Cumulative Miles 5,870
States Visited: 25; Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland.
Number of Speeding Tickets: 1
Lessons learned: Too numerous to mention
About 1:30 yesterday afternoon we rolled up the driveway to our farm in Pennsylvania. The skies were clear, blue, and perfect and the temperature was in the low 60's. There was a good deal of colors in the trees on the road in and the dappled sunlight coming through the gold leaves was a nice welcome home. Fall is indeed here.
The last few days have been about spending time with my family. My mom has some advancing health issues and my dad is carrying a heavy load. Time there is bittersweet and that's all I'm going to say about that. I'm sure you get it.
We drove from North Carolina to Front Royal, Virginia on Thursday. Front Royal is the terminus for Skyline Drive, the scenic highway that runs along the top ridges of the Shenandoah Mountains, up and down the spine of Virginia. There were some nice overlooks and some colors in the leaves. It was a pleasant drive. We also visited my aunt who is in assisted living in Front Royal. She is one of only two aunts I have left and it was really nice to catch up with her and my cousin Carolyn, who I haven't seen in a long time.
We were particularly quiet on the final leg home yesterday. I guess I was trying to process the mixed bag of feelings I'm experiencing about the trip ending and a resumption of a more normal life. My feelings run the gamut, including joy, relief, comfort, gratefulness, awe, and a bit of sadness. I've said it before, but having the freedom, courage, and resources to take this trip has been an absolute a blessing.
And Oh boy, have we had a lot of fun meandering through America or what? I would be hard pressed if asked what my favorite experience was. We've had some amazing meals and some not-so-amazing ones, which I haven't really talked about. Along the way, I introduced Robert to the Epicurean delights of Taco Bell and Dairy Queen. We've seen elk, and bison, and antelope. We've seen waterfalls, geysers, meandering rivers, and foamy rapids. We've seen every type of rock formation that exists, I think. We've hiked in Arizona, New Mexico, Kentucky, and West Virginia. This list of lists of things we've experienced goes on and on.
The richness and vastness of this whole experience will take a long time to absorb. I've seen sights I have only read about all my life. I've felt a sense of freedom and adventure that I can honestly say I have never felt before. I've been reminded that our country is huge and with a beauty that comes in many forms. I learned that every day of a road trip doesn't have to be fabulous, though many were. I also learned that those days that weren't so fabulous, were still precious and special.
So how to sum things up? Well, by the Numbers, I traveled over 5,800 miles and saw 25 of our 50 states. During that time, I wrote 43 blog posts and 243 of you read them...or at least some of them. Overall, the blog had 2,021 page views. Thanks everyone for coming along for the ride!
Oh...by the way, here are my before and after maps of the states I've visited in my lifetime. Still have a few more to go...a good excuse for another trip?
Here's the route that I took. I used red and blue markers alternately just to differentiate the days, though it's hard to see in this photo. I don't think I'll frame this map, but I'll definitely hold on to it. It's my favorite souvenir.
