The Great American Road Trip: Planning Realizations

The great American roadtrip is less than 2 weeks ago. We're finalizing our plans and in doing so have some eye-opening realizations:

1. Longest day ever: Because our flight leaves very early in the morning, we'll need to be on the road to the Philly airport by 4:00 AM. So that means we're up by 3:15 AM or so. We'll gain 3 hours due to time zone changes so we'll still be in Portland, OR by just after noon local time. We have a few spots to see in Oregon before dinner, then a 2 hour drive to our hotel for the night. We should be checking in around 10 PM - making for a 18-19 hour first day. Hopefully, the views along the Columbia Gorge (see picture) will remind us we're making this trip in the first place.
   
   
2. River crossings: With all the flooding throughout the country, we need to check ahead near those cities where we'll be crossing major rivers like the Missouri and Mississippi. So far, those roads are passable.
   
   
3. States beginning with "I": It seems that states beginning with "I" have vast stretches of nothing to see. We anticipate a lot of music listening during passage through Idaho and Iowa.

Planning continues as does the anticipation!

The Great American Road Trip: Planning Underway

For years, we've been talking about seeing America the old-fashioned way... driving across the country. Now, we're close to making the trip a reality. We intend to share the experience with you by blogging along the way.

This summer, we're planning to complete the 1st leg of 3-part country tour - seeing some of the northern parts of the country. After flying to Portland, Oregon, our journey (see map) begins with a ride up the Pacific Coast to Cannon Beach, OR where we'll pick up the route taken by Lewis and Clark. Cecilia recently completed a several month study on the American pioneers and the Oregon Trail. We decided to incorporate a little field exercise to compliment that learning experience. The 3500-mile, 9-state trek winds its way through Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, culminating with a scenic drive along Pennsylvania's Route 6 on the way home to Bensalem, PA.

Along the way, we'll be stopping to see some famous and not-so-famous attractions, including Haystack Rock, the Columbia Gorge, Mount Hood, Craters of the Moon National Monument, the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone National Park, Thunder Basin National Grassland, Mount Rushmore, the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, Lake Michigan, and the NFL Hall of Fame. We're still exploring other sites along the journey.

In the future, we hope to travel along the southern portion of the US (leg 2) and then tour the New England states (leg 3). Stay tuned for more posts about our great American road trip!

Cecilia and Sal Walk Against Hunger

Cecilia and I finished the 3 mile course at today's Walk Against Hunger event. We had a chance to catch up with some friends from St. Mary's in Burlington. The morning started off cold but by mile 2, the sun was strong and keeping us warm as we walked along the river in Philly. It was a great day for a brisk walk. Thanks again to many of you who have donated to the cause. Thus far, you helped me raise nearly $1500. Even though the walk is over, it's not too late to donate. Make your online contribution at: www.active.com/donate/hungerwalk2010/salbarreca.

The Lord has risen indeed!

Easter Sunday was a beautiful day for many reasons... the weather included. After Sunday services, Cecilia took some time to pose for pictures outside of Saint James Episcopal Church in Langhorne, PA. Then we trekked over to Aunt Sara's for the traditional Easter dinner.

Facebook... are you on it?

Seems like this Facebook thing is really catching on. As soon as you find one friend, it seems like it takes only days to connect to anyone you ever knew in gradeschool! It's that powerful. In three days, I received 25 new friend requests! So if you're not on it, get an account. It's fun and easy... but it can be addicting! - Sal

New Year - New Home!

Happy New Year to all! It's 2009, and the Barrecas have found themselves in a new home. At the end of Sept 08, we moved into our house in Bensalem, PA, after 8 years in Delran NJ. This is house #4 for Sal and Kelly, while Cecilia has lived in three different states (Virginia, New Jersey, and now Pennsylvania) in her 9 years.

We're closer to Kelly's mother, which makes it a lot easier for Kelly to help her out when needed. We're also closer to our siblings (not that we were too far while in NJ). Those with siblings know that being close has its plusses and minuses. I'm sure my sisters are counting my proximity to them in their minus column ;-) Cecilia seems to have settled into the new place quite well. She's made some new friends in the neighborhood.

So far the new neighbors have treated us well. We even live close to Jen and Patrick Clark. Jen and Sal are work buddies at BBBS. She's stopped by a few times with goodies like homemade cinnamon raisin bread!

Drop us a line some time at: salbarreca@verizon.net.

Welcome Blu - our new Daschund

On Monday October 1, Blu joined our family. Blu, a male daschund, came to us from a breeder in Houston, TX. He flew in via Continental airlines from Houston to Philly (yes, Sal actually paid to fly in a dog!). He's only been with us for less than a day so there are the obvious adjustments. He seems less scared now and is still investigating his new home. He has already discovered the couch and has decided to make himself quite cozy there. If you walk by, he rolls over expecting a belly rub. Already there's competition among the males for the status of "king of the castle," however, to date, Sal has yet to receive belly rubs. Blu-1, Sal-0. Click here for larger pics of Blu.