Step 1- Planning

In a word, planning sucks. It started simply enough, an innocent conversation between mother and daughter where each discovers that the other harbors a yen for a cross-country road trip. YD has just graduated from college and has 5 months until her new job and entry into the real world starts. OM works as an independent contractor with a flexible schedule, and has the means for such a trip. Having never had the opportunity to do this at YD's age, OM is not passing up this opportunity, believe me.

The first thought, load up YD graduation gift, 2009 Prius, with a combination of shoes, flat-irons, make-up, and other personal grooming products, as well as hiking boots, tents, and other camping equipment (I told you we were schizophrenic in this way), and just take off and have an adventure. YD rattles off the places she wants to see, a taping of Oprah, the Mall of America, the Canadian Rockies, as many National Parks as possible, a friend in Northern Calif, a taping of the Price is Right, Vegas, spas in Utah, Texas, New Orleans, just to name a few.

No reservations, no set schedule, just hop in the car and go. Yeah, right.

The good news, this country is big and has so much to see. The bad news, this country is so friggin' big and has so much to see! After mapping out just a few of those options, it's clear that the month long time-line we have given ourselves is not nearly enough, unless we want to spend virtually all of time driving, and very little time actually seeing.

Time for Plan B. Since most of what we want to see is west of Mississippi, we will fly out west, rent a car and drive from there. Now we have a schedule. We have to book flights. We have to reserve a car. While I'm looking up reservations, ugh, so much for the fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants, trip, I decide to just check on openings in places we have designated as absolute requirements, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion National Parks, only to discover that the prime locations, if not all of the openings anywhere near, these places book a year or more in advance, as do the fun stuff, like the mule ride to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

Whatever happened to spontaneity? Obviously, it only applies to travel to places that no one wants to visit. Now we have to start planning.

So much for camping. Throwing equipment in the car was one thing, paying to check it for a flight is another. Oh well, not sure that was going to work anyway. As much as we want to commune with nature, we will rough it only so much. We both have a need to flush. If the accomodations, natural or otherwise, do not include the ability to flush, no thank you. I'd rather dig a hole in the woods than do the outhouse thing. That outhouse scene from Slumdog Millionaire still haunts me.

Let's see what we can do.....