Alex's 48th State - Here We Go!

Logistics aside, I am excited. Before we left the house, I said, "you know, the next time we are standing in the kitchen, we will have seen and done things that we can't imagine today. Who knows what experiences we will have." No truer words were spoken, because every road trip is an adventure all it's own! So we pick up our 2020 Ford Escape rental, and hit the road.

We are leaving with 1 reservation - 1 night at the KOA in Cartersville, GA. We are going to have a socially distanced visit with my parents a.k.a. Grandma and Papa, and then visit with my sister (Cherrise - another rock star chick, you'll meet in an interview one day). The drive to Georgia bores me because I've done it so many times, so I'm always trying to find ways to make it more entertaining. On this trip we have 2 things we are doing:

1. I stuffed 52 Easter eggs with notes of things for Alex to do, to buy, to take pictures of, etc., the only stipulation - open all of them before we get home.

2. Take a picture at every Welcome to state sign. Some of them were not easy (WA was a little sign on a bridge), but we did pretty good between the 2 of us.

We try to stop every couple of hours, even if it's just to walk around. The first part of this trip is going to be drive drive drive because we are determined to make it all the way to Seattle. Spoiler alert - we do 😜. But the visit in Georgia has no time limit. We get to Grandma and Papa's and sit out on their beautiful back porch. We were at least 20 feet apart, and even had pizza that mom would put on a table, then we would get up and get it, and wine she did the same way, by pouring it from a plastic cup, into my glass, then I would get it. We made the visit work, and were so glad we did. When there are compromised immune systems, you make do the best you can. I work for a major grocery store and as careful as I am, but we take precautions. After our visit, we made it to our campground, where Alex hung his hammock, I set up our tent, and we knocked out. Day 1 in the books!

Best part about Day 2 is when your sister texts and asks if you want Starbucks. Um, coffee is my thing, well, one of my things, and the answer is ALWAYS yes. If you ask, you better be prepared to bring! She showed up to our campsite with a Frappuccino for Alex, and a latte for me - thank you thank you thank you! Sisters rock!

Alex's Hammock - night 1!

Home away from home. Grateful for this tent which has protected me from violent thunderstorms, cold winds, mosquitos, buffalo (okay, he could've crushed us), and allowed me to sleep relatively well. Truly blessed, and when I look at this picture I am reminded of so many adventures had, and so many adventures to come.