The Great Blanchard-Dougherty Road Trip to California: Prologue

Yes.  We are crazy.  You've known that forever.  But now, I'm going to live blog it.

We are driving to Anaheim, CA.  We're leaving today and stopping in Santa Fe, NM and Winslow, AZ for 4 days, before the final push.  Then we're visiting many of our friends (YOU ARE WELCOME TO CONNECT WITH US!) while Dave and I attend the Academy of Management Conference.  After the conference, we're heading up to the Grand Canyon for a day.  And then we are driving like the wind back to Charlotte.

Nothing like dividing up a 33 hour estimated drive over a few days to keep the family close together.
Why?  WHY, in the name of God(dess), are we doing this?!  Well, Dave and I lived in Los Angeles for a decade.  We want to show our children what SoCal looks like.  We want to show them New Mexico and Arizona, that not only sometimes don't look like they are part of the US, but that they are part of Earth. I *love* the Southwest.  We can't afford to fly all 5 of us out there.  Hell, we can't afford to fly one of us out there.

So driving it is!!

We've loaded up everyone with art supplies and books.  We're going to listen the Harry Potter on Audible.  We are going to attack the hotel pools with vengeance to get all the wiggles out when we are on the road.

I *know* this is crazy.  Fully aware of this!  But some of the best memories Dave and I have from our childhood are those crazy vacations and road trips with our families.  This is going to be one of those memory events for the kids, even if Mom and Dad may be suffering more than usual.

So, here we go! I'm going to live blog the whole trip.  Stick around and witness the madness!!