Here we go! We’ve got the Jeep loaded to the brim and we’re one sleepless night away from heading west.

We still haven’t heard the final word on our apartment and it looks like we’re going to have to leave Piper back home with Melissa. We’ll miss you girl! You’re in good hands. Just don’t forget us!

Now I’m just in that anxious mode where I keep thinking over and over about all the things I know we must be forgetting. We’re planning on getting up early, hoping to be on the road by five AM. I’ll probably be wide awake at three.

This first day, we’ll be driving as far as we can towards Silverthorne, CO, which means we’ll probably give up for the night somewhere in Nebraska. I’m hoping to cover as much pavement as we can on this first day, when we’re not yet sick of being on the road. Once we’re up in the mountains, we’ll probably take a day and go hiking and sightseeing.

Given that we still know relatively nothing about where we’ll be living, we’ve had to resurrect and old microwave from my bachelor days. Apparently I never cleaned it out the last time I used it. There was still a film of residue and blown up pizza parts on all the walls. Yum.