The grand experience or a really bad plan...

I wish I could say for certain that this is a good idea...to go around the country from Pennsylvania and back by circumnavigating the northern and down to the southern parts of the United States. In fact, it could be the most agonizing road trip ever...or a trip of a lifetime.

My goal is to give my 12 year old son and 14 year old daughter a view of America that I have no firsthand knowledge about. To show them an America that is an abstract idea to me even still.

I have never driven farther west by car than Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In two weeks, passing that threshold, I will have achieved something I thought I might never get around to doing. It's not that I am not a traveling person. I have been to Canada, Israel, France, England, Belgium (even Luxembourg), Mexico, Panama, and many of the Caribbean islands.

I have been to many places in the U.S. also; Southern California, New Mexico, Arizona, Florida, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts (born and raised), New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. So it's not that I haven't dropped in by plane to many American places.

But dropping in to an airport is different than seeing the land pass and change gradually around you. I have driven the Pennsylvania to Florida route many times along the I-95 and never stopped in a village along the way to experience the culture of the passing states. Staying at chain restaurants and hotels was the sanitary way I explored the parking lots of these states as we made a mad dash to Disney World.

But that crossover from Pennsylvania to Ohio (how exotic, right?) will be a monumental experience. I am purposely visiting states for the sake of the experience. My husband gave his nod of approval for the trip. "Go..." he said happily, "You've always wanted to take the kids and you know I don't want to be in a car for too long." So I go alone with the kids. Since we're a homeschool family, we're used to being together and learning new things as a family. My husband is happy that he's meeting us in New Orleans and not the whole of the trip.

I had to make certain parameters to the trip and to hope for good health along the way:

I will only drive 4 hours a day average. 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening. No pushing it to the point of exhaustion.

I will try to visit as many local restaurants and shops as I can. No chains if I can help it.

We will stop to "smell the roses" along the way as much as possible. No mad dashes to make it anywhere. We will appreciate the little things.

We will be away for 44 days from July 30 to September 11.

I did make reservations at the least expensive but comfortable motels along the way with the help of tripadvisor.com. This was a safety precaution to keep us from ever having to sleep in the car.

I intend this blog and my daughter's to be a memory book of sorts and to share the experience with others. Mostly for my friends who know me and how much I hated the quote "The Real America" by Sarah Palin (you know who you are). So I am off to see the "real" America. Thanks for coming along.