We’re less than a week away from our upcoming family road trip where we intend to spend 4 weeks driving up the east coast, into Canada, before finally returning home to Atlanta via the Midwest. Along the way we plan to stop and visit friends and family in the Carolinas, Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston, before heading into Canada. While in Canada we’ll visit Niagara Falls, bike some of gorgeous landscape, spend a week in Toronto, and then head stateside. Our trek back Midwest will take us through Detroit, Cincinnati, Louisville, Nashville, Chattanooga, and finally Atlanta.

This is our second year embarking on a multi-week journey across America. Last year we drove west, stopping in multiple locations in what I called our civil rights and national parks tour chronicled here. We made so many memories and learned so much about ourselves and our history, I was excited to plan our next one. So, here we are.

Every journey has its own unique opportunities and challenges. I’m convinced that one of the main reasons why more families don’t take road trips is because of how hard it is to plan and get everyone on the same page. Throw in the volatile mix of young kids and uncertain routines and you’ve got a potentially dangerous combination. Or as one dad recently told me when describing our road trip plans, kill me now. I get it. (By the way, my goal is to convince his family to join us for our next road trip up the entire west coast from San Diego to Vancouver).

Despite the challenges, look at the upside. This year, I’m looking forward to seeing three of my best fiends, with their families in their own elements. It’s so cool to be able to make memories with our kids together. I’m also looking forward to one on one time with my girls in new places. Riley and Olivia have been wanting to go to New York for years, Olivia because of everything cosmopolitan and I’m not sure why Riley wants to go, but I can’t wait to find out!

And the history! Last summer we went (or I dragged depending on who you ask) my family to every civil rights museum on our path (naturally I planned it that way). This year, I’m very fascinated in seeing what we learn from visiting DC, Philadelphia, and Boston. It’s probably the teacher in me, but traveling can be both fun and educational right?

Similar to last year, I’ve got the girls involved to help us set some intentions not just about what we want to do, but also how we want to show up on this trip. We’ll see what everyone comes up with. In the meantime, I’m working on getting my own mind right too. This next month is a gift. I intend to show up to each day with gratitude and appreciation. That’ll take some reframing for me after weeks of planning, to simply focus on being present and enjoying the moment.

The countdown begins. Watch this space to follow our travels.

SDW3