he Itinerary

For those of you who've been wondering, these are the places we plan to visit and this is our route. We expect it to take between 15 and 18 months, but I have a feeling there will be a detour or two (some of them planned, some not). We won't stay overnight at every place listed. We'll try to pick campgrounds that are centrally located so that we can drive our van to many of the sites we want to see and leave the motorhome parked. In total we plan to stay overnight at least one night in 52 different cities!

Almost all of our planning has been done through books and online resources. We've done very little traveling thus far, so if you know of a place that we really shouldn't miss or of something we should do in one of these towns PLEASE go to our forum and let us know. Your input is so valuable to us and really does affect our trip. With less than 3 weeks to our departure, here's what lies ahead...

Gatlinburg, Richmond, Cape Hatteras, Kitty Hawk, Virginia Beach, Jamestown, Yorktown, Williamsburg, Charlottesville, Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, Mystic Seaport, Hartford, Providence, Boston, Plymouth, Portland, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Waterbury, Wilmington, Cooperstown, Rochester, Niagara Falls, Cincinnati, Louisville, Indianapolis, Chicago, Springfield, St Louis, Topeka, Dodge City, Colorado Springs, Denver, Rocky Mountain National Park, Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument, Badlands, Cody, Yellowstone, Jackson Hole, Glacier National Park, Spokane, Seattle, Mt Ranier, Mt St Helens, Ft Clatsop, Portland, Crater Lake, Redwood National Park, San Francisco, Sacremento, Oakland, San Jose, Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Death Valley, Las Vegas, Arches National Park, Mesa Verde, Great Sand Dunes National Park, Albuquerque, Petrified Forest, Flagstaff-Grand Canyon, Los Angeles, San Diego, Saguaro National Park, Tucson, Sedona, Kitt Peak Observatory, White Sands, Calsbad Caverns, San Antonio, Austin, Schlitterbaun at Galveston Island, Houston, New Orleans, Gulf Shores, Jacksonville, St Augustine, Savannah, Hilton Head, Charleston, Ft Sumter, Columbia, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Memphis.

I love the idea of your trip.
I just wanted to suggest, if you don't already know, that when you do National Parks, the JR Ranger Program and also the "Passport" where you get a stamp (like a rubber stamp) from each of the parks for free. The book is only 7.95. My daughter and I enjoy collecting stamps. If nothing else it's made fun memories for us and something to collect that doesn't cost. You can go to eparks.com and there is a link that says "Passport Cancellation Locations" and it list the place or places in each park that you should be able to find a stamp.

Have a great trip.

I don't see Michigan in your plans. Pictured rocks and Mackinaw Island are a MUST see.

It's true. We're going to miss Michigan When we dip down to St. Louis to pick up Louis and Clark's route we miss the north central states. Maybe we'll get to see them some other time. I'd love to see Mackinaw Island!

Louisville Kentucky is pretty amazing. They have the louisville slugger museum and the Muhammad Ali Museum. The Ali museum was the most amazing museum I have ever been to and I was not a huge fan when I went. The kids loved it. There is a lot of history of the civil rights movement and a huge part of the museum is devoted to character development. It is a totally high tech, interactive museum unlike any muesum you have ever been in. I would fly back to Kentucky just to go there again.

Springfield Illinois is pretty great too. The Lincoln museum is another one of the new high tech museums. Everyone said "plan to spend 5 hours there, it is like going to Disney." I was reluctant to go, but we probably stayed 4-5 hours because it was so cool. Interactive films, anamatronics, everything that really brought Lincoln to life. After you visit the museum, you can visit all the places lincoln lived and worked. I learned a lot about him there. I left as a fan.

Salem Massachusettes is way cool and fun for the kids too. The witch trial stuff is fascinating and you can see Nathaniel Hawthorne stuff as well as eat candy from the oldest commercial candy shop in the country. The ghost tour there is great because they really give you good history in a fun way that isn't too scary but is lively for the kids. When we were there, they dragged the witches through the streets everyday at 3pm down to the courthouse where they held a witch trial based on historical documents.

I had no idea about the Muhammad Ali Museum. Thanks for the tip. The boys would love that. And, I'm glad to hear that the Lincoln museum is a good one. That's what we're stopping there for. And the witch trials and the ghost tours...can't wait!