Go East Again in ’10 Mascot Nominees

We are proud to announce the Go East Again ’10 road trip mascot nominees. Our students will vote over the next week.  Who will be the lucky character?

It’s Conditional

As much as we avoid planning, we do have some conditions to each trip. The first year these were in the form of a checklist of things to do but have evolved into condition / stipulation cards. Some may involve a location such as “We will stop at the Seattle Public Library” and some may involve a task that must be completed. These stipulations have found us signing guest books as our favorite TV characters (Gilmore Girl characters are a favorite), purchasing a scratch off lottery ticket in each state (unfortunately Utah foiled this), and visiting the Seattle Public Library (by way of Memphis and New Orleans).

We create our list of stipulations as we do most road trip traditions – over a wonderful dinner at Meson Sabika. They are made into colorful pictures, added to our road trip binders, and shared during lunch on our first day.

No matter what stipulations we choose this year, we will surely include the guiding wisdom of our former professor Nancy who taught us that “Life and death are problems, everything else is an inconvenience.” (And for those of you wondering – yes, all the graves on this stipulation are graves we have personally visited on our trips.)

Countdown

Hidden Landmarks

We love unique destinations. The more unusual the better. We have a multitude of books to assist us with this quest and have both downloaded the Roadside America iPhone application. Here is a  website dedicated to obscure landmarks. We have not used this before but it looks promising in helping us discover “hidden landmarks” to visit this summer.

It’s In The Cards

Go East Again ’10 is our 4th annual road trip. Over the years we have established some rituals and traditions to make the trips more memorable. One such tradition is “the cards.”  Before embarking on Go East ’08, we decided to create some trading cards to add to the fun of the trip. The creating of the cards is a sacred pre-trip ritual. Every year we meet at Meson Sabika to brainstorm potential cards. We carefully think what cards will add to the trip and create a list of cards to make. One set is made for John and one for Donna (John is assigned this duty because his creativity makes for hilarious cards). The cards are formally unveiled during lunch on the first day.

Either person can play any card whenever he/she wants. The DETOUR card is a favorite–it allows either person to change the trip in an unexpected way. The DETOUR card is how we ended up in Vermont  instead of Quebec, and how we headed south to San Diego last year. Other cards include: delete that picture NOW, don’t delete that picture, please clean the car, and I’m sleeping – you shower first.

This week we will create our list of cards. We have some ideas in mind but we’ll have to wait to see what new ideas we come up with as well as what standards we decide to keep. No matter what we decide, they will definitely be an integral part of the trip that will lead to good laughs for years to come.

Endless Possibilities

What will Go East Again ‘10 hold? Last year, when we decided to Go Farther West, we found a two-story outhouse, a house made of beer cans, and a tree we could drive through.

This year will find us heading east again. What will we encounter along this trip? Here are some of the possibilities.

Coon Dog Graveyard

Boll Weevil Monument

Land of Oz

We are ready for summer to get here so we can discover all these and more!

Look at the route of GFW ’09

GFW ’09, originally uploaded by Litandmore.

7,245.5 miles, 2 countries , 3 provinces, 15 states, 19 nights, 20 days, and 2 friends =  another priceless trip

Spoonbridge and Cherry (Minneapolis Sculpture Garden)

Spoonbridge and Cherry (Minneapolis Sculpture Garden), originally uploaded by Litandmore.

Where I Read This Summer: Spoonbridge and Cherry (Minneapolis Sculpture Garden)

Where I Read This Summer: Spoonbridge and Cherry (Minneapolis Sculpture Garden), originally uploaded by Litandmore.

Be Kind

Be Kind, originally uploaded by Litandmore.

Live from Minneapolis, It is Saturday Night

My creation, originally uploaded by Litandmore.

Writing a final post on the road proves a struggle. Do you feel like you drove beside us for over 7,000 miles? Anecdotes do not give justice to this experience of a lifetime. How many people can say that they drove over 7,000 miles in  just under three weeks, all while seeing site after site? We are the road trip truck drivers (Toot! Toot!).

Go Farther West ’09 consumed our brains for so many months. So much energy revolved around “not” planning the perfect road trip– although as June 9th or 10th approached, the desire to Go Farther West consumed nearly every thought. It is crazy to think that tomorrow we will be home and GFW ’09 will be relegated to a series of fond memories. Some of our favorite memories are…

Getting in the car at precisely 5:30 AM with no idea which direction the car was headed only to be asked 45 minutes later how Donna felt about having BBQ in Memphis that night and jambalaya in New Orleans the next

Watching John’s reaction at the Texas rest stop when he looked up to see a raccoon in a nearby garbage can

Taking a self-guided tour of The Orange Show in Houston when John and Donna arrived after hours and the nice lady from across the street let them in as long as they promised to lock up

Listening to the surf pound outside our window in Bandon, OR as we drifted off to sleep after a long day of driving

Learning that all of our favorite shows were not filmed on location

Singing “it’s a small world after all”

Playing road trip cards and learning things, such as, We ARE GOING TO SAN DIEGO

Staying at a 4 star hotel in the French Quarter for less than we paid for parking in San Francisco

Driving through Glacier National Park in Canada in the middle of a rainy night

Nightly rituals (None of your business)

Walking around Roswell, NM

Listening to Michael Jackson’s autopsy report while viewing a desolate marsh in Saskatchewan

Admiring the Seattle Public Library

Wondering what it would be like to live in San Francisco

Turning off our air conditioning in the middle of California

Wondering about Lou Grant

Enjoying a fantastic dinner sitting at Mary’s Table

Getting Diet Coke for $1.00

Celebrating a birthday in Seattle

Enjoying the 60 degree temperature in Carlsbad Caverns

Drifting to sleep thinking, “What a Day”

How could you visit Canada and not eat poutine?

How could you visit Canada and not eat poutine?, originally uploaded by Litandmore.

Will John Make it to the Top of the Hay Roll?

Where John Read This Summer: Lake Louise, Alberta

Where I Read This Summer: Lake Louise, Alberta, originally uploaded by Litandmore.

John takes time away from admiring beautiful Lake Louise to read his favorite Canadian travel book written by two authors he adores.