ROAD TRIP!!!

One week from today, Jake & I will take off on a road trip. We are going to Gillette WY for the International RV summer rally put on by the motor coach association. I will be a vendor there. It sounds like it will be a very big show, and I am very excited about doing it. I have done shows out of town, but so far the farthest I've gone is Hershey PA. It will be an adventure! I am really excited about it, Jake, not so much. The idea of driving 22 hours to get there, the idea of not having control of the radio the entire time, having to sleep on a pull out couch in some hotels, the idea of not having his the Xbox. The idea of the only person to talk to is his MOTHER! How could I do this to him??? Simple, I need the help. There will be good and bad about this trip. But here is "the plan". We will leave Cincinnati on the 16th, stop in Cedar Rapids Iowa for the night, the 17th stop in Sioux Falls S.D., then make it to Gillette WY on the 18th. We'll be in Gillette until the 23rd. Then off to Custer state park for a few days, then head back home, stopping in Sioux City and Peoria before arriving home the 28th. It's a plan! What could go wrong?

I shared my plan with friends and family alike. I have been told horror stories of what could go wrong. Let's start with "the silent treatment". You know, that wonderful thing that happens when you and your teen disagree on, well, everything. That can make the long highways of the plains states even longer. My solution. Jimmy Buffet. Especially Jimmy Buffets Fruitcakes CD. I love that CD. I know every word, of every song. Jake may want to be quite, but I plan on singing my way across Iowa. His solution. Noise canceling headphones. Then we have "I'm hungry". I will admit we are both hungry most of the time. Jake because he's 15 and me because I'm watching my weight. The solution. Snacks of baked chips, fruit and cheese. Not really sure how that will go. I might have to wing that one. The "let me drive comment". Here is the thing with that. Jake is 15, in Ohio at 15 and 1/2 you can get your temps. He will be 15 1/2 Oct. 21st. Thank you to several people who have planted in Jakes head that "there is nothing out there for you to hit, how could you get caught" I will have to deal with that. The thing is, they are probably right. However, that doesn't mean that Jake should break the law, drive too fast down the highway with me yelling, run off the road and hit a cow. Yes, that really could happen! I don't think I wish to explain to a state trooper exactly why I choose to subject their great state to the whim of a 15 year old new driver. And the friends and family who said he'd never get caught. They would be the first to say, why did you let him drive?! You know you would! Then, because he is about to learn to drive, I have to watch how I'm driving. I am already getting the, what's the speed limit here. You took that curve kind of fast didn't you? Did you signal? That brings us to the last horror story. Can we go home yet? NO! We are going to have fun. We are going to see rock formations, wildlife, and history. This will be the first (and probably last) Mother-Son road trip and there will be lasting memories. Good and Bad.  The pictures will tell the tale. Who is smiling? The body language. If anyone is in the picture at all! Who knows how this will end? Stay tuned for updates on our road trip!
Take care!