The Open Road

Writing about travel wouldn't be complete without mentioning home. As we leave the majestic skyline of Chicago and cross the tracks of open fields in Minnesota, we have home on the one hand, many states behind us, and on the other hand, 30 more days of travel stretching out before us. Our sweet home on the coast of Florida is so very close and yet so far away.

You never realize how many routines and daily rituals you have at home until you've been on the road a week or two. These routines are as different as the personalities on our trip: one person takes a good cup of coffee in the morning, another does stretches before the day's work, another takes photos throughout the day, or another asks a loved one how their workday went. All of these are possible far from home, but suddenly, you have to find a new coffee shop or make a long distance phone call to continue the routine that keeps you grounded.

Our daily rituals aren't being broken on this trip, but they are being shifted, modified, reshaped. We are picking up new ones as we cram every site into every single day along with hours of driving. Instead of going to sleep in our familiar beds, we fall asleep under our little rim of night sky, staring up at all those stars like spun sugar. But there's still a familiar song on the radio or a great craft beer we've had in the past; there's still the feeling of home.

We are still taking in all of these amazing things, and we will have much much more to say and share. Like kids at the county fair - or better yet, some great American fair - we long to rush home, lay in our beds and relish all we have seen, but we also are exhilarated and want to stay on longer until the last ticket is spent.

Our homes and routines are far behind us, and we have a good deal of time before we return. Today, however, we will have the excitement of yet another