Hi smilinize,

I'm just back from taking my mom out to lunch for "early Mother's Day" and have to head back out in a few minutes for a round of kid pickups and dropoffs. I have quite a few suggestions for you, but I want to get all the names and routes and details right, so I need a little time to go back through my journals, etc. and do some digging. I'll be back at you shortly with some suggestions.

But, I can answer part of your question quickly: Yes, the RV campgrounds are safe. And, they can be wonderful social places, too -- communities in themselves. While on our trans-America trip, we fell in love with KOAs. Sometimes we pitched our tent and sometimes we rented these cool little "Kamping Kabins." You'll have your own "roof," so won't need to look into those, but other folks might want to consider checking them out on a future trip. Adam and Dana came to love these little cabins, where we had our own front porch and yard and water pump and electricity. They run about $50 a nite and can sleep four.

Anyway, we liked KOAs very much because they almost always had a pool, and they were very family-friendly and full of kids. Adam and Dana could always find other kids to pal around with --and that was a learning experience for them, because they met kids from all over the country. The KOAs tend to have activities. Some had sunset barbecues or singalongs or game rooms with pool tables and video machines -- sometimes they showed a movie...things like that. And they have stores that are stocked with grocieries and essentials. We never met a KOA we didn't like. Find them online and check out their locations to see if they match your route. Each KOA is independently owned, often by a family. Nice, hard-working folks. Other excellent sources for campground and RV-site info are Woodall's (woodalls.com???) and the Good Sam Club. Woodall's also has a printed campground directory. It's the grandaddy and bible of the campground set.

I don't think you'll need a gun. Maybe get some pepper spray, though, not a bad idea for anyone going on a road trip. (I wouldn't try to take it on a plane!!). I took pepper spray on our trip. I had it close at hand in the van, and I brought it into our tent or cabin or motel room at night and kept it near me, along with my cellphone. I got a non-gun firearms permit from my local police department and kept that permit with me in the van.

I'm not certain about the legality of crossing state lines with pepper spray -- even my local police couldn't tell me whether my permit would be reciprocal in other states. They kind of said, only without saying it, of course, "just do it -- better to have it and pay the piper if you run afoul of a law than not to have it if you need it." I do know that in some states, like NH, you do not need a permit to carry pepper spray. Maybe one of the forum members might know something about this... But, I figured, the worst that could happen would be a handslap or a fine if I ever had to use the spray. It's not a gun, so the repercussions would be small in comparison, and would certainly outweigh feeling somewhat protected by having it or having actually protected myself and my kids by using it. (Boy, that sentence was a bad mouthful, but never mind...)Anyway, consider the spray. I'd be very nervous about having a gun in an RV with a child aboard -- close quarters, etc.

More later with suggestions on routes/things to see. I'm excited for you! Sounds like a wonderful trip. I hope you DO survive the Alex-only trip so that we can all be treated to next year's stories about you and the entire grandchild brood!