Random thoughts

As we drive across the country with our kids in the back seat and a small trailer of our most important possessions being pulled behind us, I can't help but think how few people have really had an opportunity to see this great country of ours through the window of a car and on foot. So many times, we hop on a plane to hit the big tourist destinations and miss the best parts of the country, those small places in between that you don't see on the travel channel. What an experience it is for us to be able to do this as a family. Not only to we get to explore our country from Georgia to Washington, but we get to do it as family, spending over two weeks together. I know for some people two weeks in a car with two little ones would seem like a special kind of torture, but what an adventure of a lifetime. It's such a great thing to have nowhere in particular to go and to pick the next destination and route as we go. Like this morning, we knew we wanted to eventually make our way to the Grand Canyon, but didn't decide until we hit the road to stay on a southern route through El Paso or head up toward Albuquerque. We chose El Paso and the drive down the interstate is beautiful. Right now, we are surrounded by beautiful rocky hills and scrub brush and beautiful cloudless sky for as far as the eye can see. There isn't an exit or building in sight, nothing to disturb the natural beauty of this place. Every once in a while, we come up a hill and it looks like the world is going to drop off when we reach the top, but when you get there the view opens up to even more beauty.

I only hope that our lives continue to give us the opportunity to share this country with our children. I can't imagine raising children in a city of concrete and metal and them never experiencing all the natural wonders of this country. For now, I get to thank God and the U.S. Army for this fantastic opportunity for our family. I pray that I can instill a sense of adventure and a desire to explore the world around them in my children. There is so much out there that can't be found in a video game or behind a computer screen, if you are willing to go out and find it.