We arrived in Atlanta the day before yesterday with the most luggage I've ever seen. But I guess when you're going away for 4.5 months, you tend to bring a lot with you. It was an uneventful flight except for the drama queen in front of us who, when a bag fell on his head, made such a fuss that they brought him a paramedic and delayed our flight 15 minutes. He got the attention he wanted.

Frannie picked us up at the airport and we just managed to squeeze our life into the back of her Audi mini-SUV. We stayed with her and Iain in Atlanta, had a drink as is usual, and slept. Dad picked us up yesterday and we came up to Bent Tree. It was pouring rain, so Georgia spent the day tearing up Mama and Grandpa's house and chasing Gracie around the house.

The next task that weighs heavily on me is finding an appropriate trailer and tow vehicle. I looked online last night, and the one I had had my eye on for weeks is finally gone. Bummer. But we'll start our search at some local dealerships today and hope for the best.

When I was 5 years old my father took a sabbatical from work. He and my mother packed up my two sisters (8 and 11) and my brother (9) into a 25 foot trailer, hooked it up to my dad's old Chevy sedan and took us on a 16,000 mile road trip around the United States and Canada.

Although I was young and only remember a few snippets, they talked about it being one of the greatest adventures they ever took with our family and this has stayed with me ever since.

It's my turn now. I have encouraged my wife, Karen and my daughter Georgia (2 years-she didn't take much convincing ) to spend 4+ months on the road, travelling the breadth of the US and Canada in one of these:

We leave tomorrow for Atlanta, Georgia where we'll buy a trailer and a truck and set off on our wild adventure.

Wish us luck!