2000 miles and a basket full of bribes

I agree- 2000 miles in a car with three small kids and eight different hotels/beds sounds a little loco. We are halfway through our adventure and I have to say...best spur of the moment decision ever. I'm sure some of you are curious how this is possible, spur of the moment...I would be! We've been tossing the idea around for quite a while, so we were mentally prepared (and that's important...trust me). A few trips to China took care of unplanned hotel costs...thanks, points! We also have a holiday savings account which goes untouched all year. We allow six months worth of that for vacation and the other six months for Christmas shopping. This extraordinary trip up the east coast and back has costs us a fraction of what a week at the beach cost us last summer. Every minute has been totally worth it and aside from a few minor meltdowns and typical sibling battles, the kids have been amazing travelers.

We had the best time in Charlotte! We got to visit some of our good friends and reconnect with HIGH SCHOOL/college friends which was awesome. Monday, we moved on to Washington D.C. and ended up spending an extra night because it was so fun...and because none of us could bear another five minutes of interstate. We did more than we planned on in DC (our kids are rockstars)...the capital, the white house, played on the mall, Lincoln memorial, Thomas Jefferson, one of the Smithsonians (MC needed to get the hope diamond and Ford needed to see the dinos).

1000 miles down and 1000 to go...we're thankful for XM radio, a really long, really comfortable Yukon XL and my special basket full of bribes (chocolate, crackers, juice, toys, etc...) More later!