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Travel plans

Here's our course:

• Leave for New Jersey (Long Beach Island) on the 11th for a 4-day stay
• Leave NJ for quick stops in Washington and Baltimore
• Make our way down the Appalachian Mts. in VA, stopping at whatever strikes our fancy
• Cut into Tennessee, where we'll see Knoxville, and spend a little time in Nashville and Memphis
• Double back through Nashville and head North to Louisville
• Hit Ohio, eventually making our way to Columbus to stay with a friend.
• Continue North, spending a day with a friend in Cleveland and allowing my daughter to ride all four coasters in Sandusky
• A little further North around the Lake to Niagara Falls.  We couldn't get our passport stuff together quickly enough (and we've not used them since our honeymoon trip to the DR 14 years ago), so we'll have to stay on the US side.
• Make a final run through up-state NY, stopping perhaps in Rochester or Syracuse, definitely in Seneca Falls, and then racing home, hopefully by the 29th, since school meetings start the 31st.

Do-able?  I know we'll be moving too quickly, but I think there's some virtue in that, too (especially with our kids in the car.

We've been researching each major city and trying to find 2 or 3 attractions (no more) to hit while we're there.  I think the key will be to not be overly ambitious.  It's going to be hot (OK, super hot), so we'll need to plan a lot of down time in motel pools and the like.  We're not making any reservations ahead of time (so we can be flexible), but we will be searching out motels that are in the middle of nowhere (hence, cheaper) and that have pools.  

I'm a little worried about bedbugs, but I've been reading up on how to spot them, though I'm not totally confident that my pest-dar skills will be sharp enough to spare us.

I'm most excited about being on the open road.  I love driving and high way driving in particular, zooming along and then pulling into some small town for a quick hit of what's going on around us.  I want to enjoy the campiness of American Kitsch (I'll be searching the web for key, not-to-be-missed roadside attractions) and taking tourist-y photos (view this great link!) that we'll blast out to our friends.

I'm eager to get going.

Musical Inspiration

This is NOT where we'll be staying.

Elvis and Back: The Journey

Here's the plan: one wife, two kids, two weeks.  Packed into our new Honda Fit.  From Boston, to the Jersey Shore (to visit my parents), to Memphis, to Niagara Falls, and home.  While I've been to Graceland once before (one of the highlights of my college years), my family has not, and I see it as my duty to take them on this pilgrimage.  We're making no reservations, planning only to follow our hearts and the Rand McNally Atlas, and see as much as we can see in the time we have.

We've been doing research for this trip for the past month, but I'm VERY open to suggestions.

Here's our plan:

We've never done a two week trip with the kids.  And YES, we do have a dvd player that we can hook up in the back seat.  My son Zach (8) loves BBQ ribs and the blues (really!), and my daughter Emily (12) loves amusement parks and any place with water, so we'll be on the look out for those things.  No museums!  Roadside oddities, for sure.  Lots of motel 6's, I suspect.

Suggestions?