Lists... and lists!

 I am a list maker. So is my beautiful daughter. (I will be learning more about my new Daughter-in-love on this trip).

My lists run the gamut from what to pack overall, to a menu list that has all ingredients listed for any given meal we pre-planned. I have a camp set-up list. A camp break down list. A school list.

We want to make grocery stops as efficient as possible. I figure it is better to have the list in hand at the store, so we don't get stopped forty miles away and discover some vital ingredient is missing.
With little storage room, plus a big crew to feed, our menu ideas have many 'planned overs'. Beans and cornbread for supper, followed by burritos for lunch the next day. Chili for supper, frito chili pie for lunch... (Though our first time we plan beans for supper, with burritos for lunch the next day... we may decide that beans are not a good trip idea!)

We have a preliminary checklist on trailer set up... like a pilot's pre-flight list. On our trial run, a simple three nights on the road... we discovered several things. One thing was that I have never set up a travel trailer, and Becky had always had an experienced helper along. Another thing was that there is a very specific order that some tasks must be done, such as unhitching before leveling. (Yes, it was a face palm moment.) You should check the distance to the utilities outlets before setting up, and position your trailer accordingly. (Not only had I never set up a travel trailer, I have never, in all my almost 62 years, pulled a trailer of any sort. I am advised that the lawn cart behind the riding mower doesn't qualify. I will be learning the basics of this skill before the trip.)
We learned from our trial run that every task should have an experienced person, plus a trainee. Each of us should become proficient in as many camp tasks as possible.

We have a list of places we want to see, and educate the kids on before arrival. It's more meaningful to visit a place you have learned something about. You will have questions that occur as you absorb the information, and might be answered by discussions before and after seeing places in person.
I already have outline maps of the lower 48 states, and of the western USA. Grands have plans to do presentations on state icons as we go along.

As the departure date looms closer, I make "Notes to Myself" on my phone. (The latest note to myself says "marshmallow fluff". Back when I was 17, my three brothers and I accompanied my Dad and brand new step-mom on their "honeymoon". We traveled from Texas to Colorado. One night, my step-Mom got out a jar of marshmallow fluff for hot cocoa. When the jar was opened- the fluff sprang several inches out of the jar! It's due to the differences in altitude in where the fluff was packaged (Houston, TX) and where it was opened in the Colorado mountains. For sure don't want to forget some marshmallow fluff packed at sea level!)