Well we are leaving in the morning to drive to Texas, then on to Florida. After a week in Orlando, we will head North to the Carolinas for a week or so and swing by Tennessee prior to our return to TX where we will pick up Kitty Baby and then back home to Illinois. It's a 3-week roadtrip, so I plan to make soap at least a couple of times, maybe more.The reason for going on this trip all started when my DIL called and told me that granddaughter wanted to take her friend on a trip to Disney World's new Star Wars Theme Park. She had called to ask for advice about where to stay as related to hotels in safe neighborhoods and for ease of travel to & from hotel to Park. Since we have taken granddaughter to Orlando on numerous occasions, we have some experience in this matter. Apparently granddaughter invited her mom along, but she DIL said no, she couldn't go because of her job, then invited her friend's mom, who also declined. From that I got the impression granddaughter may have wanted a chaperone or at least an adult to fall back on if the need arises.
So first I made some recommendations for lodging & indicated the pricing and the distances since both are flying and won't have easy access to transportation. Then after Hubby & I talked it over, we thought about letting them use our Timeshare, but because granddaughter had invited both moms who had declined, we decided to ask how they'd feel if we could reserve two separate units (to provide them more freedom of movement) and that we go as well. Them to Disney & us to do whatever we want, which may or may not include a day at Disney.
Granddaughter jumped at the chance. I suspect that even though she said she wanted to do all the planning herself, part of the reason for the fall-back adult was to ease some of the process of all the necessary scheduling. Even if not, it's going to save her hundreds of dollars and who can complain about that? The airline tickets alone were shockingly expensive for such a short trip. (For them it is short - 5 days. For us it is 3 weeks because we are adding onto either end of the trip to accommodate other activities as well as car travel.)
Hubby plans to revisit several state capitols (that's one of his 'things') so that's part of our itinerary. And I am planning on bringing some of my traveling soapmaking gear along to make soap. I don't often make soap while traveling with Hubby, but we are going to be in two places long enough that I'll have plenty of time for it, and after all it's a roadtrip, so I can pack whatever I need into my car without worrying about air travel restrictions. Also on the itinerary is a swing by Hendersonville, Tennessee to take a look at a unique soap cutter (link to another thread on that topic.) And then we will also have lots of time for spontaneity which is another reason I really enjoy roadtrips.
So today is packing day. Packing soap supplies, Kitty Baby supplies and a suitcase for me with stuff to wear, etc. Mail is already on hold, son will check on the house for us & put the garbage cans back (they get emptied tomorrow morning), our tree guy will remove some trees & trim others while we are gone, some packages are being delivered to son's house while we are gone. Just a few more things to do and we'll be ready to go. Still need to pay some bills, and I still need to clear out the fridge of perishables (or pack them to bring along) & do another load of laundry. Kitty Baby is staying with son & DIL while we are in Florida & the Carolinas. Maybe she won't hate sharing space with granddaughter's cat so much now that she has spent 9 days in a cage at the vet's boarding location. She has way more freedom and gets to go outside in TX, so even though she doesn't like Olive, it's far better than 9 days inside a steel cage!
