A small detour postponed the arrival to our house. We had to pick up the dog from my grandmother’s house. We had lunch there at abuela’s and she was so excited to see us. My grandfather was thrilled that we actually made it all the way across the country and back, though I’m pretty sure he wanted to keep Mac (our dog) for the rest of the year. We ended up running to the van in pouring rain, which I missed terribly, and we finally made it home.

Being able to stay in my own house, my own bed, eat Mom’s homecooked food, made me realize how much I truly missed being home. But as much as I missed being at home, the trip was indeed the trip of a lifetime. I’ve been asked, “What was the highlight of the trip?” or “What did you enjoy most from this trip?” and in response to both, my answer is “Everything!”.

I mean, think about it. You’re asking me to pick and choose the best and worst of the trip? Honestly, there was no worst. Did I like all the cities I stayed in? Absolutely not. But does that mean that there wasn’t anything at all to enjoy there? Of course not. Within all those cities, there was something that made being in that city so awesome.

It was all the amazing food. As a family, we decided that we wanted to try new fast food places on the road. There were winners and losers. By the way, the ultimate winner was In-N-Out Burger. If you haven’t had one, get one sometime in your life. There were also some great restaurants we visited. And then all of the food in the car? My goodness, we were always eating. And it was almost always great.

It was the new experience of the different ambientes, or atmospheres, of all the cities we visited. There’s just something about hanging out in a new city that you just know whether you like it or not. Some cities just make you feel at home, while others give you a sense of adventure. All of the cities we visited had such different atmospheres and the majority of them were awesome.

It was being with the family. Believe it or not, we get along so well. We joke, we laugh and even if we start getting attitude-y on each other, its easy to break the tension with a quick witted remark. Being with my family and genuinely hanging out with them, because, obviously, there was no one else to be with, made the trip incredible.

There are so many things that made this trip amazing and bearable. Even when the going got tough with long car trips and finding a bathroom along the way and the GPS deciding to navigate incorrectly, we got through it. If any trip is going to stay imprinted in our memories forever, its this one. Everything about it made it extra special. Everything about it made it fun to be on. And everything about it made this trip completely unique, because its ours: The Cuevas Family Road Trip of 2008.

You know how they say, “home is where the heart is”? Well, since our hearts are set on Heaven, and that’s our real home, it makes it easier to leave on a trip like this knowing that we’re just on one big road trip anyway. I hope, we all hope, that this blog has made you see, if you ever doubted, that family vacations are possible. And they’re possible without needing a second vacation afterwards. Thanks so much for coming on this trip with us. It was truly a blessing to log on after a long day of driving and see that our hard work on this blog was not in vain. If anything added exceedingly and abundantly to this trip, it was the fact that we had all of you with us. And we thank you for that.

with much love,
aimee nicole
<3 

If you don’t know, St Augustine is the oldest city in Florida. It also happens to be the oldest city in the nation. So everything here is pretty… well, old. Historically, its a city that was a fort for the Spanish. There’s a fort with the original cannons and it used to have a moat and everything. Some of the original streets are paved with brick that came from ships. One of the many words that can be used to describe this city is “quaint”. Its just really cute and there are bed and breakfasts all around with little “vacancy” signs.

Tomorrow is the last day of our road trip. We end up in Miami. I’m so excited to get home, but at the same time, I’m sad that its almost over. But its not over until tomorrow!

with much love,
aimee nicole 

There’s a couple of things you should know. First of all, remember that we’re on Central Standard Time (CST) now. That means we’re an hour earlier than you guys. Its kind of weird that we gained an hour. Second, we have to reconfigure the set up of the van. The suitcases in the back are fine, but the food in the front makes it a hassle to get on and off the van. Third of all, we have a 9 hour drive ahead of us to Dallas, Texas. We’re expecting a long drive, because, well, it is. We’re expecting some thunderstorms according to the Weather Channel. And we’re expecting to get to Dallas all excited because we get to hang out with some very good family friends!

Thank God we have the Kruegers to look forward to instead of hard beds and small spaces in another La Quinta.

much love,
aimee nicole

Today is the day that our family will be headed off to California. Bags are packed, the van is rented, all of the food is ready and waiting to be stuffed into coolers. My guitar will be joining us as well, which is incredibly exciting. Its amazing how much stuff you need for a 2 week trip away from home. And the ironic thing is, we Cuevas’ are known for packing light. And we have. I can’t really imagine how much stuff some of you other people will take! No wonder other people complain!

As you keep checking where we are, how and what we’re doing and all the silly things in between, keep in mind that you are part of this trip. It is a FAMILY vacation, after all. We can’t stress enough how much we want you to be part of our experiences of the somewhat unknown. This trip is for all of us to enjoy, and hopefully it will give you a refreshing time of vacation for the 5 minutes it takes to log on and read our posts, look through our pictures and watch our videos.

Before we go, we want to thank everyone who’s been praying, and will continue praying, for us on the trip. Its the family vacation of a lifetime. And the best part is, you’re part of it too.

with much love,
aimee nicole

We’ve loosely planned this trip since January. At first I was hesitant to tell people our intention as there is always this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach that people are going to look at me and say “Are you crazy! Your gonna be in the car for how long and with your kids?“… well I got over that quickly. I guess when you hear the same reaction over and over again it just becomes cliché.

Here is the clincher. This past month, when I told people that we were actually gonna do it… we were going to pile in a van and drive all the way to California and back… the tune changed. Many have confessed that they wished they could do what we’re doing – just taking off.

This trip started to be about our family, and though we haven’t left yet, it already has become something different. Now i don’t just want to take my family. I want to take all my friends with me and let them enjoy the pleasure of “just taking off”.

My friends, this trip is for you (and you know who you are). Jump in the van with us. Partake of the cheesy road snacks, the hard mattress hotels and the unknown. Stay tuned because we don’t want you to miss a thing.

forever thanking God for this delight,
george
<{{{><
If it doesn’t point to Jesus, what’s the point.

The official countdown has begun. 3 days are left before the Cuevas family heads to California! Through here, you’ll be able to see everything there is to see on the road trip, to and from Miami. As we visit new places, we’ll add the stops on the sidebar to the right where you’ll be able to track our stops and how much driving we’ve done all day (if you really feel like calculating it). The pictures are going to be fun to look at, and they’ll show you just how much of a good time we’re having. The videos… well, who knows what’s going to be on them, but take the time to watch them. They’re bound to be full of crazy Cuevas antics. The only things you’ll miss are the hours spent on the road with little to do but eat or sleep.

So come with us on our road trip! There’s room for a couple more!

la familia Cuevas
<{{{><