We're Off!

Despite having to revise our original Big Road Trip plans, we're excited to finally be on our way! We won't be heading all the way West, but we've got a lot of fun stops planned out over the next few weeks.

Originally, we had planned on having five weeks to go from DC to San Diego (with stops in Indy, Denver, Zion, Bryce, the Grand Canyon, and Vegas). Then up the California coast (LA, Big Sur, San Francisco) before heading to Yosemite and back east through Yellowstone and Mt. Rushmore, Illinois (Chicago and Lake Mattoon where Billy's mom and stepddad live) and back home to DC.

Now, we've got two weeks and have to be much less ambitious. Our first stop is Indy to see Billy's dad, stepmom and little sister plus catch up with friends! We flew in late Monday night and will be here until Saturday when we set out on the rest of the trip. Next stop is Lake Mattoon then on to St. Louis, Nashville, Kentucky, and Shenandoah National Park!

If at this point you're still wondering who Hansel is, look no further than our first picture. When Billy got sick last summer, I bought him a bunch of goofy toys from the "Summer Fun" aisle in Giant, including a "Hatch Your Own Dinosaur" egg. We plopped the egg in a glass of water, and 24 hours later, Hansel was born. Now, Hansel travels with us wherever we go. The multitude of photo ops we've already taken with him inspired the name of the blog.

That's all for now--pictures from our first few days in Indy to follow! Friday is our last day here and we'll be wrapping it up at the Dave Matthews concert. Then on to the lake!