GMA's Amazing Family: The Dodds

Feb. 22 -- What is amazing about the Dodd family is not who they are, but the extraordinary adventure they chose to go on together.

Up until last summer, Gary Dodd was working as a minister and Faith Dodd was employed at a doctor's office. They lived with their twin teenagers, Rebekah and Andrew, both 15, at a house in Nashville, Tenn.

But last summer, the Dodds did something unusual. They quit their jobs, pulled their children out of school and took a loan against their house. Together, the family set out to see America from the seats of their bicycles.

The plan is to criss-cross the country and hit all 48 contiguous states on their way to the family finish line in Portland, Maine, on the Fourth of July. The trip began in Seattle. But it really started with a casual family conversation.

"Andrew and Rebekah and I were driving home from church one evening and I was telling the kids that I needed to get in better shape, and before they graduated, [and] since they were twins, that I wanted to spend more time with them," Gary Dodd said. "I just said that and Rebekah just quipped, 'well, let's bike across America.'"

A Last Grab at Childhood

Instead of treating it as an offhand remark, the rest of the family seized on the idea.

"My thought was extremely random and for me just to say that I have no idea what hit me for me to say such a thing," Rebekah Dodd said. "But I'm glad I did."

The Dodd parents knew that time is a bandit when you have children. Before you know it, time with friends replaces time with family. Gary and Faith said they wanted one last grab at their children's childhoods, as their kids approached the end of high school.

"Well for me as a father, you know most dads are gone a lot, and so to have the opportunity to be with my kids 24/7 was a unique opportunity," Gary Dodd said. "I was really excited to have that much time with them for an extended period of time, before they left home."

Teenagers seem to have the energy to try anything, but Faith — who is in her 40s — took a deep breath when she heard the plan.