Two Birds With One Stone, Or 500 Birds.

I decided rather than trying to ship things across country, or pay for a plane ticket, I would drive cross country in a one-way car rental from Washington DC to Seattle WA where my family lives.  I've always wanted to drive cross country... at least until I discovered bike touring.  Actually, I would have preferred to bike cross country, but I want to leave a couple boxes of the random things that I have decided not to sell or give away (like cold weather gear my folks might mail down to Argentina if I ultimately decide to climb Aconcagua) or that still have too much sentimental value (aaah, Rainbow Brite, the first bike I built and which I still use for commuting).  Not only will I be able to see all my favorite people along the way, but I'll get to abuse my national park pass a little bit and see some new places. 

So here is version 1.0.  It could change, but I think the route I've planned out has a nice balance of catching up with people, seeing new things, and not driving too much all the time over the two weeks I plan this trip to take.