Off We Go!

At 8:55 this morning (only 55 minutes behind schedule) Ryan turned the key, pistons fired, and rubber hit the pavement. A year and half of planning later, the Road Trip has begun! I am 75 percent excited, 25 percent nervous while Ryan is 40 percent excited and 60 percent nervous, which translates into something like this…

 

Now that our trip is underway it’s time to introduce you to our trip mascot. For the next 100 days, it will be Ryan Bedell, Lisa Parker, and Matt Adams on the trip.

Matt is the first baseman of the Cardinals baseball team, number 32. Ryan likes him because he leads the Cardinals in triples and plays decent defense. Lisa likes him because he can run pretty fast for a fat guy. And we both liked the lego version of him for its goofy grin. You’ll see him all over the place as he adventures with us around the country. Go Cards!

Ryan and I have also been making bets and guesses for the numbers and trivia for the trip. For instance,

• What will be the last license plate of the continental 48 U.S states we’ll see?

Lisa’s guess – Tennessee

Ryan’s guess – Mississippi

• In what state will we see the license plate guessed above?

Ryan’s guess – Texas

Lisa’s guess – Wyoming

• What will be the total mileage of the trip?

Ryan’s guess – 20,000

Lisa’s guess – 19,999 he he he

• First animal our car decimates while on the road?

Ryan’s guess – squirrel

Lisa’s guess – blackbird

• Highest gas price on the trip?

Lisa’s guess - $5.34

Ryan’s guess – $4.89

• Lowest?

Lisa’s guess – $3.19

Ryan’s guess – $2.99

• How many nights will we have to sleep in the car?

Ryan’s guess – 4

Lisa’s guess – 0 (I’m not letting that happen)

• Where will we experience the grossest bathrooms?

Ryan's guess - New Mexico
Lisa's guess - Texas

• How many times will Ryan become annoyed when Lisa takes pictures of him? (See photo above)

Ryan's guess - 10^100
Lisa's guess - What he said

More to come!

Thanks to everyone who helped make this trip possible. We feel extremely blessed to be on the road with gift cards, gear, food, and love from so many friends and family. Love you guys!