Arkansas

Our travels in Arkansas brought us to Lake Fort Smith State Park for our first camping night of the trip. The park is in the Ozark National Forest. After a bit of driving we arrived in time for a short hike (about 1.5 miles to a "waterfall" that sadly had no water after a dry spell) and swimming in the campground pool. Not quite a seamless first night car camping but lots more camping nights to improve the experience for all campers involved!

TN...new to two

As we looked at routes from Oxford, MS to western Arkansas we realized we could go through Memphis which helps our 2 youngest kids with their state count. Our brief stint in Memphis included a photo op at a ridiculous pyramid and then a nice view and talk about the Mississippi River (complete with Joshua's Clark W Griswold impression)

2 new states

The theme of the trip is 48 by 40 and today Joshua and I checked off 2 states (Alabama for him and Mississippi for me). We stopped in Birmingham and paid respect to individuals who lost their lives in the struggle for civil rights. We are crashing in Mississippi and really appreciate the hospitality of friends and family to start our trip.

Fun On the way to and in The Peach State

We had another great stop with friends in GA...and we enjoyed a roadside attraction in northern SC. There was a cool festival in downtown Decatur where they poured sand in the streets for a block party! Fun for kids and adults! Also highly recommend Thai Dye pizza at the Mello Mushroom and Revolution Donuts

Cousins!

The girls had a blast with some of their Munz cousins!

Where it begins...

We are officially underway on our road trip! The theme is 48 by 40 with Joshua and I going to each of the lower 48 states we haven't seen yet! Here are some photos from leaving the house and our first stop with the Mullins in MD! 

Philly skyline

In anticipation of our upcoming road trip, I'm figuring out some posting features. Here's a view of Philly from a concert at Fairmont Park.