So,,,, I have spent many, many many. MANY, hours planning the route for our epoch journey. Many… I would be lying if I said I really enjoy it. Because it’s really not my thing. And as bad as it is, what’s worse is, the whole time this plan is mocking me.
You see, one of the goals of the trip is to visit every capital city of the lower 48 states. This is great, and should be something that anyone who graduated third grade could do. Fortunately, I have two kids who have done just that, or are about to. Because obviously I haven’t… I cannot name even a small fraction of the capital cities in the lower 48. Even now, after I have planned out the route to all but 5 of the states, I still have to ask my daughter what the capitals are.
As an example, I still can’t grasp the fact that Chicago is not the capital of Illinois. Or New York is not the capital of New York. Really? If you have a city, with the same name as the state it is in, doesn’t it have to be the capital? Who picked the capitals anyway?!? Were they on ancient, wacky herbs? Didn’t they know where all the people were going to live??? Obviously, they did not graduate from the same public schools as I did…
What’s worse, I had to google the difference between capital and capitol. I have done it at least 7 times. Including just now. And even still, I am not sure I am using it correctly. And what is even worse than that is that I’ve been told teachers will be following this adventure. The inadequacy multiplies…
Regardless, there is the actual route planning. While it is pretty fun to figure out what the three or four most amazing things to do in each state are, it takes a lot of work. And then finding a RV park that looks like we will survive the night or two we stay – there’s that. And then making sure that RV park doesn’t cost more to stay in the the Ritz Carlton – there’s that.
Lastly, there’s the route itself. It changes. Over and over. Fortunately, this guy created a tool to help. But the fastest route to all the capital cities, as I highlighted earlier, doesn’t always get you to the best places in the state. And the fastest route to the coolest part of each state usually doesn’t get you near the capital. Which means more planning. More time working google. More miles in Zeke. Which means… It means many things to many different people. So I will leave that alone.
In the end, I have confirmed, yet again, what I have always known. I am not a planner. Plans are boring. Much like brakes (inside joke). But in this case, there has to be some sort of plan. Doesn’t there?