Beginnings and the labor that brings them forth

I've started this primarily to keep friends and family updated on our eastern swing trip. It also is a test to see if I can maintain my own interest in publishing a blog and if I can make it interesting enough for others to read. So with that written, I'm looking to answer six classical questions: who, what, where, when, why and how.

Carol and I planned to drive Christy back to school in Pittsburgh when she begins her second year this month. We've also been investigating a move to the eastern U.S. I have, for the longest time wanted to "follow the fall colors". Carol has only seen a couple of selected cities east of the Mississippi and wants to see more.

Many years ago, I read a book about the Allegheny mountains. It was written that they begin near Gaspe, Ont., Canada, then move south to Georgia where their rolling hills, limestone outcropings and hardwood forest begin to flatten to the coastal plain. That book has inspired in me a desire to spend some time in Gaspe, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island beginning in the late summer. Then as the trees begin to take on their fall color, move south through New England, western N.Y. and Pennsylvannia into W.Va., Va. and N.Ca. So we will be on the road for a while. After we get Christy to Pittsburgh, we have only some general plans. We know that we want to see Niagara Falls and then will venture through Canada to Gaspe.

I've started working to get things done, both in the house and with the motor home. A bit of gardening, cleaning gutters and draining the spa is beginning to get the house ready. We are fortunate to have wonderful neighbors who have offerred to watch the house (occassionally turn on the water valves, flush the toilets and get the mail). The bills are set on some sort of auto pay. The motor home is slowly getting waxed. Of course, as soon as I began to wax it, the temps began to climb so my waxing is early morning and late afternoon. Tuesday, the truck gets a final modification to enable the motor home to charge the truck battery while it is being towed. We discovered this problem when we took eight days to drive to Texas this past spring. When I've towed the truck on prior trips, I always get to South Padre Island in two and a half days. The break assist system on the truck doesn't have time to drain the battery. But when you take more then four days, the battery is sucked dry. To fix the problem, I am having a charge line added to run from the motor home to the truck.

The next question is whether or not to take any windsurfing equipment. Carol thinks it will be too cold. But as I scan the atlas of the states we will be visiting, I see a lot of water. Decisions, decisions.

The next big decision is whether to just drive across I40, or to make an adventure of the first couple of days. Historic US 6 is a fun rte, but it is probable 400 miles out of the way. And as much as I would like Carol to see that part of the country, I'm thinking it will be best to just beat feet east.

So that is it for now. I'm sure I'll get a couple of posting prior to the start of the trip and then it will be a daily log, if I can find the internet.