10. Saratoga Springs Race Track: We'll have the distinct pleasure of losing all our money betting on horse races at the Saratoga Springs race track! Although I've been to visit my aunt and uncle a number of times, I've never managed to make it there during racing season, which is not hard to manage, considering the season is only 6 weeks long. It's in full swing right now though, and I'm looking forward to taking in the sights and sounds and... er... smells.

9. We'll be beaten within an inch of our lives by rabid Detroit Tigers fans at a Red Sox game. Yeah... I live in Boston for 10 months and never get to a game at Fenway Park (pity, I know) and only now, on the way home, do I bother to see my team. In Detroit. I'll be wearing my Red Sox shirt and hat, of course, and we'll sneak Rennie in as protection against crazed Tigers fans. She'll lick them to death.

8. Little Big Horn (site of Custer's Last Stand), the Bad Lands of South Dakota and Little House on the Prairie: oh yes, we're going back in time on this trip, seeing Laura Ingalls Wilder's childhood homes, treking through the Black Hills of South Dakota looking for Rocky Raccoon, and reliving the battle of Little Big Horn. It is sure to be thrilling.

7. Seven full days of bonding time with dear old dad. No doubt we will want to kill each other - or Rennie - by the end of the trip. Stay tuned for photos of dad, Rennie and me strangling each other re-enacting key historical events in front of various and sundry national historic monuments.

6. Rennie's in heat, which means that we can expect to see a long line of dogs following our car as we trundle down the highway from coast to coast.

5. No access to the Internet. It's wonderful, really, the prospect of not checking email or reading my favorite blogs for a FULL FIVE DAYS! Surely I will die before I reach Portland. (Actually, I will have my Pocket PC, so if we can find a wireless Internet connection I'll be able to read email, though not reply to it - gotta love Microsoft! - and possibly read some blogs.)

4. As we head west, the number of Dunkin' Donuts shops will decrease exponentially the farther we get from Massachusetts. This makes me sad. However, I will be toting home no fewer than three 1-lb bags of DD coffee beans, and should the symptoms of withdrawal become too severe after those are gone, I can sign up for an auto-ship plan from Dunkin Donuts' website. I'm hoping it doesn't come to that.

3. I'll get to sleep on a real! bed! With sheets! In hotels across the country! After more than a week sleeping on this @#!@%&!&@ air mattress, I'm one big knot. I shall be calling the chiropractor the instant we enter the state of Oregon. (In fact, maybe I'll just call him right now and have him waiting at my house when we arrive... ;-)

2. A week's respite from worrying about school, finding a job, money problems or anything else that's been weighing on my mind since leaving my job at the end of June. Once I pack up the car, turn in my keys and then pick up my dad at the airport on Saturday, the only thing I'll really have to worry about - until arriving, that is - is how to keep all male dogs away from Rennie for the next week.

And the number 1 reason my trip home is going to be awesome??
1. When it's all over, I'll be HOME!