Monday, June 2, 2014

The Great Summer Road Trip



We're leaving this week on our first extended road trip in the RV.  Although we don't have a small yappy dog like many of our road tripping retired peers, we do have the appropriate wardrobe of casual wear so we can blend into the crowds.  I will not, however, be wearing socks with my sandals!

Those of you who have been following along know that every summer our grandchildren come to Oregon to stay with us.  This summer they will be with us until August.  We are leaving in the RV this week to drive from Oregon to South Dakota to pick them up.  Although they live in Texas, they are attending a family reunion in Iowa and for some reason my daughter decided that Mount Rushmore would be a good meeting point to hand them over to us.

Last week Hunter asked her mother why she and their father didn't spend more time with them in Oregon in the summer.  My daughter explained that although Hunter and her sister had the summer off from school, Mommy and Daddy still had to work.  To which Hunter replied with an astonished "WHAT??"

Yes, Hunter, the majority of the world still has to work.  The exceptions are kids and retired people.  One of the joys of retirement has been having the ability to spend time with my grandchildren who live far from Oregon in Texas.  We spend the summer camping, fishing, and exploring Oregon.  This summer we are venturing out on the open road.  In addition to Mount Rushmore we will visit Yellowstone.  We have no timeline and plan to stop whenever we see anything interesting.  Life is too short to waste a summer.  We'll be making memories on the road.  I hope we'll be able to find wifi and can post updates on our adventures.  

Be sure to wave if you see us on the road!

135 comments:

  1. Hello! Your summer sounds like it will be filled with fun, happy memories. Enjoy!!

    Happy Blog Blitz Day!! :)

    Happy reading and writing! from Laura Marcella @ Wavy Lines

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  2. Have a great trip, and Happy Blitz Day!

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  3. A summer trip sounds like a great idea, would love to visit Yellow stone one day - have seen it in so many movies. Have a great trip and Happy Blitz Day.
    http://inderpreetkaur.blogspot.in/2014/05/slow-as-snail.html

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  4. I hope you enjoy your trip! Best Wishes and Happy Blitz Day!

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  5. Work is such a foreign concept to a kid. Safe travels and hope you have another fun summer with your grandkids.
    Happy Blitz Day!!

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  6. Sounds like fun. A kindred spirit (I turn 65 in a fortnight, and still have no clear idea what I want to do with my life), we shall get our camper out in a few weeks - my daughter and her partner are off to Dubai for a holiday, leaving their three dogs with us. Camping with our dogs (Wire Fox Terrier and Jack Russell) and her original two (Chihuahua and Shitsu) wasn't a problem, but now she has an AmStaff as well, I thing it would be too much in our small camper. Enjoy your summer trip, and enjoy your Blitz day!
    Keith Our parking space on the Information Super-highway

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  7. What a wonderful adventure that sounds like. You have very lucky grandchildren who will have these cherished memories forever.

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  8. Sounds like you are off on a great adventure. Enjoy both the grandchildren and the sights! Happy #Blitz Day!

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  9. I'm part of that majority that still has to work...at least for the next eight years that is. Enjoy your road trip...and here's a BLITZ to send you on your way. :) Enjoy.

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  10. Happy blitz day and enjoy your trip! :)

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  11. That sounds like such a wonderful way to spend the summer. Have a ton of fun and happy blitz day! :)

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  12. Have a great summer and safe travels! Your grandkids are going to have such wonderful memories of the summers you all spend together :)

    Happy Blitz!

    Madeline @ The Shellshank Redemption

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  13. Sounds like it's the beginning of a great summer! Enjoy it - and the blitz!
    Donna
    Mainely Write

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  14. My daughters have a hard time understanding why I have to work during the summer too. They think the people I work for are just mean. Happy Blitz Day!

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  15. A road trip sounds fun! My dad and sister and I drove from here in OH to california one summer. Lots of good memories. Have fun! Happy blitz day!

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  16. You've got a great drive ahead of you!! The Black Hills in South Dakota was one of my favorite family trips & we hit Yellowstone last year. You've GOT to stop by the Tetons & Jackson Hole while you're there---at Cascade Village you can take a tram up to the top of a mountain and have the most yummy waffles in a little snack shack. Your grandkids will lourve it.

    Have so, so much fun & happy Blitz day!

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  17. Sounds like a lot of fun! I also hope you can find some wifi along the road and will send some pictures to share. Travel safely, Nana. :-)

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  18. Sounds like your road trip will be lots of fun! Don't feel too bad about the lack of a yappy dog. My parents have one who always gets carsick during road trips. Kinda puts a damper on the fun. Happy blitz day!

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  19. To be doing this while you are still nimble enough to shepherd the youngsters around will be an inspiration to the grands when they are old enough to think back and say WOW, at which point they will resolve to do the same.

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  20. What a great trip and wonderful memories you are making for the kids. Have fun!

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  21. Have fun! As one retiree to another, that's what retirement is for. Happy Blitz Day!

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  22. Wow. I'm so envious of your road trip in an RV. It's on my bucket list. And I admire your ability to take on grandkids for nearly the whole summer. That seems a grand accomplishment to me. Have a wonderful trip and a wonderful blitz. Maria @ Delight Directed Living

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  23. Have a wonderful time, and happy Blitz Day!

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  24. So nice to meet (and Blitz) you #1 Nana! YOu might want to rethink the socks and sandals. I've found late nights around camp fires and socks are a good combo. Just joking. I never wear my socks with sandals, but I do wear my slippers everywhere.

    Thanks for the reminder to enjoy summer. I get caught up in all the things I need to do that I forget to enjoy the moment at times.

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  25. What wonderful memories you are making for (and with) your grandkids!

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  26. WOOO! Road trip! I love me a good road trip (though mine do include all my dogs)

    Happy Blitz Day!

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  27. Carpe diem!!! Boy, have you got the right attitude about this summer- I hope you have a blast! Happy Blitz Day!

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  28. Hooray for road trips! Enjoy Yellowstone - it is a truly remarkable place! Happy Blitz day :)

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  29. Sounds like a lot of fun! Happy Blog Blitz Day!
    All the best from Cinta @ Cinta's Corner.

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  30. Retirement rocks. Happy Blitz day!

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  31. It sounds like a fun summer! Where in Oregon? I grew up in Salem. Happy Blitz day.

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  32. Wow that sounds like so much fun! Have a great time and Happy Blitz Day to you :)

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  33. Enjoy! I'll be heading for the ocean, our beautiful Jersey Shore!!

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  34. Nothing like the open road and only adventures ahead. Enjoy! And enjoy your Blitz day, too.

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  35. That sounds fantastic! Have a great trip!

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  36. Have a fun trip! My husband always wanted to take a trip like that. Happy Blitz Day!

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  37. Sounds like a fun trip! Travel safe and have a blast! :) And Happy Blitz Day!

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  38. What a perfect sized RV! You'll be able to go EVERYWHERE in that!! Happy Blitz Day :-)

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  39. Wow, what fun you'll have. Enjoy that road trip.

    Happy Blitz Day!

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  40. Enjoy your road trip! How fun to have the grandkids in the summer. We've never traveled in an RV, but it's on my bucket list!

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  41. Happy and safe travels! It sounds as though you have an amazing journey ahead of you.

    Happy Blitz Day!

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  42. Our summer road trip will be more southerly so I guess we won't be passing you. The Black Hills and Yellowstone are wonderful places to visit.

    Happy Blitz Day! Have a great trip.

    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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  43. Happy blitz day. Have a great summer.

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  44. Don't forget teachers! My husband is a teacher and gets the summers off, too. Unfortunately, I have a regular job and just get to envy his sleep-ins and days of whimsy while I continue to go to work! But he's a good husby - he likes to bring me lunch during the summers and we enjoy lunch breaks together :) Oregon is beautiful in the summer (I live in Vancouver, WA), but I've never been to the Dakotas - I'd like to go and visit some of the monuments/parks there! Safe travels, and Happy BLITZ Day! Cheers, marci at fuzzyundertones.com

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  45. Enjoy the ride and those precious moments with your grand-kids. They'll fondly remember the time you were able to spend with them. Happy travels and happy blitz day to you!

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  46. Have a wonderful time in the RV. Yellowstone is wonderful. Consider driving through Grand Tetons while you are out that way. The views were breathtaking.
    Happy Blitz Day!
    Elizabeth Hein - Scribbling in the Storage Room

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  47. I love road trips! Take lots of photos and be amazed! and safe, and have fun, and tell us all about it! ;D
    Happy Blitz Day to you

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  48. I'm crazy jealous, enjoy! Happy blitz!

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  49. I want to hang out with you this summer! Travelling the US in an RV is what I want to do if I ever get to retire. Your grandkids are SO lucky! Have a great trip!

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  50. Enjoy your road trip! Happy Blitz Day. Spending time with family and friends is a beautiful thing.

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  51. Have a wonderful time with your grandchildren! What a special opportunity to get to love them.

    Happy Blog Blitz Day!

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  52. So jealous!!!! Wish I was heading out on the road RIGHT NOW!! And hey, I even have a small yappy dog!!!!

    Happy Blitz Day!!!

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  53. No socks w/sandals? Aw, c'mon, lol! ;) Happy Blitz Day!

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  54. Taking the summer off is something I really wish I could do. And I remeber the days when I was too young to understand why my parents couldn't take the time off as well. Have tons of fun!

    Happy Blitz Day

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  55. Enjoy your fabulous sounding summer with your grand kids. I have one grand daughter, and a new grand baby due in November!
    Happy Blitzering Day!!!

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  56. How awesome! I'm completely jealous. Have great fun on your road trip.

    Happy Blitz Day!

    -RB

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  57. I hope you have a good road trip. Happy Blitz Day!

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  58. I can't wait until I don't have to work! And thank you, for refusing to wear socks with your sandals :)

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  59. Oh what wonderful plans! I hope you enjoy this special time with your grandchildren and that you have many wonderful adventures together! We love to camp (we have a trailer) and have several trips planned for this summer. Happy Blitz Day to you!
    Tina @ Life is Good
    On the Open Road! @ Join us for the 4th Annual Post-Challenge Road Trip!

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  60. Aw man, this post brought back memories. My grandmother and my grandfather--we called them Mormor and Morfar, in Danish--used to love taking long trips in their RV. If I was in the car with my grandmother, any time we passed an RV on the road, she would shake her head and scowl, in her heavy Danish accent, "Now I'm angry. I don't LIKE it when people go on vacation without me. They should bring me WITH them, or they should STAY HOME. I want to go on vacation with MY RV right now." That emphasis was just how she talked, and it was so cute.

    Man, I just want to drive by your RV on the road with my grandmother to hear her say that again! Thanks for the memories, and have a lovely blitz day.

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  61. Now this really sounds like fun. The open road, a great RV and the grandkids. My idea of the perfect summer. Enjoy! And BTW enjoy being blitzed today.

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  62. Sounds like a lovely trip, I'll keep any eye out for you!

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  63. What a wonderful way to spend the summer! My kids always spend most of their summers with their grandparents too, and I am always super jealous of all the great stuff they get to do while I'm stuck at work. Happy Blitz Day!

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  65. Have a great trip, it sounds like a lot of fun. Happy Blitz Day!

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  66. Safe travels! I'm in Oregon, too. It's such a wonderful place.

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  67. I've never been to Oregon or traveled in a RV. Have fun!

    And Happy Blitz Day!

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  68. Happy Blitz Day!! I have never been to Oregon but it looks lovely.

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  69. My husband and I have decided that when we retire an RV is on our bucket list so we can get out and see everything we've not yet enjoyed - and at a more sedate pace lol! Happy blitz day! xx

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  70. Have fun - Happy Blitz Day!!! :)

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  71. Hi, there,
    I certainly agree that socks and sandals are a no-no. :)
    Spending time with family is always wonderful. Here is Jamaica, the heat makes it feel like a crime to work during the summer.

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  72. Sounds like a great trip!

    BAZINGA!

    You've been blitzed!

    Have a great day. Heather

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  73. Sounds like a fabulous plan for the summer! Retirement and grandchildren are the two best things about being, um, delightfully mature.

    Be careful driving today, because you, my dear, are getting BLITZED! Enjoy.

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  74. a Blog Blitz is the best send off. Safe travels and have fun. Enjoy the meandering highway

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  75. Sounds like a fun trip! I'm in Oregon, too. I hope your grandkids enjoy their time here!
    And happy Blitz!

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  76. Hope you have a wonderful trip!! Happy Blitz Day!

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  77. Sounds as if you have an amazing summer ahead. May your journey be safe, joyous, and full of [happy] surprises!

    Happy Blitz Day!!

    VR Barkowski


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  78. How great that your grandkids can come road tripping with you during the summer. It'll be some great memories for them! Happy Blitz Day!

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  79. Have fun! We took an RV trip WITH our kids a while back. It was challenging but full of adventure.

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  80. what a wonderful summer! happy blitz! :)

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  81. OMG! My hubs would love to cross country road trip one day - we plan to terrorize our future kids with car rides, few bathroom breaks and the beautiful USA all around them ;) Enjoy your grand kids, so glad you get to spend that time, it will be so fun!

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  82. How fun! Hubby and I want to do this when the kids are grown.

    HAPPY BLITZ DAY!!!

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  83. I hope you have a wonderful trip!
    HAPPY BLOG BLITZ DAY!

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  84. 86 comments! Holy cow. ;-)

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  85. Have a beautiful summer with the grandkids. It sounds lovely! My father also RVs, spending the winter in Arizona. It's a great way to travel. Happy Blitz Day!

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  86. Sounds like the adventure of a LIFETIME! Your grandkids will ALWAYS remember these special moment with you! What fantastic grandparents you are!

    So nice to meet you! HAPPY ADVENTURE AND BLITZ DAY!!!!!

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  87. Sounds like a great trip! Have fun, and Happy Blitz Day! :)

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  88. Have a great trip. Happy Blitzday!!!!

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  89. Sounds like a good deal to travel across the country to see your grandchildren. My first born grand daughter lives in Texas and we in Indiana right now...too far away! Enjoy your trip and make some beautiful memories. Happy Blitz Day!

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  90. Enjoy the summer. You've been Blitzed!

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  91. I'm confused. Your welcome message says you're searching for a purpose but reading about all you're doing and have planned to do, I'd say you've found a great one...enjoying life! Happy blitz day!

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  92. I love adventure! Have fun . . . and happy blitz day :)

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  93. Boy are you going to be surprised in your first computer access on or after the trip. Didn't know you were getting Blitz'd on the road! Be careful! ;) Have a great Blitz Day and a great trip!

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  94. Happy travels to you and Happy Blitz Day!

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  95. Stay active and happy blitz day!

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  96. Those are some lucky grandchildren. Happy Blitz day and safe traveling.

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  97. Great to meet you! Happy Blitz!!!

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  98. My husband has this fantasy (I call it a delusion) that one day when we retire we'll get an RV and see the country that way. He always forgets that I'm tragically motion sick every time I spend more than twenty minutes in a moving vehicle. Hope your trip is FABULOUS! Happy Blitz Day!

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  99. Nice to meet you! Happy Blitz Day!

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  100. Hope you have a great trip and enjoy the sweet time spent with your grandchildren!
    Happy blitz day :)

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  101. Have fun on your trip and Happy Blitz Day! :)

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  102. Have fun on your trip and Happy Blitz Day! :)

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  103. I'm so jealous that you literally get to go "where the road takes you"! Have a fabulous time! Happy Blitz Day!

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  104. Sounds like Hunter is in for some big surprises. :-) I think it's great that you're able to spend so much time with your grandkids. My three grandsons (and two children) all live within 10 miles of me so that's a very good thing in my mind. Happy blitz!

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  105. Have a super blitz day. the trip looks amazing

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  106. What a fun tradition. We live far from my parents as well so we try to let the kids spend a few weeks with them each summer. Happy Blitz Day!

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  107. That's great that you get to spend time with them. Have fun at Mount Rushmore. Have a great blitz.
    PS- stupid grown-up jobs with the summer not having off...

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  108. Have fun on the open road this summer and visiting your grandkids! Happy Blog Blitz Day! :)

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  109. You are creating vivid memories and instilling a love for travel in your grandchildren. Enjoy the annual road trip and the rest of your blitz day!

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  110. It's sounds like you're going to have a glorious summer! Enjoy the grandkids and the travel. By the way, Happy Blog Blitz Day to you!!

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  111. You definitely are the #1 Nana. Taking in your grand kids for the whole summer is HUGE! Those kids are going to miss you dearly when they have to go back home.

    Happy Blitz Day. I love hearing stories about kids. Can't wait to read your future posts!

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  112. Enjoy your summers thoroughly with your grand kids. Happy Blitz Day :)

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  113. hope you have an awesome time :)

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  114. Hello from the Blitz team! *waves* Hope you all have a wonderful time!

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  115. Have a great trip and Happy Blitz Day.

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  116. Wow, what a great trip (Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone are both on my bucket list). Happy Blitz Day, too!

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  117. Enjoy your road trip! Happy Blitz Day!

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  118. Have fun on your trip! Drive safely! And Happy Blitz Day!!!! :D

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  119. Fantastic! Not having a timeline is the best.
    I know you are going to have an amazing summer.
    Drive safely and enjoy yourselves....

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  121. Happy Book Blitz!!! Madi Brown here, I just want to say that I think you're AWESOME. Safe travels and keep writing!

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  122. Hello #1Nana! I'm so happy to meet you. I'm here for the big Blog Blitz and I'm sorry to be a couple of days late. I'm going to be a new follower of yours, too, because I'd like to travel in your RV with you, vicariously, of course! :)
    I was 60 last year and although I dreaded it....only because the number 60 sounds SO old.....BEING 60 really isn't any different than the other ages I've been! LOL. I still feel about 35 mentally and (almost all the time) physically. Wishing you a wonderful summer with your grandkids....and traveling...and life, in general.

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  123. Oh, have a wonderful time. I do love raod trips across this great country of ours.

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  124. Always dreamt of a road trip but dont think my old beast could handle it :S have fun!

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  125. Dear Jann, your posting brought to mind a couple of songs about traveling the roads and highways--John Denver's "Country Roads" and "On the Road Again," which I think I first heard sung by Willie Nelson. I'm wondering if you'll be listening to books on tape as you travel this summer or music or will you and the grandchildren be singing your own songs! Peace.

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  126. I do so wish I could come along. It sounds like a most enjoyable, exciting and interesting trip.
    Perhaps the grandchildren won’t mind so much that mum and dad aren’t free to join them when they have such splendid grandparents to take over.

    Have a lovely time.

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  127. Happy belated blog blitz! Hope you have a great trip :-)

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  128. By now your trip is over and I have been able to keep up a little via FB. What fun it seems you have had. I envy that you can do this. My grandchildren are growing up and would never go on such a trip with me. You have made a lifetime of memories this summer.

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  129. Okay! Now it's time to post some pics and stories from your trip!

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