Geo: 28.3467, -81.48016/5/12 – We left Savannah, GA at 7:45, 74 degrees, and headed down I-95 to Florida and home sweet home. I was up early this morning. Once the car was pointed south, I was anxious to get there. We arrived at 1 PM, and it surely felt good to be back. The house was comfy and ready for us, thanks to Pat and Andy. Great friends.Well, when we began this adventure, I paused a bit, unsure that we would make it all the way without a major blow-up of some kind. But I am please to report that it went very smoothly, and we had a wonderful time. And, for the last week we have been talking about the next trip…to visit the states we did not get to this time around. Of the ... read more

Geo: 35.7326, -78.85326/1/12 – We left Knoxville this morning at 8:45, 68 degrees, headed for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It rained during the night, the ground was saturated and the parking lot full of puddles. We saw the lowest priced gas on the road out of Knoxville…3.17. What a difference from California where it was not unusual to see 4.89. The park is not far from Knoxville. To get there we drove through Pigeon Forge. Anyone who has been to International Drive in Orlando would recognize a resemblance, except in a rural setting and with a bit of a mountain country flair. The 3-4 mile stretch of road was lined with motels, restaurants, and daytime and nighttime attractions…Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede, Dollywood Splash Country, Wonderworks, The Opry, Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Show, Hollywood Wax ... read more

Geo: 38.6276, -90.1995/30/12 –So, today was another travel day. We left Salina, MO at 8:30 AM, and the temperature was a comfortable 62 degrees. We got onto I-70 and headed for St. Louis, MO. The first part of the drive was similar to yesterday…flat golden fields of grain mixed with dark green fields of corn. As we moved eastward, the corn got taller, and I wondered if the climate was warmer here than in west Kansas. We saw a farmer harvesting his grain…no idea if it was oats or barley, but I was quite sure it was not wheat. And as we continued east, the plains began to ripple with hills and dales, and fields became grazing land for cattle, with green grass to eat, ponds to drink from and large green trees to keep cool. ... read more

Geo: 39.74, -104.9925/28/12 – We woke up this morning to clear sunny skies and 34 degrees. A beautiful day. And I am thinking, this has to be the last cold day of this trip. Tomorrow we are going to be down from the mountains. I must add, however, that 34 degrees in Colorado is not nearly as cold as 50 degrees in Florida. Seems like what they say about dry heat not being as hot as humid heat is also true about the cold. A dry cold is not nearly as cold as a humid cold, which cuts right through you to the bone. The only time we were really chilled is when the wind was blowing. But we muscled through with only genes and light sweatshirts. So we begin the day watching a colorful air ... read more

Geo: 40.7608, -111.8915/26/12 – Surprise, surprise. Those old bikers did not turn out to be a bunch of party animals after all. I think they went to bed before we did, because it got very quiet around 8 PM and we had a good night's sleep. So, no one told us it was Memorial Day. Just kidding. But this fact has made it a challenge to finding accommodations this weekend. Anything around the national parks is booked solid for sure. With Yosemite, we had to get a room 40 minutes from the park, and that was a Wednesday. We ruled out Yellowstone for that very same reason. All booked up. We will have to come back another time to see Old Faithful. Salt Lake City was all booked up this weekend, too, and we had to ... read more