Hi all. You likely already know me. I’m Kara Monroe. (And, if you've known me long enough you might even know me by my middle name - Nicole or Nicki.) I live in Indianapolis and run my own consulting firm - Monarch Strategies LLC. If you found me because you followed one of Gayle's travel links then you also probably know me from some of our past cruises. While Gayle booked this trip (more on that in the next post) and helped us organize it, this is an adventure with my dad, Frank, and my sister, Susie.
Frank turned 82 years old just a few days before we took this trip. While he may be 82 - he is still spry and up for adventure. He had, prior to this trip, just four states in the union left to visit - North Dakota, Montana, Washington, and Oregon. I have been looking for a trip for the two of us to take together since just after my mom died in early January 2021. So, when the opportunity to take this trip came up, all I had to do was ask if he wanted to go with me and he said yes!
Susie is my older sister and another great travel companion. We’ve been to Hawaii, San Diego, and many other places together. After I booked this for dad and I, she asked if she could come along. I'm so glad she did.
We were supported in this endeavor by my bestie and regular travel buddy Gayle Hartleroad who is an awesome travel agent. It was great to have her take care of some of the details on this trip.
I'll be posting this adventure by day with an origin story to kick us off tomorrow and a wrap up post at the end. Please keep coming back for the whole series. If video is more your speed, I also made a video summary of our trip. You can watch that here.