Hit the road, Jack

OK, the time has come ... we're getting on the road tomorrow. Our route is set, for the first several days, anyway. Roughly speaking, here it is:

April 6: West Sacramento, CA to Salina, UT (674 miles on US-50)
April 7: Salina, UT to Garden City, KS (715 miles on US-50)
April 8: Garden City, KS to Valley Park, MO (623 miles on US-50)
April 9: Valley Park, MO to Londonderry, OH (472 miles on US-50)
April 10: Londonderry, OH to Ocean City, MD (523 miles on US-50)
April 11 - 17: Washington DC

April 18: Washington, DC to New York, NY (228 miles)

April 18 - 24: New York, NY

April 25 - May 2: travel back to Sacramento (route TBD)

The car's basically packed up. You're not yet bored enough for us to tell you what we packed, but trust us, the day will come.

The Maps
We're still experimenting with how we can show you a pretty picture of our route, etc. For now, our mapping will be limited to spots of interest (yes, we're being presumptuous here about what your interests might be). Here's a starter:

View Larger Map

What We're Missing

Every year for the last five years, we have participated in the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life of Natomas. That will be somewhat hard to do this year, since we'll be somewhere between New York and Illinois when this year's Relay occurs (April 25-26). So we're bummed about that, but we are participating in a fairly passive fashion--raising funds online. If you are so inclined, we'd love to have your support with a donation--you can make it online at http://main.acsevents.org/goto/Zahid. Better yet, if you are in Sacramento and have any interest in participating, check out the event website at http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY09CA?pg=entry&fr_id=13639. It's a great cause and a really fun event!

A Comment about Comments

This site was doing some wacky stuff with your comments after our first blog post, so several of you instead sent email or Facebook messages with your comments. Sorry about that--the problem should be fixed now, so comment away. A few responses to the things we heard in email:

• We'll keep our eyes open for the biggest ball of yarn, interestingly shaped buildings, etc!
• We won't be able to swing through Oregon, Tuscon, Boston, or Vegas, and likely not Minneapolis although that's not set in stone yet. Thanks for the invitations, though ... and this is NOT our last trip ever!
• We are, however, planning on stopping in Pittsburgh. Shabana, you will get a call very soon!
• We're not leaving behind a big-screen TV. Your fence for stolen goods will have to find another source  :)
• We love the rules too! Although Sandy says I left out the rule that says, "Sandy has final say about all rules!"
• Getting off the interstate is our prime route determiner for the trip east. Coming back west, we may switch to the bigger roads.

OK, that's it for now ... we're both excited to get on the road. You'll hear all about the start of our trip in the next couple of days!