Road Trip Advice

I've finally gotten round to all those preparation and packing tasks which were in my plan for yesterday. I've packed, but I'm beginning to think I should re-pack, only this time into two suitcases so I can use one for day-to-day and the other for stuff I need over the course of the trip. I've stripped the sheets from my bed and put them in the laundry. I've gathered together the medications, bandages, maps, first aid kits, and snack box to take in the front of the truck with us.

Now all I have to do is empty the garbage and recycling, something I will ask David's help with, and run a load of dishes through the dishwasher. Oh, and a few other things, and a few other things, and a few other things...

David just texted me to say he was running behind schedule. I am reminded of something my friend Mike George said to me a couple of years back when we went on a road trip to Vancouver. "How can we be behind schedule? We're on holiday. There is no schedule." I've learned from that. David and I, in discussing this trip, agreed we would get up in the morning, go where the road took us, and stop when we were tired. This kind of approach is perfect. It allows us to relax, something I reminded David to do. Today is one of those days where we get up late, enjoying our relaxation time, and make a shorter drive of it.

As for myself, I find myself surprisingly relaxed, ready to take thing as they happen. I am convinced that I will do much better on this trip if I follow my agreement with David and the advice from Mike. There is not schedule. I want to go see Adam in Louisiana. We have a week to 10 days to get there. That's about 35 hours of drive time. Surely to goodness we can do 4 to 6 hours a day. That means between 6 or 8 days of road time. If we get close and have doddled too much, there is always a long road day to throw in there. We'll be fine.