Backwards living but forward packing!

(Craig writes) Getting ready for a really long trip is a new process for me! In past years it was easy to pack for two weeks at the beach. A bathing suit, 2 T-shirts, the cooler and my flip flops and I was good to go. Planning for a 6000+ mile, 6 to 8 week +- cross country trip is turning out to be a bit more thought intensive. Thankfully, Becky is the Ultimate Planning Guru. She already knows the average temperature, rainfall, road numbers, contact numbers, reservation numbers, probable gas mileage, elevation, "sights not to be missed" as well as the location of every Starbucks coffee shop between South Carolina and Vancouver, British Columbia, (actually her gps system helped a little with the Starbucks info!) Its great that our family has been so encouraging and supportive for us to go on our epic journey across the USA. We have even been provided a sporty, practically new, good gas mileage car to drive on the trip complete with ipod, (thanks again Matt & Amy).

While pastoring a small, rural church several years ago I had a conversation with an elderly pastor friend of mine. He related that he and his wife had never taken a vacation because they thought that they were either too busy or that someone might need them for something so they never left town. He said that they did ride up to see the mountains about two hours away once but came back that same afternoon because they decided they would have plenty of time to travel and see things after they retired. Their retirement time did come but along with it came serious and debilitating illnesses. With a tear in his eye he told me that he guessed he "would never get to take his wife to see any of the things and places they had talked about for all of those years now." He then said "if, while you are young and able, you get a chance to go with your wife to see and do things you both have talked and dreamed about by all means go. Go while you can, don't just put it off like we did".

That's pretty good advice for life, keep a short list of regrets. I'll probably be thinking of J.B. & Evelyn as we go past the Rockies.