Here we go. Leaving our once-cozy little apartment on Pine Street. The rental car is packed with all the things you see in the photo below. A combination of stuff we’ll need on the way to Austin (camping equipment, etc), stuff we’ll be leaving in Austin (important documents, clothes), and stuff we’ll be taking with us on our travels.

Our first stop is LA, to visit with relatives and friends. After that it’s Tucson to visit Saguaro National Park. We’ll be meeting up with my Dad in El Paso on Thursday night, so that we can drop off the rental car and drive with him to Big Bend National Park, and then on to Austin for a week. Stephanie and I will be updating our assorted statuses as we go, when we can. But very likely my blog will fall behind real life.

Map of our route from San Francisco to Austin

My parents asked me last night when does the “trip” begin for us? Was it last Friday, after our last day at work, or is it when we set foot on the boat…? Without getting too philosophical, I said “neither”. The trip begins now.