We're Home!!

After 37 days and 9205 miles (Yikes!) we are home, all in one piece and still speaking! This "Retirement Present" adventure was everything it was supposed to be, and more! Linda's main objective was reached - setting foot in the six mid-west states that she had never been to. So now, there are only two states left on her list - New Mexico and Hawaii. For another time!

The places we visited that left an impression and have been bookmarked for a return some day are:

• Medora, North Dakota. Theodore Roosevelt Nat'l Park
• Manitowoc, Wisconsin, on Lake Michgan
• Bar Harbor, Maine and Acadia Nat'l Park
• Madison, New Jersey and Drew University
• Mt Vernon, Virginia, George Washington's place
• Shenandoah Nat'l Park, Big Meadows, Blue Ridge Parkway
• Hot Springs, Arkansas, Hot Springs Nat'l Park
• Branson, Missouri
• Scottsbluff, Nebraska, Scotts Bluff National Monument
• Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, Colorado

We made these observations, too:

• Our country has become homogeneous. No matter where you are, stuff looks the same. Convenience stores everywhere. Same franchises.
• There is no longer any such thing as a gas station with a resident mechanic. If your car breaks, we don't know what you'd do - call AAA. On the other hand, cars don't break anymore.
• In the East, there are Duncan Donuts everywhere- that's a good thing. (I've heard that they are to open 16 stores in Salt Lake City in the next five years, so there's hope)
• We normally crashed at budget motels each day. With only one exception, they were all fine. Comfort Inns was the most consistent. Days Inn, Best Western and Super 8, not so much. All the older motels had the same problem - not enough electrical outlets. Think about it - now every motel room is expected to have a microwave, coffee maker, refrigerator, at a minimum. Then, your typical tourist (us) comes in with a laptop and two phones that need to be recharged and a portable electric refrigerator. Advice: bring your own power strip.
• We did a good job avoiding interstates where possible, which isn't always easy, especially in the East. For the most part, secondary roads were in good condition and much more interesting, albeit a lot slower. There's been a lot of repaving going on  - probably stimulus money?
• It didn't take us long to develop a daily routine which had us on the road by no later than 9:30AM. Almost all motels have free breakfast now. We usually made a picnic for our lunch and ate at a local restaurant for dinner. We avoided fast foods at all costs! No matter how we tried, we always seemed to get in to our motel later than we wanted to. We averaged about 300 miles a day.
• One failing that has taken its toll: we should have been more proactive in getting some exercise! We are now fat and unfit!! That ends tomorrow.
• We were surprised that the price of gas wasn't more variable. Except for Chicago and Naples, NY, which were the highest, it was pretty much the same everywhere. Boise prices seemed to have dropped a bit since we left.
• The weather was great! Sept/Oct is a good time to make this trip.

(Note: a couple of days ago I mentioned that driving across Southern Idaho would be the most boring part of the trip. I retract that statement. Idaho is as pretty and interesting as anyplace. Well, maybe except from Mountain Home to Boise!)
 
It was a truly wonderful trip but we'll admit that five weeks is a long time! We are very glad to get home to our new house - which still smells new!! Our house sitter was great and the cats were glad to see us!

Pleasant Valley, I-84

9205 miles!!

Souvenirs! Lobster trap floats, flying pig, lobster ale, Vermont maple syrup,

 

 and more