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 In retrospect, here are some of the things that we did right on our journey...
We went. I know that sounds like a given, but with the obstacles we encountered we could have just given up the dream and stayed home. Inevitably, when you decide to do something of this magnitude, you're going to question whether you can really do it. You'll run into things that seem impossible, but spending a year on the road was one of the best decisions we've ever made. Our family grew closer together; our boys grew less materialistic and more responsible; we learned to value the little things. It was good. Very good.
We planned ahead. Of course, you can't plan for everything, but knowing where we were going sure helped. I had planned our route, but not exactly where we would stay each night. That allowed enough flexibility for us to have some direction without feeling too bound by the schedule. And, it gave me time to look into what each town had to offer before we got there. I had a file on each city with possible places to see and things to do, including the costs. This made it much easier when we rolled into town. We also traveled with a GPS...a must-have.
We got National Parks Passes and an annual membership at Boonshoft Museum of Discovery. The Adventurer membership is very affordable (it was actually given to our family as a Christmas gift) and has a great reciprocal agreement across the country. It saved us a fortune!
We brought several electric appliances, including a space heater, a
crock pot, a griddle, electric blankets, and an electric grill.
Usually, electricity is included in the camping fee, but propane is
extra, and it's a pain in the butt to roll everything up and go get it
if you run out at an inconvenient time. We did our best to conserve
propane. It adds up.
We saw as much as we could afford to see. For us, this was a journey,
not a lifestyle. It was one year, and we knew it, so we took advantage
of everything we could. We ended up spending a lot of money on attractions, but it is
likely that we will never get to see or do many of these things again. Our
motto was, "Do it while we can." We don't regret it.
We visited friends. We found that after a few months (usually about 4)
we would start missing our friends, so we made sure to stop in on the
people that we knew around the country. It was great for the kids to
get to visit with people they knew and it was also good for us to get
to hang out in a place with more space...to spread out and relax and
enjoy some good company.
We took lots of pictures and collected lots of T-shirts. The t-shirts
are currently being made into memory quilts and the pictures are being
made into scrapbooks. These are souvenirs that will last a lifetime.
Much better than the trinkets that break after a week.
I could keep going, but in the end I think most of what I would list would fit into these categories:
1. preparing/overcoming obstacles
2. handling money
3. fostering healthy relationships
4. living in the moment
In the next post I'll list what I think we did wrong. There's plenty of that.
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In March of 2008 our family of four (plus 1 dog) hit the road for a yearlong tour of the United States
focusing on American History. This website is our journal from start to finish. Here we have passed along how we homeschooled on the road and
specifically what we learned about American history. We've also provided some lesson plans and activity suggestions
so that you can learn too! 
We're excited to be able to partner