Getting Ready to Leave

The suitcases have been brought from the basement. The tees are sorted, the Capri's folded, the shorts and underwear all freshly washed. The bathing suit has been unearthed and the beach towel found. The dog food is packed. The travel maps are bagged and ready.

Wednesday morning we pick up the rental car. We always rent big luxury cars for travel but our mid-town agency threw us a loop when they quit carrying the Lincoln Town Cars. We use to rent Cadillacs but then they got too sporty and low to the ground for arthritic knees and bad backs. We love the Lincolns but this time around we're got a Mercury Marquis. Hubby says it will be big enough. We own a 1991 Lincoln Town Car -- but now that it's nearly 30 years old we don't travel long distances in it. Around town it does just fine -- and Hubby loves it. The 1991's are still not so computerized that you can't "fix" some problems on it yourself.

I'm excited about this vacation. I love road trips. Hubby is not as thrilled as I am to be driving across country but when you travel with two dogs, car travel is really the only way. I like reading about the countryside from the Internet research and the AAA brochures. I love eating in strange little diners. I live to wander through the gas stations and pick up local "snacks." I keep track of license plates and read all the road signs. I like tuning through local radio stations and singing along with the Cd's we've packed. It's fun to spend a night in a strange motel, though sometimes Hubby and I differ on our motel needs. He wants a ground floor room with king size bed but at a very cheap rate. Personally, I can't tolerate cheap motels anymore. I want cleanliness and sheets that fit (and aren't suspect) and floors you aren't afraid to walk barefoot on. We're learning to compromise on motel rooms -- he's agreed that $39 a night rooms just aren't acceptable anymore and I've agreed that we don't spend $100 a night except during holiday season.

So tomorrow we drink the last of the milk, freeze the remaining bread, choose which shoes we absolutely must pack, and count the hours until we leave for Washington, DC. The boys are watching the suitcases with care -- if I put in a toy, Gusie takes it back out. Luie hides it from me. On Wednesday morning though, when they see the suitcases being loaded, they will be the first one to jump into the car, pawing the windows for us to take off. I will be right behind them.