I have a confession.

I am a compulsive list maker. And I swear, the older I get, the more I am convinced that without a list, I'd never get anything done. I make lists for everything. From regular grocery lists to lists of things I need to do around the house to projects I need to start/finish- it's never ending!

My latest lists are all centered around my big ol adventure I'll be taking in just a couple of weeks. My husband found out in April that he'd be going out to Wyoming for a month this summer. And that I could come along, too. So, as you can well imagine, I've spent the last 3 months making lists!! When I found out that I could come along I immediately decided that I wanted to make a road trip. Sure, I could just as easily fly out, and it would probably be cheaper to do that, but then I'd miss so many great things along the way.

I've searched Google so many times for things to see, places to stay, routes to take that my mind is absolutely spinning with all the possibilities. I've made so many lists- things I need to remember to pack, the mileage between big cities, Mom & Pop motels along the way. And here I sit, 3 weeks before my journey is to start and I am so overwhelmed by all of the information that I can't even decide which route I'm taking to drive out to Wyoming.

When I first told my Momma of my plans I think she thought I was either joking or insane. Maybe a bit of both. I guess she's just worried about me driving over 4,000 miles round-trip alone. I can understand that. I'm a little nervous myself. But I am also so excited that I find myself actually squealing out loud when I discover another cool place to visit! Yes, squeal. Like a pig. I'm not perfect, okay?! Anyhow, my Momma also wishes she could take time off from her job because she'd go out with me. She can't take that much time off though so she's going to watch my two doggies for me while we're gone. My doggies *LOVE* staying at Nanny & PaPa's house. Love.It. They get away with so much crap down there- I can't say I blame them.

Now I'm just waiting for some actual concrete dates from my husband, and he's waiting for dates from the people at the Vice President's office. And this is the military we're dealing with and as anyone that has ever been affiliated with the military will tell you, nothing is ever set in stone. Basically, I'll probably find out the actual dates about a week before we're supposed to be in Wyoming but hopefully it will be sooner than that.

My plans for now are to drive down to NC a few days before I'm supposed to leave & meet my mom to drop off the dogs. Then I'll come back up here to MD, load my car with all of my junk, check my eleven billion lists and then set off for my month long vacation. Well, I guess it's going to be longer than a month. I'm taking about 5 days to drive out there. I'm allowing myself plenty of time to stop along the way so if I see any concrete tee-pees or corn mazes that I simply must check out, well, I'll have time to do that.

And then last night at dinner the husband asked me what my plans were in September, after we got back from Wyoming. Uh, I didn't really have any plans. He told me that as soon as they get back from Wyoming that they'd be leaving again for 8-10 days to go overseas. So, now my plans are to take a different route from Wyoming and head to SC from there. Instead of coming back to MD first and then driving down to SC to pick up my puppies. Ack! That means I can see even MORE of the country than I thought I would. Plus that extends my adventure another week or 2 at least! Eeeek! (yes, that's me squealing!)

So, that's that. I still have so, so much to do. I need to get my car tuned up, I need to actually sit down and (gasp!) make a list of everything I need to get done over the next three weeks, I need to make reservations for the places I'm going to stay. Three weeks really isn't that much time to do all of the stuff I need to but I think it'll all work out. I hope.

Anyone have any fabulous ideas of places I need to add to the "MUST SEE" section of my lists? I haven't decided yet if I'll take I-80 or I-70 but the difference is only about 100 miles. I'll probably base it off of which route has more things to see along the way. Any suggestions? Anyone ever driven cross-country? Any tips you can offer? Thank you in advance for any suggestions/ideas/tips! I'm hoping I'll have internet access while I'm gone so I can bring you all along on the journey!