Importance of Planning

I may kid around with all the planning and plotting of our journey but there really is no substitute for a well planned trip.

I'm not talking specific destinations or even hotel reservations - because of those we have none. Not really.

We have ideas, lots and lots of ideas.

What I am talking about is all of the pre-trip planning that needs to take place.

For instance - road trips mean that you have to get your car serviced, the tires checked and all the little gizmos between the fender and the bumper. (Yes, gizmos is a technical term, why do you ask?)

Another huge part of trip planning is to make sure that you have AAA. Yes, good ole' AAA - not just for the discounts, but for when you've been driving for hours and suddenly all of your gizmos go on strike. Okay, maybe not ALL of them but just one going kaput can put a huge damper on you continuing on your merry way.

Without AAA you need to find a local tow or service company. Pay through the nose for emergency service or just remain stranded on the side of the road because, hey, you were up for an adventure right? Spending the night road-side camping is an adventure?? Um, no. It is not an adventure, it is dangerous.

So save yourself the hassle and do your homework before taking off on such a trip.

We did.

And? We now get discounts all over the place. The membership fee was nominal (seriously, it was less than dinner and a movie). I'll probably get 100% of my money back and then some by the time the summer ends.

So, yeah. Plan. Plot. Discuss. Whatever you need to do to take to the roads in safety folks. Just get off your duff and do it.

One less thing to do

When planning to undertake an expedition of this magnitude, there are a helluva lot of things to do!

Not that I didn't anticipate this, it's just that the reality is much different than the anticipated.

But now, thanks to the amazing talents of one Ms. Julie Ann Stricklin we have the first and most important task completed.

No, it's not getting my car serviced or joining AAA (though I've done both already).

We're talking blogging here people - what is more important? As in the blog header and design are done.

I know!

I'm usually running around at the last minute trying to line up borders and insert images, but this time it's all done. Early!

I'll wait while you grasp the magnitude of this......

The plan is for Meg and I to chronicle our journey across this lovely country of ours and the lovely blog you see before you will be our home for the duration of the road trip.

Julie created the wonderful header and caricature images, in an amazingly short period of time too! If you're looking for some images, you really need to check out her work a www.julieannstricklin.com though prepare to be blown away.

The polaroid images and formatting were done by yours truly - if you want to know how I did it, just drop me a line and I'll be happy to help with your own design needs. (Please note that I am not a pro, what I do is mess with stuff until it looks the way I want to, if you need professional help I can only direct you to Revka at rsdesigns.com so cut out the middle man and go there yourself if that's what you're looking for. Revka, like Julie, rocks in her field.)

And so it begins...

Driving America Crazy...

That is quite a claim for two sisters to make; though we feel that living up to it will be easy enough for us.


On July 13, 2009 we shall embark on a journey of discovery of self, sisterhood and how tolerant a cat is on an extended road trip.

Yes, we're taking the cat.

See, now the claims of crazy aren't sounding so outlandish. Who takes a cat on a 10,000 mile road trip from coast to coast?

Us, that's who.

So come back and visit us often, or drop us a line at twosisters@drivingamericacrazy.com.

See you on the open road!

The W's of it all

You are wondering who we are, why we're doing this and what exactly is 'this'?

Let me enlighten you.

My name is Melissa. My sister Megan and I are going on a journey. This journey is going to lead us from New England to the Pacific Southwest, up the coast to the Olympic peninsula and across the great expanse of the Northern borders back home.

We will be driving across this country attempting to discover all of the wonder that is America. From small-town treasures to national monuments, we will explore as much of it as possible.

The idea for this road-trip came in early summer as we were both faced with the reality of living a life that had turned out to be quite a bit less than we had hoped. As a child I had dreamed of traveling to new places, meeting people and writing the great American novel. My path was going to be one of adventure and shared discovery.

Then life happened. I settled for a career that made sense and provided security while watching the path of life change disappointingly into a rut. A rut that threatened to consume that special spark that makes me uniquely ME. I re-examined who I had become, where I had gone in life and where I was going. Would the 8 year-old me, who recorded broadcasts on an old tape player while sitting in a hayloft dreaming of one day seeing the world, be happy with where I was?

Sadly the answer was a resounding "NO!". Things had to change and change they have.

Luckily, this journey is not mine alone. As events began to unfold and opportunities emerged, Megan was facing a crossroads. She could continue maintaining the status quo and face the same rut making lifestyle I had consigned myself to, OR, she could take a leap of faith and join me.

Gratefully, she has a lot of faith in her big sister. She is coming along, to share her unique perspective of our adventure. Though writing is my dream and not hers, she has agreed to help me fill this blog with stories, adventure and personality. The present is ours to share together.

This will be the first adventure we have taken together. She, being so much younger than I, was not part of my trips up I-5 along the Pacific coast when I was in my late teens and early twenties. She was still in high school when I moved to Boston all those years ago. She grew into the wonderful woman she is without much interaction with me. Sure we are sisters but it was her close friends that she went exploring with. The past is hers to share with them.

Recently we discovered that Megan has a little hitchhiker who will tag-along with us on our journey. I call this little lima-bean sized creature "Sticky". Yes, it is what you think it is and yes, we are very excited. A little freaked out, but incredibly excited. He or She will debut sometime toward the end of February so right now, before the limitations of pregnancy overcome her life, it is her time for adventure.

We are two sisters sharing our road-trip of discovery.