One Month To Go

In less then a month now we leave on our annual family road trip vacation. Every spring we load up our vehicle (for the past few years it has been a minivan) and hit the open road in a quest to see places we have never seen and do things we have never done before. I hope to some day see every state in the Union - I only have three left: Hawaii, Alaska, and Idaho. Aaron is more ambitious: he wants to see every county in the country. This year is our biggest attempt yet: we are caravaning with my sister-in-law and her family out to Los Angeles to visit my other sister-in-law and her husband. It is going to be an adventure!

In preparing for these annual trips, Aaron and I have a clear division of labor: He plans and I pack. With a few days less then a month to go, my big project right now is packing.

I start with a list - I try and list EVERYTHING I need. The list you see here is nothing compared to the final list:

This is my extra brain. I carry this book with me everywhere. I can write reminders to myself for things to add to "The List." I write shopping lists and grocery lists and to-do lists and reminders. People often accuse me of being really organized, but they don't know about my extra brain.

This is my staging area. It's the extra futon in Blair's room. It's empty now, but soon I will begin piling things on it. When it goes on the futon, it gets crossed off "The List." If something needs fixing, it goes in "The Extra Brain." If it doesn't end up on the futon, it doesn't go on the trip.
I will know it is time to leave on the actual vacation when this futon is empty once more.
Keep watching for progress reports!