Amy's America

Well, I can’t say I really listened to myself in the last post – I haven’t really stopped. Well, maybe for a minute, but then I got right back up and going again! Have to, really, as I’m down to just two more days to both get the house ready to go on the market and get ready for the road trip. (And, as my dear cousin who knows me so well said, if I did really stop I’d probably have a break down and I just don’t have time for that.)

I’m afraid I haven’t done much road trip-wise. Have really been focusing on the house. It’s getting there, in part thanks to friends and family who’ve chipped in for a few hours here and there – anf every minute helps! The few things I have done for the road trip mainly include booking airline tickets and solidifying some dates.

I also had a change of plans – Carrie Underwood switched Grand Ole Opry dates so I was able to actually cancel those tickets and get my money back. This works out much better. I’ll only be going to the Opry once, for their grand reopening (with an incredible cast of thousands) – and it also means I don’t have to go to Nashville until my London friends Helen and Keira get there on Sept 21. I’m really looking forward to spending time in Nashville, but I didn’t love driving and flying in and out of there so many times! It will be the center of my universe for a couple of weeks – more than probably anywhere else on the trip.

So here’s the update:

• Leave Thursday to head to Niagara Falls (American and Canadian sides) and Buffalo (plan to try some of the original Buffalo wings), probably stopping at the Finger Lakes along the way. I had lunch with my nana and Aunt Patsy, who just recently visited that region. She had many books and suggestions for me – too bad I won’t have more time there.
• Then on to my cousin Seth’s school in Ohio, with a possible pit stop in Cleveland for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
• Heading north west for a bit after that – still determining exactly where and for exactly how long…
• Down to Tennessee to visit with Dad and Mag a bit.
• Into Nashville to hang with London friends Helen and Kiera – including a road trip to Dollywood and possibly a Nashville Predators game. And who knows what kind of trouble Helen will get us in… 🙂
• I’ll fly from Nashville to NYC for Tamara and Kris’ wedding weekend friends’ events – will be so good to see London book club girls! Will also be meeting with job coach and getting the job search going while I’m in the city (yes – must keep reality in mind…).
• Fly back to Nashville and my concert girls Kristen and Tina will be joining me – can’t wait! We’re so excited to see the reopening of the Grand Ole Opry and explore Nashville!
• After dropping Kristen at the airport, Tina will be joining me to get a brief taste of life on the road. She’s going to drive with me to Little Rock, Arkansas, from where we’ll fly home. I need to be home for a few days both to celebrate Nick’s birthday and for his school’s family weekend.
• I’ll then fly back to Little Rock and drive the rest of the way to my next destination: Oklahoma for my friend’s birthday. Will spend the week exploring Oklahoma and visiting with friends and family – and will top it off with a Sugarland and Little Big Town concert in Oklahoma City!

There is so much to look forward to – I just keep reminding myself that as I scrub and sweep and organize and move furniture and try to purge things from this house. Only two more days, only two more days, only two more days…

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Deep down I know there’s no right or wrong way to plan my road trip, but every time I start to write things down and really plan it I feel like I’m doing SOMETHING wrong. And that feeling gets confirmed when I share what I’ve planned with someone.

“You should take more time in each place. You don’t want to rush.” “You shouldn’t make a beeline to one place – especially not the middle of the country.” “Why would you go there and then all the way back to there?” “Oh no, don’t go there.” Ok, the last one is helpful when it comes with an explanation, so I can judge whether I really should skip a place or not. And the first ones are all repeats of what I am saying to myself, I’m just not sure how else to do it all. I want to see so many places, but I do have to remind myself not to rush. I do want to get to certain places to see people, but I also want the route I use to get there to make sense.

So I think what I’m going to do is put milestones along the way – certain places I MUST be by a certain time, and leave a bit in the middle more up in the air. That both scares me and is a relief. It scares me because if I don’t  know ahead where I’m going to be each day, I won’t be able to book somewhere to stay each night and then I could end up without any fairly reasonable options. But it’s a relief in that I don’t have to do as much detailed planning ahead of time. And I want to leave some things open. What if I get to Indiana National Dunes National Lakeshore and love it and just want to take pictures and read on the beach all day? That won’t be able to happen if I’ve booked a place to sleep two stops and five hours away. Think this is one area I’ll start by facing my fears, not over planning and seeign how it goes…

So my milestones so far(with LOTS of stops between):

• Amherst with my family to start Sept 5.
• Nashville Sept 17 for the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman (accidentily bought tix for this show when I meant to buy for the other, so am going to be in Nashville ALOT in Sept!) My friend Amy – an up-and-coming country star herself, check her out on her new website http://www.amywestney.bandvista.com/ – would love this one as it features her idol Carrie Underwood.
• Nashville Sept. 21-24 as some London friends will be in town.
• New York City Sept. 24-27 for my friend’s wedding/friends weekend and then to start my job search.
• Nashville Sept 28 for the grand re-opening of the Grand Ole Opry – looks to be an incredible show!
• Have to figure out what city I’ll be near Oct 1-3 so I can book my tickets home for Nick’s college family weekend and to celebrate his 19th birthday!
• Oct 4 – Maybe Oklahoma for a friend’s birthday.
• Oct. 24 – San Diego for the Patriots game – it’s the only road game I think makes sense. And Afraid none of the Red Sox games fit. Checking Celtics schedule next…

I’m finding it hard to think past October right now, so this is it for the moment. Any planning tips? Other milestones I should keep in mind?

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