Charlotte, NC
August 4, 2024
We are home! Wow! What a trip! 6 weeks, over 7,500 miles, 4 time zones, more than 140 hours in the car, 23 states, and endless memories. We explored, hiked, climbed, ziplined, and swam. We saw unbelievable mountains, trees, craters, waterfalls, volcanos, caves, geysers and canyons. We visited the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific. We visited national parks, national monuments, museums, a zoo, and an aquarium and made it up Route 66. We even snuck a concert in the mix.
We saw every state’s license plate…except West Virginia. Not sure how we didn’t see it at least once driving across the country and back.
Everyone was a road warrior and made traveling easy. This has been an unforgettable summer and I am so thankful for the time we have been able to spend together and learn together.
Great Ideas!
There were some ideas we had for our trip that we found very helpful, so I thought I would share them here in case anyone else wants to take a big trip like this!
A small trash can in the front seat.
Seat cushion in the driver’s seat
Tote box for all the shoes that stayed in the car
A Laundry bag that stayed in the car
Flat laundry sheets
Clothesline to hang wet bathing suits that didn’t have time to dry at the hotel.
Plugs for multiple outlets
Dash cam
Filtered water pitcher so we always had clean water.
Boxes between the backseats for the kid’s stuff.
Extra phone holder on the passenger’s side.
Back of the seat storage in the backseat.
Small cooler that fit between the seats.
“The Book” that had all the details of our trip separated by day. It also included if the hotel had breakfast, microwave, fridge, pool and laundry.
Medicine in the glovebox instead of the suitcase.
Gallon ziplock bags in the glovebox in case of carsickness.
Ear plugs and an eye mask for car naps.
Food bag that contained all we needed to make food on the road.
Chip clips
“Extra stuff” bag that stayed in the car for random items.
Wireless headphones and the ability to tether internet from the phones were both very helpful.
I hope that this trip inspires you to wander and wonder with your family. I promise you it is worth it!
Wandering, Wondering and Wacky 
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