Sunday, March 27, 2011

A Little More than a month to go!


Well here we are just over a month until go time!  We have built our custom bunk beds for the kids and added some more storage and the foot of the beds.  I have given my leave of absence notice 3 months ago and they are having me train my replacement until I leave. I have installed a battery cut off switch as the battery died after leaving the trailer sit for a few months. We enrolled our kids in Cyber Academy for online schooling and have arranged for the kids to end their schooling 2 weeks early!  The principal gave us the info on the Cyber Academy and let us know the last few weeks of the school year are mostly prep for the next year.  We have been collecting items that we will need for the journey such as maps, camera and lenses, tools for the camper and truck, an 80 gallon fuel tank for the bed of the truck and a Trailer aid ramp for changing a flat on the trailer.  My father in law has traveled the country several times and he is turning all his maps and points of interest that he has collected over to us to use.  I'm currently building a custom center console for the Dodge truck as my wife has mentioned on several occasions that there was no storage in the truck. We removed the center seat and the new console will be 32 inches long by 25 deep by 14 wide. We have removed the driver side rear seat and built a custom platform for our dog Norman. He is our 70lb Briard which has become something of a celebrity lately! More on that in a minute. We have gone paperless on our bills and the house will be up rent tomorrow morning. We are going to south Florida next weekend for a farewell visit to both of our parents and to let the kids see the Grandparents.  I'm also trailering my Mustang down to my parents house who graciously let me store it there for the trip!  When we return from Florida we plan on taking the trailer to our house to start packing it!  We are trying to decide on a grill to bring with us as the Big Green Egg is way to big and heavy for the trip. I have found an electric grill from Weber that looks interesting and I like the fact that I don't have to worry about charcoal or lighter fluid.  Now for Norman Our celebrity!  Norman, like I stated before is a our 70lb Briard and he is also the Super Scooter dog that has recently been featured on such shows as David Letterman, Good Morning America, Inside Edition, Ellen and the film crew from Animal Planet just left our home Friday after they did a segment on him!  My wife has trained him from a puppy and he is a beautiful dog! My wife has been traveling to and from New York City for all the T.V. shows and may be flying to L.A. to meet with one of the dog food company that has contacted us! We have no idea how big this thing may get.