4.30.2008

Introduction

Before we begin, there are a few things you should know about Lela and I.
1. We love the Lord Jesus Christ. His sacrifice has given us life and an understanding of this world that challenges us, drawing us nearer to Him, while also providing us with peace and everlasting love.
2. We love one another dearly love to spend time with our wonderfully warm and soft cat named Orange.
3. We have family support that helps us beyond measure and to which we are so grateful.


Now onto the reason this blog has been created. Our intent is to chronicle our cross-country road trip in our Vanagon on a daily basis so that family, friends, and soon to be friends, will be able to share in our experience. We hope this blog will be a link between us and you and will be enjoyable for all. We have never done anything like this before. This is our first blog and our first true road trip. We hope to see God's wonderful natural creation, meet interesting people, enjoy some local food favorites, and be able to communicate these experiences through this blog by posting our thoughts, pictures, and whatever else may come. We will be "roughing it" along the way by sleeping in our van or tent at national and local parks. I haven't got all of this figured out yet so please if you have any suggestions I am all ears. Tips on car camping, national parks, traveling in general would all be helpful.

We are not leaving until the end of May but I thought I should use this time to get my feet wet blogging while also giving you some insight as to how we are preparing for this trip.

Let me please bring you up to date. A few weeks ago we bought a 1991 Volkswagen Vanagon from a private seller in VA. I have been wanting to buy one of these vans for a few years now! In order for us to register the vehicle in MD we needed to get it inspected. I got word from the mechanic yesterday that the van did not pass the strict MD state inspection test but the good news was that the repairs needed should be very minor. I am going to call him today to ask him to give me an estimate on the cost. Once the van is fixed I can get my tags and we should be set to go.
We are going to Seattle, Washington from Arlington, VA. My wife has taken a job there for the summer. As of right now I am unemployed (purposefully!). I will be going to graduate school in the fall of '09 and decided to use this time to spend with my wife and prepare for life back in school. We are excited to live in Seattle where there is a vibrant art culture and less of a rat race than DC.
More to come tomorrow!