Home sweet home

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Geo: 28.3467, -81.4801

6/5/12 – 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 48 continental states, we visited 23 states, some of them twice. So, there are 25 more to see. Of course, many of those are places we have been to many times. So the next trip will be across the northernmost part of the country. Once I get to Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota, I will have been to 49 of the 50. Some day we will get to Hawaii, but for now, we will concentrate on the lower 48.

Anyway, the fact that we are considering another trip is testament that it all went quite well, especially considering the fact that we slept in a different bed every night, different towels, pillows, blankets, etc. There was an adjustment to make with every hotel…the A/C, heater, locks, remotes, TV channels…all of this is a challenge to someone with Fibromyalgia. But I got through it without complaining once about my physical challenges. That makes me proud. And Steve helped a lot…he was the work horse, moving stuff in and out, walking the dog, taking care of hotel business. We had a routine…check in, pour the wine, pull out the maps, decide where we would go the next day, find a hotel, and Steve would call and make a reservation. It all went very smoothly.

We saw mountains, prairies, valleys, rivers, deserts, wildlife, and absolutely incredible vistas. We drove a lot of miles (7554), used a lot of gas (373 gallons), drank a lot of wine (not saying how much), and saw a lot of this great country in which we live.

Would we do anything differently…hell yes. We don't need clothing for 30 days. One small suitcase would be fine, and using the laundry at a hotel every 10 days or so, would satisfy our needs.

Did we bring things we didn't use…of course we did. Next time we will have a much lighter load in the back of the car.

Thanks for following us on this odyssey. We had a great time, but it sure is great to be back home. Good-bye for now.

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Comments

[Scott]

I am very proud of you guys. I can't wait to read about the next adventure, and Lindsay kept bugging me why you hadn't updated promptly because she loved reading about it too. She was rooted to the updates.

[Jan Murray]

Welcome home and THANKS for sharing your adventures. Sound like you had a wonderful trip. Made Neil and I think about a road trip sometime,

[Art]

Welcome home. Sounds like you had a great time. Hopefully you used more gasoline than you drank wine! ;-) I much enjoyed reading about your adventures - you wrote a very nice account that read very well - and seeing your wonderful photo
s. Another trip seems in the cards for you. I still have 17 or so states to go. We live in an amazing country. We forget that at times, getting involved in all the day to day stuff. When we have been to places in the US of A, we see people from all over the world. Our first night in Kennecott Lodge in Alaska, at our table of 8, there were couples from Argentina, Israel, and Austria - coming to see things than many Americans never do. Well done, Jackie and Steve.