Making the arrangements.

It's official!  All of the reservations have been made for all of the hotels along the way.  We have a few relatives along the path that we can stay with too.  We've made some loose decisions about things to see, but everything is flexible.  If anyone's not feeling well, if we run out of time, if the weather doesn't cooperate, we can change it.  

I've been polling the kids occasionally and asking what they're most looking forward to.  Right now, Ted says just seeing all the different places we'll see is what he's looking forward to.  Claire wants to go to the beach.  I can't wait to see some of the places I've never seen, but also seeing the kids' reactions to places that are familiar to me.  Chip's bummed that he can't do the whole thing with us, but is looking forward to the last part of the trip to see new things.

We've tested the cartop carrier to be sure the straps are solid, and that I know how to tighten it up since I'll be the lone adult for so much of the trip.  Now, I'm working on checking my technology. Will the cameras connect to the laptop?  Do I have all the chargers and cables I need?  Do I know how to sign on to the sites I need to get to while on the road?  Do I have low-tech backup for everything?  Do I know how to use my gps?

I bought a couple of car power adapter splitters and chargers so I can keep things charged on the road.  We also bought a cooler we can plug in on the road.  We'll be staying in hotels with breakfast included and eating dinner out, so we're going to try to do picnic style lunches on the road.  The cooler will help with that.

Do you have any "have to have" items you like on road trips?  I'd love to hear some suggestions.