First ever GruppeB Midwest to West Coast Caravan of DOOM!!!
 

By Caravan I mean Mini-Van. The wife, two kids, a .40 caliber handgun, some China, and an English Bulldog…what could possibly go wrong?
My family will be piling into a rented Mini-Van on the morning of June 3rd and heading west. Our cars and stuff will have a one day head start. We plan on driving around 800 miles a day and ending up in Tustin, CA the afternoon of June 6th. I will post a link to our planned route as soon as it is finalized. Anyone on or near our route can PM me their # in case our van pukes. I will post our cell# before we head out. I will try to update our progress from the road if I can find a WI-FI connection. :)

hope all is well on the trip, only Chevy Chase could have more fun! =o)

Yeah, didn't they make a movie based on this scenario (minus the 40 S&W)? Just remember to untie the dog from the rear bumper.

Good luck.
Troy

If I don't untie Flash that little tractor would probably pull the van backwards!

Visit Wally World for us :)

Wally World....Do Christy Brinkley for me!

Here is our planned route. Anybody on the route?

http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=41.2393725197%2C-85.8618333315&daddr=33.7343370879%2C-117.791312866&ip=192.168.1.102

Excellent, now I know exactly were to put the serveral traps and road blocks I have spent weeks planning.

did chevy chases brother in laws dog SNOTS get to go?????

"Welcome to IOWA.....Gateway to NEBRASKA"

Nothing like a road trip in a rental car to get all that built up car abuse out of your system.

There are plenty of us in Denver you can call for assistance/ammo/prozac.

Good luck and have fun.

thrown_hammer,

Bring some sunshine to the coast, it has been pretty gray around this place.

Michael

Godspeed my Son.

Sir John, I bring with me the way of the B.

Four days and counting until we roll out in the mini-van. How’s the weather shaping up out there? My plan is to make it in 3 ½ days. Driving 10 to 11 hours a day.

Click along your route on this map to see all the local weather forecasts.

Sunny, and getting warmer. It's been perfect for the last couple days, but they are predicting it will warm up a bit by the end of the week.

We are at 84° now and tomorrow is looking like an 87° day so the sun is coming through. Many of my co-workers including myself are sunburned now.

Shawn,

From Denver, through Utah make sure to take in the view. We drove that route on our recent RGruppe road trip and the Rockies along with Utah are really spectacular.

Don't rush through that if you can help it. Plan a few little side trips like Bryce Canyon in Utah. I really wanted to check this out but mechanical issues prevented the side trip. Either way I wish you, Becky and the kids a safe trip. See you in SoCal sometime soon.:)

momz lives in Orange...lemme know when ya gets there....

Good luck with the road trip and the relocation Shawn!

Good luck on the drive, you will never want to go back home, after a weekend like the last one.

Michael

We have a nice drive from Lake Forest (right next to Irvine) to Redlands, up to Big Bear Lake and back down to San Bernardino on June 17th.

Since you are going to be a Socal local soon, you might want to ride shotgun with someone!

SmileWavy

Shawn have a safe trip, Ill be in in the irvine languna beach area the 7th through the 12th, Hope you enjoy it out there wish it were me, Kevin

Kevin, June 7th thru 12th? I am PM'ing you my cell#. Give me a ring when you are in town.

Welcome to the Orange Curtain home of rampant Republicanism neighbor! I've basically lived here my whole life and would be happy to help you get oriented. Tustin Brewery is a great hangout for microbrew suds, sports, and grub. Weather has been awesome last several days. Since you like jet noise, you may be one of the lucky? ones to live under the flight path for John Wayne airport. Ask me how I know this.... Its very noticeable when the airport closes at 10 pm.

Feel free to email me if you need anything.

Kevin,
Got your #. Call me when you get there and have time.

Bob,
Cool. The first few weeks are gonna be nuts. When it calms down a bit I will e-mail you with any questions.

No worries Shawn. Moving is never easy or fun. I think you and your family will love the area (great schools, safe neighborhoods, and the beach, the mountains, and the desert are all a short drive away).

Looks like you will be passing through the Quad Cities on 80. If you need help you can pm me and I'll give you my cell. You'll be driving a Porsche, right? I don't work on vans.

Ha! No we be drivin' da van. The 911 is being transported.

Damn! Viper green is way cool.

Happy Trails!

Joe

checking in before the big drive. All our stuff is in boxes and the moving semi should be here any minute. I don't know how long it will be before we get internet access when we get there so i may be absent for awhile. We are staying in Nebraska Saturday night and Utah on Sunday night. Hope to be in Cali sometime monday. If I don't get a chance to check in before we hit the road I wil see you guys on the other side.
To quote the Captain from Godzila Final Wars: "This is it, empty your guns, ther's no going back."

Good luck Shawn and Becky!!!
We'll miss you here but OTOH, we can visit you guys in CA!! :D

Shawn, stop by in Las vegas if you need a cold one or a place to sleep.

Will see you on the other side. Drive safely.

Shawn,

I already have reserved a table at Tortilla Flats in Mission Viejo when you get here. Extra chips & salsa.;)

Ralph

We are in the middle of Nebraska. We will be staying the night and hitting another 12 hour day tomorrow staying overnight in Utah somewhere. Everything is rea so far. Flash the bulldog has slept the whole way.(surprise) We are going to get some steak and crash. Hopefully we can check in when we get to Utah.

Ralph, Be sure to crank up the Mariachi band for us. We hate being able to hear each other!

Ralp

Let me know when you are going to be at T.F. would like to come say hi.

Michael

Hi Michael,

Long time no talk! It's kind of an inside joke, a few months ago Shawn and his wife Becky flew out to "scout" for houses and we took them to dinner at Tortilla Flats. Shawn seemed to have a hankering for the salsa, he almost ate it like soup.

Forget Tortilla Flats, my house is 5 minutes away and I'm a much better chef and the beer is cheap! Maybe we'll set-up a "Welcome to California" BBQ for Shawn, Becky and the kids and all the SOCG guys can swing by if interested. I still have plenty of yours truly caught salmon & halibut as well as some German Brats from the local German butcher/deli for the non-fish folk. Don't have a mariachi band, but maybe we can get some of the women drunk and they'll begin to sing.

Glad you were able to come to an "understanding" with your employer.:) You won't be homesick for Indiana long.;)

Ralph

Ralph, that sounds great. I'm definitely in for that. I get back from Tahiti on the 12th and then fly 13-15 (in case it matters to you).

Shawn, welcome to SoCal. I look forward to meeting you, and like Chris said, we've got the Big Bear run coming up on the 17th if you're interested.

Oh, and it's started to REALLY warm up out here the last few days. In Mission Viejo today it was in the low to mid 90's. The house AC was blasting!