1. Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost (or Crazy)

Every adult I've asked has said to me, "Oh, I always wanted to take a road trip!" But, few have actually gone. Their excuses for this range from "instead I had kids," to "it's too much money," to this most popular line, "I never found time." Well, lucky for me, I don't have kids, I can stick to a budget, and I'm making the time. Yes, be jealous, I am taking an epic once-in-a-lifetime trek across the country this summer, and it's going to be a wild ride.

Let me paint the picture for you:

I'm Liz Vinci, age 21, born and raised here in "Lil Rhody" Rhode Island. I love it here, but I've always wanted to explore America the Beautiful, and now I finally have the chance. Well, I commandeered the chance.  I am graduating from URI in December with my fancy Journalism degree and things are going to get real adult, real fast. I know that when I finish college, I'm going to want to start a career, trick some poor sucker into marrying me, settle down, and do all that stuff that comes with adulthood. Before all of that, I want to have an adventure.

I've always known that I wanted to take a USA road trip, but I could never figure out how I would pull it off. Between the expense, the car, the driving, and the potential danger, it was always impossible for me to take this on alone. Enter Pete Faggella. He's 25, handsome, a skilled mechanic, and he possesses the profuse patience it requires to love me. Not only can he keep our car in motion, but he can tolerate my incessant chatter and radio sing-alongs for all 5,100 miles. Perfect!

This is Patient Pete and me at the Chrysler car show in Carlisle, PA last year. 

Pete rebuilt that Lebaron for kicks. 

Then he bought and fixed the moped to match. Quite a catch, eh? I think so. 

We put this ROAD TRIP plan into motion about a year ago, right after we survived and enjoyed our Pennsylvania summer getaway. True, spending half a week in PA for a car show is not comparable to driving 3 weeks cross country, but WHATEVER. POtato, PotAto.

We've saved up a few thousand bucks for gas, food, some lodging, and in case of emergency. Of course, if we spend it all while we're out there, we will come back completely broke with only a sunburn to show for it. SO! It's in our best interest to be penny pinchers. Luckily, I am my father's daughter and unnecessary spending gives me hives, so I think we'll be ok.

Next, we had to set a departure date. Pete, being the semi-responsible almost adult that he is, has a full-time job at a local auto repair shop. They were generous enough to grant him time off for this trip, trusting me to bring him back in one piece, which I probably will. Probably. Pete graduates with his fancy college degree on May 5 and wanted to take off immediately afterwards, but I decided that I should probably stick around R.I. to take my semester finals at URI. I hear those are important... This set our departure for May 15, the day after my last final exam. We decided a reasonable return date would be 25 days later, putting us back on the east coast on June 8. That leaves us 3 weeks and 3 days to explore the spacious skies, amber waves, and whatever else this land of the free has to offer. (I'm dying to see a cactus.)

And now for the itinerary. We have a list of places we're stopping and a few gracious hosts, but there are bound to be detours and stops where we won't know a soul. (but, that's half the fun!)

Roanoke, VA -- visiting my little cousins, Annie and Bonnie. (Yes, they are as cute as their names.)
Nashville, TN -- visiting, Bryce, my buddy from high school
Atlanta, GA -- visiting Steve and Sandy, family friends
New Orleans, LA -- Bourbon Street, baby!
San Antonio, TX -- visting Pete's friends, Adam and Adam. I shall call them Air Force Adam and   Automotive Adam for blogging purposes. You get the idea.
The Grand Canyon, AZ -- BIG bucket list item.
San Francisco, CA -- visiting my lovely Aunt Ellen.
Napa, CA -- Wine. Need I say more?
Portland, OR -- Hippies!
Seattle, WA -- visiting my wonderful godparents, ditching the car, flight home SEATAC June 7 @ 22:45.

You may have your doubts, as is your right. You might be wondering, where are we going to sleep? Well, sometimes in the homes of friends, and sometimes in the car. We're getting a membership to Planet Fitness so we can use their bathing facilities along the way, and we will stop at laundromats, supermarkets, and restaurants as needed. Extra water and deodorant will be a must. Car details to follow, but keep in mind that this is no glamourous voyage. We're two 20-somethings on the open road, headed west. Only in Hollywood do those types of people look fresh and fabulous 24/7. Get a reality check and bear with me.

This plan isn't foolproof, it was fool-designed, but it is possible. At the very least, it will make a great story!  I feel like the luckiest young woman alive to have this opportunity...


Next step: Finding a Victim Vehicle.  T-minus 49 days.

Cheers,
Liz