I’m getting ready for a big trip

And in true fashion I already have lost several important items I planned to bring.  The good news is I still have 20 days to find them.

I have tourist books for Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio.  I think we also got Indiana, Illinois, Oklahoma, as soon as I dig them back up I’ll be able to tell you for sure.

You can’t really tell from the map, but I’ve found a couple of great stops, some that might add a day or so to the trip, which is good since I’ve planned 3 days for 18 hours worth of driving time.

 

Texarkana– I’m sure there’s something there, and if not, it’s fun to say.

Little Rock– see the state capital.  I thought about detouring to Hot Springs because I remember going through there and seeing a fun animal show in this little spot, but that was cough 20 cough years ago, so it’s probably not there.

Memphis– I don’t know, it just seems like a city named after an Egyptian town should have something interesting in it.  And besides there’s that great song “Walking in Memphis.”

I hear this song and think of college and watching X-Files way into the night with my roommate.

Nashville– this might be one that adds in a day, there’s the Hermitage, Andrew Jackson’s home.  There’s the Acropolis!  Not to mention a freaking awesome park there which we stopped at on our way to Williamsburg.

Knoxville– I’m gonna meet a friend for the first time!  So excited.

Lexington– Kentucky Horse Park, I’m sure I can arrange for a little girl to be quite ecstatic about that.  I remember going when I was 12.  Ahhhh….. those were the days.

Cincinnati- The city I can never spell.  Ohio homeschool convention (affiliate link)!  I’m so unbelievably excited, and the more I think about it the more excited I am.

 

On the way back we’re gonna take a different route, and I’m trying to decide if I’m gonna drive 8 hours the wrong way to stop and see Tara……  It’s kinda tempting.

 

Here’s my 3 return routes I mapped out:

Route 1: this has the advantage of being mostly on track, kinda.

Route 2: This adds in about 5 hours, but we could stop by and see Tara, and has the added benefit of adding in another state for my kids to go through.  But I speak from experience riding through the bread basket of America is long and quite miserable (or that may have been first trimester pregnancy speaking).

Route 3: Another state!  We could add in Nebraska, what the hey why not?  I mean as a kid my Mom, brother, and I drove from some random point in New York that I do not remember where and crossed the border into Canada solely to say we did it.  Then we had trouble crossing back over because they were worried about custody issues, but that’s another story.  Downside we don’t pass through Kansas City and I recall there being a really good children’s museum when we last went through there.  It was in an old train station.

 

What do you think?  What route should I take back?

Oh, and one more thing I’m super stoked about, they’re having a blogger meet up at the Ohio convention, and I’m FINALLY going to meet in person so many people I’ve been chatting with online for years now.  YEARS!  So stalk the Great Homeschool Conventions social media: twitter, facebook (they’re page keeps me laughing daily), and G+ for news of the meet-up.

So keep an eye out for these goofball faces because you’ll be seeing us at Ohio Great homeschool convention (affiliate link).