Busy schedules at the departure spot and the destination meant separate road trips for the Wiktors. Sophia volunteered to go with dad (and Lucy) and took the lead planner role. After a quick intro to Google Maps, she got to work figuring out good stops on the drive and picked all the hotels. I had warned her that we might be racing to meet our stuff so there were probably some long days along the dreaded southern route. 921 miles along I-8 and I-10 until the the slight left onto… another 428 miles on I-20 surrounded by the same scenery! We had a couple planned stops at friends’ places in TX and GA and we vowed to make an adventure out of the rest.

With half the house packed, Sophia and I hit the road waiving goodbye to the SoCal sun and driving straight into the AZ sun. By lunch time it was 108 degrees and showing no signs of cooling. Woof! A nap in the car for Sophia and some good tunes made the first day speed by. We pulled into Tucson and found ourselves the best Sonoran Dog in town for dinner. A quick ice cream dessert then we were off to bed.

When we woke up, it was time to drive. And drive. Okay, the pictures above are driving the next four days but it felt like one big long haul! It wasn’t until day three (bottom left picture in the gallery above) that we started seeing trees. Arizona and West Texas proved to be exactly what they are billed as and what we have observed on previous cross-country drives. We did get an awesome break at the home of our dear friends in the Fort Worth area. Kids, dogs, and dads all ran wild like savages in the backyard and we enjoyed some home cooking.

After Fort Worth, it was off to find some BBQ. When the only constraint given to Sophia was her BBQ stop needed to be between Dallas and Atlanta, “Memphis!” was her answer. The slab of ribs, some mac and cheese, and an age-appropriate cold one for both travelers did not disappoint! We went to bed and were back on the road early the next morning. Despite the miles, there were plenty of smiles as we made our way to the next stop: Peachtree City. We have some great friends in PTC and both Sophia and I agreed that we would have been happy stopping the drive there and settling in next door to them! When we pulled into the driveway in PTC, the odometer was sitting around 2,250 so I figured it was time for Sophia to do some driving. She happily (and not too nervously) carted us around the golf cart paths for the afternoon as we did some sight seeing.

The next morning it was big hugs to our friends before the long drive from PTC all the way to Alexandria. It was smooth sailing through 500 miles of GA and NC. We crossed the state line into VA, snapped a pick to prove we made it (most of the way at least), and then settled into a TRAFFIC JAM ON I-95! Ha! Is there a better “welcome back to the NCR” than getting stuck in a log jam on I-95 just south of Fredericksburg?! Really, we didn’t have much to complain about. 2,902 miles (plus some in and around mileage) from the old house to the front door on the new house and only one, 45 minute slow-down on the entire trip. It just couldn’t be more fitting that it occurred where it occurred. At any rate, we made it. Great trip kid. Lucy, you did okay too for an old dog. More big smiles then it was off to bed in an empty house.