Week Two starts with a visit to two Memphis tourist destinations that both feature ducks. Sure, let's do it.

First up is watching the 90-year-old tradition of ducks descend in an elevator and then walk a red carpet into a fountain at the Peabody Hotel. No, really. There's a whole ceremony, an official Duckmaster and, well, it's actually pretty fun!

Then there's the Bass Pro Shop, which is inexplicably located inside a gigantic pyramid just off of Downtown Memphis and it's got ducks inside it too, and fish, and alligators and, boats, and taxidermy and it's all inside a gigantic pyramid. Typing all that it sounds fun! Listener, it is not that fun. Why? Let Dan and Janice sort it out.

Come on and hear duck tales at the campsite tonight.

Week two starts here!

Week One wraps up with an epic Father's Day in Memphis.

While some days are living simply (or simply living), others are as full as they possibly could be. Or maybe that's just Dan and Janice's stomachs as this fathers day featured not just a big breakfast at the Waffle House, but also a huge mid-afternoon dinner of Memphis-style barbecue.

But the main attraction was a visit to the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, built on the site of the legendary label Stax Records. Long on Dan's list of places he wanted to visit, he finally got his chance. And it wasn't just Dan that was blown away by it, everyone was--even the three-year-old got down on the dance floor at the museum. An important piece of music history, black history, and Memphis history, the museum managed to cover it all in a way that felt both reverential and celebratory.

It was a wonderful day and a great way to wrap up the first week of the trip. There's still so much more to come, so subscribe and tell your friends!

When Janice and Dan sat down and stared plotting this summer's trip, Memphis was high on the list of places they wanted to visit. And so when she started mapping out the whole thing, Janice made sure to make Memphis the first place that they parked Evangeline for a more extended stay. And now that they're there and have gotten settled in, it really feels like the trip has begun for real.

And so of course, the first thing they did was change plans. Originally a day to visit the Civil Rights Museum and the ducks at the Peabody Hotel, instead the whole family took advantage of the sunny weather to hit a park and... and they kind of never left.

Sometimes you have to slow down and just be a part of the life around you, and this was that kind of day. A beautiful park, a good playground, a run for Janice and oh right: a hamburger where the buns were two grilled cheese sandwiches for the 14-year-old.

Pretty much a perfect day.

Janice and Dan and family decamp from St. Louis to head down south to Memphis. But not before (another) late start, this time not because of any technical reasons or lack of sleep, but instead because they had to try and buy wrestling tickets for a show in Chicago after the summer is over.

That's the thing about spending so much time on the road: even though you're far from home, you still need to keep tabs, you still need to keep working, and you also need to think about things that may need to get done once you're back. Some of it is very banal, like making sure the lawn is getting cut, others are exciting like high-flying wrestlers.

But it's all part of balancing the the many parts of a life on the road--and sometimes that means a late start.

Week One continues with more from St. Louis!

Join Janice and Dan as they talk about exploring around the Gateway Arch--you know the gigantic arch in St. Louis. That is, if they ever get there.

There's a lot of work involved in living in a tiny space and if you get behind on it, it takes a lot of effort to catch back up. And, guess who got behind? Everyone. So before they can head out to see the Arch, they have to pay off all the debt of dishes, recycling, and all the other things that need to happen in a day.

Routines are totally new and they take time to relearn. They're not there yet, but that doesn't mean the adventure stops--but neither does life.

Join Janice and Dan and the family as they explore Saint Louis!

After two travel days, they're off the road for a couple days and they're making the most of it. Today, they explored the City Museum, a former shoe factory that was converted into one of the most unique spaces you will ever encounter. Four floors of sculptures you can climb and explore, it's a place where every crack in the floor may lead to something unexpected, if you're willing to explore it.

Which is a lot like life, come to think of it.

Climb up that metal habitrail and slide down into the new episode of The Hitch!

Week One of the new season of The Hitch continues. After a brief overnight in rural Illinois (and an even briefer night's sleep thanks to the three-year-old's excitement keeping everyone awake), Janice and Dan hitch up again and pull Evangeline to just outside Saint Louis.

Towing miles are long miles, and the whole rig takes a lot of getting used to. And instead of the short two hour pull yesterday, today's crossed the five hour mark, necessitating a stop for gas along the way. All this stuff, dear listener, has a learning curve. Come learn alongside us.

Welcome back to The Hitch! A whole new summer on the road STARTS HERE!

That's right, it's time to climb back into Evangeline and join Janice, Dan, their fourteen-year-old, their three-year-old, and their dog Spotty as they live in their 27' Airstream trailer for two months on the road!

It's Day One, and that means getting used to towing, loading up the trailer, and trying to make all the things you need for a life fit into a tiny metal tube. But it's worth it, and while the act of getting on the road wasn't easy, now that they're on it Dan and Janice reflect on what it all means. While dodging mosquitoes.

Climb on board and get ready for a summer of adventure.

Welcome to Season Two of The Hitch!

This summer Dan and Janice and the whole crew will be climbing back into their Ford Expedition and hitching back up to Evangeline, their 27' Airstream travel trailer for summer on the road. Where are they heading? In this episode they'll tell you!

But even more than that, the adventure starts here: After a long cold winter, they're hitching back up and taking Evangeline to get some service done before they hit the road in a few weeks. So suddenly, rusty and a little terrified, they've pulled out and on to the open road once again.

It's a brief trip, but it's enough to remind them of how much they don't know--and how excited they are for more. And it's all starting soon!

Think of this episode as an extended trailer (pun entirely intended) and get ready for weekly episode drops starting June 17 with the first week back on the road full time.

Looking for gifts for the road tripper in your life? Or maybe that means gifts for YOU? Janice and Dan got together to make a gift guide of a TON of things that they use while they're out on the road!

This episode they talk over some of the highlights from the list, with an emphasis on a lot of the things that do dual use both on the road and back at home.

Shopping for others? Looking for yourself? We got you!

For the full list, go to www.thehitchpodcast.com/giftguide