It all began Thanksgiving Day 2013. Grandmother off-handedly mentioned that there were only three states she had not yet visited in the United States–two in New England and one out west. She lamented that she may not get to see those final three states unless she could find someone to take her.

Enter: Tim. Always up for an adventure, Tim said he would be happy to go with Grandmother on a trip to check something off her bucket list (seeing as she had actually helped him check something of his bucket list on a previous trip). Grandmother was a bit skeptical, unsure that Tim meant business.

But he did. By spring, we were planning a trip. However, instead of knocking the New England states off her bucket list, Grandmother had a new plan. Why not check off the one western state (North Dakota) and keep cruising until we hit California? She thought it might be nice to see the other coast again. Always up for an adventure, Tim said a very enthusiastic “Yes!” and I started making plans for how I could manage two weeks away from work.

So here we are, traveling the wide open roads of the American West. As we help Grandmother check an item off her bucket list, Tim and I will be checking off a few of our own, and making loads of memories as we go.

Hope you enjoy the journey with us!

L