An aside (unrelated to the trip)

Just a giggle to share this morning. I belong to bluemountain.com, so that I can send their e-cards. They are kind enough to send subscribers e-mail reminders of holidays so that the recalcitrant among us can be sure to send greetings. So, for example, a couple weeks back, I got an e-mail that said "Father's Day is June 17" in large letters.

So get this. This morning, I got an e-mail that says, in large and colorful letters:

Fourth of July is July 4

It's a good thing to know, I guess, so I'm passing it on, in case you didn't know.

Robin

So What Do 42 Pennies Have to Do With Anything?

Well, we'll tell you. Before this trip was the Oregon Trail Trip, while we were awaiting the trip muses, it was The Penny Trip. We were going to travel wildly, pure adventure, flipping coins to decide where to go next. Then we had this idea, and we ran with it, but Robin was a little bit sad because she liked the penny thing, with its freedom and sense of fun. So we kept it after all, and incorporated it into these plans.

But why 42, you ask? Well, the most logical answer is that we're going to be on the road for 42 days, so we have a penny to flip every day, a decision to be left to chance, every day. We intend to blog about the penny flips--what and where each of them brought us. For those of you not easily placated, it also has a more personal meaning, something to do with library fines in the 1950's, but we're going to have to just leave it at that. You don't have to know everything. But feel free to make something up and post it to the comments section. We love stories. If you make up something really good, we'll bring you a present!

Getting Ready

More excitement every day! Today I highlighted all of our routes in detail on a map of the U.S. and noted travel times between destinations. Also, a box of books arrived from Amazon! It included our guidebook for the Oregon Trail, several children's books with stories of the trail from a child's perspective, a book of first-person narratives from pioneers, and a book that looks really compelling written by Jerry Ellis, who walked the entire length of the Trail of Tears in honor of his Cherokee ancestors. We've only had a chance to glance at them, but every thing looks really interesting so far. We now know that we'll be passing through hot open prairies, but also encountering waterfalls, huge rocks to climb, and rivers, small and large! If you're interested in reading more, check out these links to some of the books and you can take the adventure along with us!

p.s. oh, and for all you do-gooders out there...I ordered the books from Amazon through the link on the Voices Rising website. If you don't already do this when you order from Amazon, you might want to think about it. You choose your favorite non-profit (like, say, Voices Rising...hey, you're catching on!) and go to Amazon through the link on the organization's website, rather than directly in your browser (for Voices Rising, it's on the "Donation" page of www.voicesrising.org). Then you buy your books, music, movies, lawnmower, whatever, and the organization gets a cut from Amazon. No difference in price to you. Think about it. As Martha Stewart says, It's A Good Thing.

Our First Rations

A couple of weeks ago, when we started discussing the logistics of the trip, Phoebe was in the midst of reading a book for school about the Oregon Trail and came upon a word that she didn't know. "What is jerky?" she asked (our household is not normally equipped with such provisions, you understand), followed by "Would I like it?" When I told her what it was and that I had no idea if she would like it or not, she asked if we could take jerky on the trip with us, and also dried fruit, since those were two of the things that the pioneers typically took on their journey. Of course, we're in this for authenticity (complete with the laptop and blog, eh?), so yesterday, we bought beef jerky at Trader Joe's (don't you love Trader Joe's?). Okay, so the pioneers probably didn't bring jerky in a package that read

No Preservatives
No Nitrites
No Added MSG
Gluten Free
No Artificial Ingredients
Minimally Processed
Organic Beef Raised
Without Added
Hormones and
Without Antibiotics

but it still counts!! By the way, Phoebe found out that she DOES like it. Her verdict: "It tastes kind of like bacon." Good Jewish girl.

No Time Like the Present

I set up this blog today, in hopes that we will keep working on it throughout our trip in July and August, enabling you to keep your eye on us and us to keep in touch with you! As of now, we're still at home, with Robin still working on the planning and the packing, and finishing up chorus obligations, and Phoebe having a laid back first week off of school. Next week, Phoebe takes off for a week with Audrey to visit Aunt Susan in Phoenix (in the summer....whew!) and up to Hell Creek Montana for this year's stint at the dinosaur dig. (for real...check it out at www.paleoworld.org). Then back home to chill out for a few days, watch fireworks, go to the local 4th of July fair, and then we're on the road!

Today, Phoebe and I went to AAA to get tourbooks, maps, and campground guides for all of our locations...exciting! She was so goofy there, she made everyone waiting in line laugh when it became clear that her answer to every question I could possibly ask was "Oregon!". Here's a photo of her looking at the U.S. map on the floor of the AAA office...the first in what I hope will be a long line of photos associated with this exciting adventure!