November 28, 2009. Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. 281.

I spotted it in a book on drives to take in the Hill Country, and right away, I wanted to drive the Highway from on end to the other. Highway 281 is the only highway in the US with the same number from the Mexican border to the Canadian border. When I first read it I dismissed it, until I looked at the atlas, and sure enough, there it is, all the way to Canada on 281. That was two years ago and it has takes that long to figure out how to organize the trip.

At first Ken was enthusiastic until he realized the distances. We have talked through every different arrangements. At first we thought about doing it in thirds, but the complication there is where to start from and when, so we scratched that. Next plan was to drive straight up from Texas in the Spring, leave the car with Keith and Wilma in Brandon for the Summer, then fly back to Brandon before driving down to Texas. We would use our Texas car for the trip. But that plan soon got scrapped too. I was beginning to think that Ken really did not want to take this trip.

Yesterday, after many different options, it is settled. In the Fall of 2010, we will fly to San Antonio and after a visit with the kids, will drive north all the way on 281, until we arrive in Brandon, Manitoba. It is a 1500 mile drive. A Time Share has been arranged at a lovely resort just north of Brandon, so Keith and Wilma will join us for a week. Our route back south to Texas will be further west, closer to the mountains. We'll take another break after our long journey, before flying home to Bethesda. I am thrilled with the plan. It took us awhile to figure out all the options, but now we have a good plan for driving Highway 281.