Glance in the Rearview - Some Background

Someone really wise once said that if we drive just looking in the rearview mirror, we'd eventually crash into something in front of us. But who am I to follow what I say? Sometimes you just gotta look back!

It all began in the Summer of 2008 when 4 Tangs set out to "use up" some mileage from our SUV which was leased and due back in April 2009. 4 Tangs packed up the SUV, strapped a two-screen travel DVD player to the back of the headrests, charged up their Nintendo DS's, and headed east.  Destination: Lake Jackson, Texas.  Route: LA-Vegas-Flagstaff-Albuquerque-OK City-Lake Catherine (Arkansas)-New Orleans-Lake Jackson-San Antonio-Scottsdale-LA.

We were gone three weeks but would be changed forever. 

It's hard to explain how a good time can be had by a daily routine of being in a car for more than 6 hours a day, not sleeping in our own beds, and the constant packing and unpacking. But what a good time we had!

Hotels were graded by the kids on the size and condition of the swimming pools, we experienced people and foods that we'd never sampled before, and best of all, we ended our trip hungry for more.

So here we are, 4 Tangs a year later, ready to explore the country again.

Some of our friends, you know who you are (Janet), asked us to update our experience hitting the road this Summer. I've never been quite the consistent do-er, but there's a first time for everything.

So buckle up, we've got the Tangs, the Van, and a tank of gas...let's run through our checklists and get ready to raise some...dirt!

Vroom, vroom!