I have a long time to plan this, probably at least a year.  

When I was 11 years old, my family- mother, father, brother, sister, and I- packed ourselves into a station wagon and set out from Jacksonville to see the whole country.  My father built a long, wide, low box out of plywood, put a foam rubber mattress in it, with a lid that propped open, and a mosquito net, and mounted it on top of the car.   Two of us would sleep up there and the other three would sleep in the car.  We did a combination of hotels and camp grounds.  

I remember stopping in New Orleans, El Paso, Arizona, going up the coast of California to Vancouver, and all the way back across the country to Jacksonville.  We saw all the major national parks.  

One time all five of us were walking down Bourbon Street in New Orleans at night, and I looked across the street, and there was this guy standing in front of some double doors.  Well he catches my eye, and with a sly look on his face throws the doors open, and there was a stripper dancing on stage, and she had those little pasties with tassels on them, and those things were going in every direction, round and round, up and down, and I about fainted.  I was 11.  I'll never forget that. 

I remember seeing the Rocky Mountains off in the distance.  We were driving towards them.  And then the next day, they were still off in the distance. And then the day after that, they were still there off in the distance.  Driving, driving, driving.    My father didn't want to stop every time someone had to tinkle, so we had a little chamber pot and if one of us needed to go, they would climb into the back seat, everyone turned their head, and you tinkle in the chamber pot.  Then we rolled down the window and chucked the pee out the window.  

I remember seeing Monument Valley.  As an 11 year old kid who had seen a ton of westerns, I felt like I had entered a movie or something.

All the way across the country, up the California coast to Canada, and back across the country diagonally.  

And I remember the drive back, driving across Kansas.   Wheat, wheat, wheat.   Endless wheat fields.   Now I think it would be corn.  

It took us 30 days.

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