Epilogue: Confessions of a Night Owl

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After blitzing across America in 23 days, I am home. I am in serious food detox—trying to keep to a diet of Asian food, seafood (not fried), fresh produce, and green tea. I know I’ve scared some of you with the food I ate on the trip but I chose only to highlight (and take pics) of those dishes I thought would have the most effect. It worked. Hee hee. It’s also good to be back in the land of no-smoking in public places.

The trip was fantastic. Cathy (as always) was a great travel buddy. She’s an excellent driver and has amazing directional sense, not to mention just being an all-around super kewl friend. The Road Chicks took the States and I’m glad all of you were able to join in the fun vicariously. That was the goal of this travel blog. I’m most surprised that people actually read the thing and followed it. I thank you all for your amusing and kind comments. I have such witty and smart friends/family but I already knew that. This goes for C’s family and friends too. I think y’all (oops, that creeped in) enjoyed the comments as much as the blog itself! I found it funny that some of you emailed me to say that you really wanted to make sure your comments were up to snuff with the others. Many of you have asked how I was able to keep up the blog on the trip. Well, something had to give, and that something was sleep. Good thing I’m a night owl. I wrote most of the entries after midnight. And having Photoshop made resizing the images very easy.

The Red Menace performed well. No mechanical problems whatsoever and no flat tire. The MINI is a true driving machine. Everything is just so well-designed and the seats are incredibly comfortable. It never felt too small. All our luggage and stuff fit in like puzzle pieces.

Here are some Fun Facts from the trip:

-Number of states traveled: 24
-Number of total miles driven: 7,482
-Most number of miles driven in one day: 670 (Baker City, OR to Green River, UT)
-Least number of miles driven in one day: 205 (Asheville, NC to High Point, NC)
-Average number of miles driven per day: 410
-Number of other MINIs spotted: 28

Postscript: The Search for Gloves
This is what happens when you pack the night before a big trip and you’re semi-conscious doing it. I had a pair of gloves and a hat the whole time!!! I just forgot where I packed them so I assumed I had not brought them on the trip. All that time spent searching for gloves in three states! Argh! Live and learn.

The End of a Travel Blog
This was a not a trip to enjoy the places we visited at a leisurely pace. A lot of days turned into a blur but at the same time, it seemed like we were gone forever. Not in a bad way though. The constant moving around, climate changes, and time zones messed with my internal clock but I never got tired of it. I was pretty much operating on adrenaline the entire time. Though it would have been great to linger in some of the communities we visited, we had to keep moving. However, it did give me a taste of so many new places that I can always go back to visit. I’ve seen a broad swath of America and it’s a damn fine country. But I’ll always be a West Coast girl. My wanderlust has been sated…for now. Until the next trip…in an Airstream?

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