When my niece, Haley, was sixteen years old, a discussion about a show that I had seen in Las Vegas and her desire to see it turned into a broader discussion of travel in the American southwest. I had a 21-day itinerary that I had developed from a previous trip to the area that I had labeled the perfect western road trip. I made the comment that maybe when she was 21, I would take her to Vegas to see the show and somewhere in the discussion of the 21-day itinerary the idea of a 21-day road trip for her 21st birthday was born. We began to call it “21 for 21” and the name stuck. This was literally a trip five years in the planning and by the time it happened, it had grown to 25 days and 24 nights!
When my niece, Haley, was sixteen years old, a discussion about a show that I had seen in Las Vegas and her desire to see it turned into a broader discussion of travel in the American southwest. I had a 21-day itinerary that I had developed from a previous trip to the area that I had labeled the perfect western road trip. I made the comment that maybe when she was 21, I would take her to Vegas to see the show and somewhere in the discussion of the 21-day itinerary the idea of a 21-day road trip for her 21st birthday was born. We began to call it “21 for 21” and the name stuck. This was literally a trip five years in the planning and by the time it happened, it had grown to 25 days and 24 nights!
A Trip of a Lifetime
But, the story is not complete. You see, my niece is a twin and although he wasn’t so sure about a road trip of 25 days covering over 4,000 miles, Haley’s twin brother, Christopher, eventually decided that he wanted to be a part of it and the planning for a road trip for the three of us began. By the time they began their junior year in college, planning for the following summer was getting serious. My sister and brother-in-law, Haley’s and Christopher’s parents, even decided to fly out and join us for the week in Las Vegas in the middle of the trip! In early June of 2022, the planning ended and the trip began.
For all of us it was trip of a lifetime. I enjoyed spending time with my niece and nephew and seeing places that I had been before through their eyes, and for them, it was a chance to see and do things that they had never seen or done before. It accomplished all of these things and more. Who knows? Maybe, it wasn’t THE trip of a lifetime but only one of several (or many)!
A Trip of a Lifetime
But, the story is not complete. You see, my niece is a twin and although he wasn’t so sure about a road trip of 25 days covering over 4,000 miles, Haley’s twin brother, Christopher, eventually decided that he wanted to be a part of it and the planning for a road trip for the three of us began. By the time they began their junior year in college, planning for the following summer was getting serious. My sister and brother-in-law, Haley’s and Christopher’s parents, even decided to fly out and join us for the week in Las Vegas in the middle of the trip! In early June of 2022, the planning ended and the trip began.
For all of us it was trip of a lifetime. I enjoyed spending time with my niece and nephew and seeing places that I had been before through their eyes, and for them, it was a chance to see and do things that they had never seen or done before. It accomplished all of these things and more. Who knows? Maybe, it wasn’t THE trip of a lifetime but only one of several (or many)!
Best of All, It's All on Video!
With five years to plan, I was very intentional about how I would document and preserve the places and events of this trip. I took extensive high-definition video and photos and have edited the whole thing into ten episodes covering the major stops, events, and adventures along the way. For us, it preserves the trip for future enjoyment. For the casual viewer, it is a great way to get information about the many places we visited through the eyes of someone who has done it. Join us as we relive our summer of 2022 road trip in the video series, 21 for 21.
Episodes 1 and 2 are available on YouTube below. Other episodes will be released weekly. Be sure to subscribe to the YouTube video channel and hit the notification button so that you will get notified when new episodes are released. If you’re new to YouTube, it costs nothing to subscribe and be a part. Enjoy the series and thank you for watching with us!