The irrefutable, indisputable fact is it happens.

Yes I did just quote a Sugarland song as my title. Get over it.

AHHHHH! Where do I start? The last time I wrote was two weeks ago and so much has happened since then. First off, let's start with the straight facts. My last day at the Beverly Yacht Club will be on Monday, October 12th. That is less then three weeks away and as the day gets closer, I get more and more excited. Maybe I'll feel sad when the day actually approaches, but for now...it's thrilling!!! And then there's Monday, October 19th. That's when I will finally set out to see what this great country has to offer. I was toying with the idea of skipping out on UMASS Homecoming to start earlier but honestly, I can't do it. That will be the last time I see my college friends for a couple months and it just won't work.

Soooooooooo....once I finally got a confirmation on my final day and take-off day, I was all about completing more things on my checklist. I continued to do research, and still am doing that actually. I bought a membership to the Kampgrounds of America (KOA). It was only $24 and it gets you 10% off for every stay and you can earn points to towards future camping. Obviously camping is the way to go. Yes, I've only done it a couple times but that's what this trip is all about....learning new things, proving to myself (and others) that I can do anything if I put my mind to it, getting over certain fears. Plus, since I'm flying solo on this trip, a campground with other people to interact with is much less-lonely then a dreary hotel room. Agree? Agreed. I also bought a National Parks pass for $80. There are so many national parks throughout the US and now I won't have to pay any entrance fees. It's just another added bonus - also on top of having my FastPass which I can use on the East Coast highways and $210 in gascards from my credit card rewards.

Last week I really started buckling down on my "need-to-get" list. I went to Target with my mom and bought a nice air mattress with a pump, first aid kit, battery-operated lantern and some other little random things. This weekend though, I hit the jackpot. I went to annual Freetown Robinson Estates yard sales with my mom, my uncle and my mom's friends. We got there at 7:40 AM and didn't leave until 12!!! Crazy! It must have been my lucky day because one of the first yard sale we went to I found the steal of the century....a *brand new*, still in the box 7x7 Coleman tent. Perfect! And it was only $25. Did I buy it? Um, hello? Yeah, I did. I also managed to come away with a nice square cooler, a couple flashlight things, a sleeping pad ($2!), travel mug and some other random things some of which had nothing to do with my road trip (3 Wareham High School yearbooks from 1990-1992, hahahaha). Today I went to Ocean State and bought a crap load of well, crap. Batteries, flashlights, tarp, rope, duct tape, dustpan and broom, bugspray and a bunch of other things that I think will be of value for this trip. And I only spent $60. Now all I really need to get is a hot plate of some sort, because I can't eat every meal out and some last minute things. So exciting! All together I spent a little over $100 for everything and my mom pitched in too, but shhh! Don't tell Smitty!

Last night I decided to set up the tent and see how it looked. It took my dad and I about 10 minutes, including the time to read the instructions. Being complete camping novices, I would say that was pretty good. I think I'll be able to set it up by myself. Well, I'm going to have to be able to. We unrolled the air mattress too but since the pump wasn't charged, it didn't get blown up. But it does fit comfortably inside the tent. Hooray! I am just bursting at the seams with excitement! Today I also fully inspected my car looking for all the little storage compartments and figuring out how to get to my spare tire. Also put all the seats down and realized that I could easily, and comfortably, sleep in it. Thumbs up.


Call me crazy, but this is so goddamn awesome. It is going to be a dream come true. I've dreamt of this moment for years. It took a while to get my dad on board, but especially after setting up the tent and showing him how well-thought out this trip is and how organized I've been about it for the past couple years, he's doing better with the concept. My mom too, for that matter. Yes, they're my parents so they're allowed to worry...especially since I'm their only one. But it's nice to have their support and have them throw their ideas and suggestions at me.

And now I feel I can broadcast by general outline of the trip. It's going to be pretty vague because while I have some places I want to go to, I don't know how I'll get there or what I'll encounter along the way. I don't really want a schedule. I just know that wherever I am between 5 and 7 that night, I will stop. My first place to go will be the Yuengling Brewery for a tour Monday - the 19th - afternoon at 1:30. It's in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, which is near Allentown so it's a good 6-7 hour drive. I'll be leaving around 5 AM to give myself plenty of leeway. After the tour, I will spend two nights at the Elizabethtown/Hershey KOA campground (two nights for a little under $80 including water, electric and free wi-fi) and do some exploring of Amish country - a place I've always wanted to visit. After that...the world is my oyster shell! I'll head in the general direction of Louisville, KY and then onto Tennessee where I think I'll probably spend a good week. After that I will meander south with Key West being the next destination but who knows where I'll go on the way there. I want to shoot up to Nebraska at some point too to visit my aunt Josette and also go back to New Orleans. But wherever I am about a week for Christmas, I will come home and after New Years, go do it all over again. But this time go west with Arizona being the destination for Steve and Crystal's wedding in January. That's months away though...I just have to focus on actually leaving right now.

I know this was long, and I think now I feel comfortable enough to make this blog public. So if this is your first time stumbling upon this (and you made it all the way to the end) leave me a comment. Let me know what you think! More to come in the next couple of weeks....