, round tables, gatherings and dinners. It was one of the things we've missed the most while on the road. Though the venue for those meetings is much smaller, it is still very exciting for us to host visitors.

The other aspect of these on the road connections that is not lost on us, is the effort and sacrifice these people have decided to make to visit us. Not everyone has 12 months of vacation time, and for someone to carve out some of their free time and spend it with us, we understand the value of that and appreciate it.

Experiencing this country with our children was our intention from the start, but having our family and friends experience parts of our journey with us is an added bonus we hadn't counted on.