How to Get Ready for a Road Trip in 10 Not-so-easy Steps!

  1. Plan where you want to go and when  This is the easiest and hardest part.  At first, we were going to Boca Chica to see Space X.  Then Elon decided to open a giga-tesla plant in Austin, so we added that.  We aren't that far from Dallas so let's add that.  Let's go in February, its a cold yuckky month.  No we're doing dry February, that won't work.  OK, March.  Ouch, too many appointments and George needs us to help with Mom while he gets a new hip.  OK... how about April?  
  2. Plan your trip out via Tesla charging stations and make an Excel Spreadsheet  Of course, anyone reading this knows Dave totally does all of this.  Deb says, "Yes, dear."

  3. Pre-pack  This involves measuring every inch of Ruby and planning where things will go.  It also involved making 2 versions of ramps so that we could load the segways.  Then there was the endless search for a cooler that would fit and plug into Ruby's 110 outlet.  We decided our old one would work just as well and cost much less, even if we bought ice every 3rd day! The best was the night Dave yelled from downstairs, "Come look!  The laundry basket fits perfectly in the frunk!"  (Frunk:  Ruby's front trunk!)
  4. Meanwhile Deb is doing the important stuff:  buying new clothes at Khols and loading up on snacks at Costco!
  5. Pack Ruby while Deb is playing bridge  I bet my table-mates that this was happening and when I got home, everything was packed except MY suitcase and the cold food
  6. Get the life-changing phone call that Clay is in the hospital  Everything goes on hold!  A bike accident results in a punctured lung, broken clavicle and almost a week of tense days listening to doctors, deciding on surgery, and worrying about oxygen levels and lung capacity.
  7. Unpack the car  Once we almost repacked it, had everything by the door, and then we found out Clay's lung needed more time and his clavicle surgery was imminent.  
  8. Clay recovers and comes home!  He loves his new sleeping wedge and rented recliner, and feels so much better without folks poking him every 2 hours.  Now if he can figure out how to negotiate PT on multiple joints with orders from multiple doctors!! 

     
  9. Replan the itinerary.  Dave decides to reverse the trip and go to Dallas first, so this involves new maps, new spreadsheets, etc. etc. etc!
  10. Pack Ruby one more time and take-off!!  As I write this everything is packed except the cold food and Dave is threatening to get me up at dawn!!

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