The plan is to leave bright and early today for the great cold north. The reality is that we probably won’t get on the road until after lunch. Hubs is bad about starting new projects just when we’re trying to leave to go somewhere… refilling the washer fluid, changing the oil in the car, repainting the bathroom, building an addition to the dining room… things like that.

I don’t know how often I’ll be able to post, respond to comments, or check my reader… both of my parents have decided to live in the back of Nowhere. My mom doesn’t even have Internet… barbaric! Because I also have to periodically check-in for work, and be forced to hunt down WiFi access, I’ll cheat and use that time to also peek in here and there.

We have a long drive ahead of us. It’s about 10 hours to my mom’s, but with three of us taking turns, it should be an easy trip. We’ve got the travel DVD player and a sackful of movies, iPods are charged and we have all the adapters, I have a load of books and so does JM and Hubs, and WK has his car mags. Pillows and blankets, and enough snackage to feed a third world nation have been packed.

Sweaters, jackets, long pants, long-sleeved Ts, flannel jammies and warm socks are loaded into suitcases. I’ve checked and re-checked the Weather Channel and am convinced we will NOT encounter snow. The kids are still hoping.

Fortunately a friend of JM’s agreed to pet sit, so The Girls can stay at home. That’s a huge relief, and will make it easier to make side trips if we’re so inspired.