US tour - southern states, 2013

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   I've hinted on other threads about our big plans for this summer, I figured it was time to post the details.  Two years ago we realized we only had about a half-dozen summers left with both of our girls, with the summer after 11th grade for our oldest being the last.  The summer before she starts college I'm sure we'll have to stay local.  So, Soviet-style, we made a 5-year vacation plan.  

First up was a week-long cruise which we took last summer.  Next up is three or four 3-week trips around parts of the US.  When I was a kid my family did a big loop of the US in five weeks.  That was too long in one car and we still didn't see everything we wanted to see (I wanted to see the Pacific Ocean but after coming within a day's drive we had to start heading back), plus as the principal pod driver I wouldn't want to do that much driving.  Three weeks is going to be bad enough with several all-day slogs.

My wife will be attending a conference this summer in Atlanta, so it made sense to use that as our launching point for this year's trip.  A nice perk, the travel expense we would have used to get her home will now go towards gas costs after I pick her up.  Next year she'll be in Denver so we'll probably do a loop around the major attractions in AZ, UT, etc.  The year after will probably be a northern loop (no conference that year).  Going by memory, below is our itinerary for this year.  A quick note that 1/3 of our night stops will be in Walmart parking lots (or similar, like Flying J) which adds to the adventure.  I'm mounting a generator on the front of the TV to run the A/C on these stops which I'll post about later.

A day and a half with just the kids making our way to Atlanta.
A day and a half in Tybee, GA with friends at the beach.
A day in Pensacola, FL touring the Naval Air Museum.
Two days in New Orleans.
A day in Houston touring the Space Center.
A day in Carlsbad Caverns, NM
A half-day in Roswell, NM (passing through, might as well).
A day and a half in Albuquerque, NM, visiting family and touring the Petroglyphs.
A day in OK at the National Cowboy Museum.
A half-day in Arkansas at the Crater of Diamonds (in the morning before it gets hot).
A day at Graceland in TN.
A day at Mammoth Cave National Park, KY.
A day at Natural Tunnel State Park, VA.
A day and a half in Whitmer, WV, visiting family.
Finally a half-day at home to unpack and do laundry, then a full day of sleeping in and doing nothing before heading back to work.