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Published: August 22nd 2017
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Please forgive the spacing. This software has a mind of its own and I am clueless as to how to control it.
We left Macon, GA at 8 AM and 77 degrees and headed for home. The air was filled with anticipation. After being on the road for so long, it will feel go to get back to home base.
To recap, we were away for 40 days, we traveled 11,500 miles and we:
• visited 37 states and Washington DC
• visited 4 Canadian provinces
• visited 6 national parks - 4 US and 2 Canadian
• and we drove along 5 scenic river byways - the crystal clear Payette River, the minty green Snake River, the powder blue Columbia River, the gray Missouri River and the muddy brown Mississippi River.
We visited with our daughter and her family in North Carolina, our son and his family in Massachusetts, and we enjoyed the hospitality of our friends Bob and Gloria in Maine and Pat and Robin in Huntsville, Ontario. And to add to our enjoyment of Colorado, we stayed in a wonderful condo in Winter Park, Colorado, thanks to Bob and Gloria. Other than that, we stayed in
hotels…La Quinta when available, because they love dogs, and our points earned us four free nights along the way. (It pays to be an Elite Member of La Quinta. Their program is very generous.)
We learned that traveling the scenic river byways isn’t always about the rivers. It is often about the communities that survive along the banks of the rivers. We saw affluence and we saw poverty. We met locals and we met travelers. We ate bologna sandwiches and occasionally Subway sandwiches at noon, and for dinner we ordered take-out from a variety of restaurants ranging from McDonald’s (when nothing else was available) to Outback. (When you travel with a dog, your options are limited.) Yes, we travel on a shoestring, and are no worse for wear. Although I will admit, the diet has to begin tomorrow, for I was a bit lax in that regard.
We have been doing this every summer since 2012, and we have gotten pretty good at the daily routine, refining it a little each year. As for Beamer, he loves experiencing all of the new smells everywhere he goes, and leaving a few smells of his own at each place that we stopped…just for the enjoyment of other dogs that will come after him. And believe me when I say, he is well aware of where he is when we get within 5 miles of home. He stands up in the car and waits anxiously for us to roll into the driveway.
We had a wonderful time, we didn’t kill each other…at least not yet…and we will do it again, if we can figure out something new to do. If not, we will go anyway, because we really enjoy the experience every year.
So, until next year, happy travels. Hope you enjoyed the blog. I enjoyed writing it. See you next year.
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