The Road Trippers: An Introduction

Before we take you along on our grand adventure, I thought you should know a little more about us. Chances are, if you're reading this, you have the pleasure of knowing at least one of us. But you may not know the others. The five of us met at our super awesome church. Jordan, Meg and I have known each other for several years now, and we met Mark and Jess in the spring of 2008. 

Here's a little more about us:

Meghan

Meg may be voted "most likely to roll her eyes at you" among the group. She is super-organized, smart, and might just be related to Martha Stewart. We are hoping we won't lose her in the Grand Canyon, as she has a tendency to wander off on her own. I'm pretty sure Meg will fill an entire five subject notebook during the trip.

Mark

Also known as "Mar," Mark is a laid-back, easygoing all around fun guy. One thing we love about him is that we can pretty much convince him to do anything - like wear his old show choir clothes, or narrate a PowerPoint for school. He is a man of many talents, such as calming people down, managing crowds through creating fantastic lines and kicking butt on the High School Musical dance game on the Wii.

Jordan

Not only did he just finish medical school, but he managed to stay sane and have some fun along the way. Jordan has an amazing ability to get you to tell him way more than you meant to, and then remember all of it. In the evenings, you can often find him either making friends with employees of Paradise Bakery, or falling asleep on the floor. The week after our trip, he'll be moving to Louisville to start his residency, so this is pretty much his last hurrah.

Jess

Always up for fun and adventure, Jess knows she doesn't have to be picture perfect to fit the frame. She hates air quotes, buffets and elephants in the room. She loves Chili's skillet queso, Michael W. Smith, grammar and El Torito, and she will call you if your favorite episode of Grey's Anatomy is rerunning on Lifetime.

Steph

While writing about herself in third person seems a little awkward, Steph will do it anyway. Some of her favorite pastimes include singing angry karaoke in her living room, doing "that thing" where she laughs till she can't breathe and studying the day away at Paradise or Starbucks.

The Beginning

A few months ago, Steph sent out an e-mail announcing the mother of all road trips.  (See below)

Pretty much ever since I saw the movie "Cars," I've wanted to drive across the country. So what better time than this summer...

Want to come? Yeah, I thought so.

The plan for the trip... is to not have a plan. Something looks fun? We'll stop there. Giant whale on the side of the road? Yep, definitely stopping. World's largest ball of twine? Must take photo! We're looking at somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,200 miles total. Obviously we have to have some sort of idea how far to go each day so we actually get home, but it'll be very flexible...

After this announcement was made, Steph constructed the "Map Room".  We held our first official planning meeting in the MR, complete with access to Google, various maps, notebooks, and a mileage grid.  We were able to plan our route with planned stops and overnighters along the way.  I can't wait to get started! 

Join us while we get our kicks on Route 66.  You can be sure to expect numerous updates. (There are 5 of us and I am sure that we'll all have something to say.) :)