Genesis of a Journey - by Tonya

In the beginning I married an Orthopaedic Resident but instead of 7 days of work for it to amount to anything, it took 5 years. And I saw that this was good. When Kris announced that before heading back to Kentucky for "real life" to begin, we would need to take a one year pit stop in Santa Monica, CA, I was naturally thrilled for this seemingly one year vacation. We immediately began to make plans on how to get ourselves and our cat from Chicago to Santa Monica. Here is where things started to get a little complicated. Our cat. This furry feline, which we have co-owned for 11years, doesn't like....how shall I say?....ANYTHING. Anything that moves or especially breathes is a complete offense to his senses. Kris and I have lived a decade in complete fear of the animal and have agreed to sustain his life while avoiding him as much as possible. We naturally didn't want to be in an enclosed space with him for any period of time, nevermind in a small car for a casual trip ACROSS THE UNITED STATES. Also on our list of things to avoid were any inevitable law suits that we would surely face from the Federal Aviation Administration upon trying to get him onto a plane. After some thought, I concluded the only way to get him to California was on an RV on which he would have adequate space to run around and on which Kris and I would have adequate space to continue to avoid him. Like Eve in the Garden of Eden, I tempted Kris with this idea and lobbied for it until he caved. Now today, we will load an RV and head across the country with one guy, four girls and two cats...

The Cast of Characters

I am a naive country girl from Monticello, KY whose ideas on life are not even remotely based on reality. My husband of 5 years works feverishly in the background to make sure all my overly complicated and contrived scenarios go perfectly to plan and I can continue to think that life is just that seemless. After asking the internet many questions, this trip is an example of something that he just made work.
My sister is moving to California with us for a year to explore the West Coast and to scope for an available man who can match wits with her own. She comes with many wacky hijinks...and another cat.
Her roommate and dear friend Rachel is joining us so they won't have to wave goodbye in a driveway in Louisville, KY. They have lived together for so long that they are essentially common law married so this year's separation will be hard on them both.
Finally, my friend Ali is a great adventurer who has traveled the world over several times. She mentioned that she has seen many places but so much of the US is still untapped for her. To this I naturally replied, "Hop on."
We will surely look like Juniper Creek piling in and out of this 29 ft. RV together and the thought of introducing two cats who have never met before makes my stomach flip over like an omelet.
So this is how we came to be 1 guy, 4 girls and 2 cats. When people have the wherewithal to do this, it means they are nuts to begin with, because a sane person would eventually just simmer down or be put on medication. Kris had already instructed me that I should be prepared to move back to Kentcuky "like normal people do." In the meantime, Jesus take the RV wheel!