With 1100 miles under our belts, we are well into our secret journey.  I honestly started having panic attacks the night before we left, but I have been pleasantly surprised with how easy it has been so far.

On Saturday morning, we left at 8 am for what should have been a 9 hour drive to our first destination.  Instead of trying to push as hard and as fast as I could go, I made the decision that the entire trip would be about patience and doing what I needed to do to keep the kids happy.  That meant that we would end up stopping every two hours for the first leg of our trip, and a 9 hour drive would turn into an 11 hour drive.

We had to stop for lunch just four hours into the trip, but we Skyped with Daddy as we enjoyed some Chicken McNuggets.  Emma didn’t eat much since she was so busy talking.

One of my readers had suggested that we stop at each state Welcome Center and take a picture in front of the sign.  I loved that idea, so we diligently stopped at the first state we entered.  The state marker was around behind the Welcome Center, and when we went back there, there was a shady dude camped out next to it.  So, I told the kids to hightail it out of there.

We still wanted to figure out something “fun” to do as we crossed into a new state, and Zack decided he’d like to collect state maps.  So,  that’s what we’ve been doing.  I think it’s a pretty neat thing for him to do, and I’m proud of him for thinking of it.

After many stops, several movies in the DVD players and a few new maps, we finally arrived at our overnight location.  One of my favorite cousins lives there, so we got to visit with him over a fun dinner on the water.  We stayed at a hotel that night, and getting the kids to actually go to sleep was a challenge, but in the end we all got a good night’s sleep.

Here are a few hints about our first destination…

1.  The restaurant logo on the kids’ menu from where we ate with my cousin.  I removed a few letters so that it wouldn’t give it totally away.  Google will probably help.

2.  Scenes from a post card I picked up at a truck stop.  I’m a sucker for truck stop tschotskes.

Anyone want to venture a guess?

This weekend, my kids (Zack, 6 and Emma, almost 2) and I will set off on a two-week, 3000 mile road trip.  Along the way, we’ll visit fun destinations, gather with family and even pop in on some friends (including some fellow Home Decor bloggers that you know and love).  My husband is staying home for work and to take care of “Cone Dog.”  It’s yet to be determined if I’m the funnest mom ever or off my rocker insane, but I’m leaning towards the later.

Obviously, I won’t be doing any big DIY projects over the next two weeks, although I do have a few that I finished recently and will be sharing with you while I’m gone.  Instead of trying to come up with some sort of “Hey, I’m on vacation and need to post something just to post something” type posts, I thought you and I could play a little game.

HA!  I hope that you sang the “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego” song in your head like I did in mine.

Throughout the next few weeks, I’ll be posting photos and stories from the road here on the blog.  At the end of my trip, there will be a scavenger hunt type contest for you guys to figure out where we went.  Everyone who guesses the destinations correctly – and in the correct order – will be entered to win a Bag of Swag.  The contents of said Bag of Swag are secret, but I promise that it will be worth your while.  Like, really, really worth it.

Okay, so here’s how it’s going to go down:

1)  After we leave a location, I will post photos and stories about said location.  Obviously, I will wait until we leave, since I don’t want someone to try to kidnap me for my furniture painting abilities.

2)  I will post additional hints and photos to my Facebook page.  If you aren’t already joining in the conversations there, please go ahead and “Like” my page.  I’m having so much fun with those of you who are already there…and you guys at least know who “Cone Dog” is.

3)  You are welcome to take a guess at the locations in the comments section of each post, but it won’t count as an actual entry.  Those will all have to be comments in the last post (which will be obvious).  If you’d like to comment just to talk to me, please do.  My comments are sent to my phone, so it would be nice to hear from you guys along the way…Unless you want to say something that may lead to road rage, in which case you should just keep that to yourself (forever).

4)  If you are a local friend of mine who knows where I’m going, you don’t get to play.  Just sayin’.

5)  Don’t worry, not every post over the next few weeks will be trip related.  I’ve got some projects and inspirational goodies lined up, too.

So, who wants to play?  And if you have any words of advice for me regarding the 3000 mile road trip (other than “You are crazy!” which I’ve already heard eleventy billion times), please pass them along!

See ya on the road!