Friday, June 26, 2009

We're Home!!!

THIS WAS THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME!
We loved traveling the country and seeing things and meeting people and taking in the beautiful scenery. We are glad to be home but so happy we took the time and spent the money to do this! We recommend it! Just share your blog (and wait until the last day to run over your laptop)!

The "Welcome Home" sign made by Julia, Lucy, George, and Jane was the fitting end to our trip!
After pulling in, we ditched the Atlas!
Singing our theme song with John Denver "It's so good to be back home again!)

The next day buying a brand new MAC! (Did I say it's good to be home?)

We arrived home on Thursday evening to a home-cooked bowl of soup and a fresh fruit salad, compliments of my mom. It's so good to be home! We loved the trip but we were ready to get on with life (and more ready to step off the moving amusement ride).

In case you're interested, here are some interesting facts and numbers from our trip journal:


We left Spokane on April 29th and returned on June 26th. We were gone for 58 days.

We traveled through 32 states, traveling nearly 13,000 miles.

We put in 54 tanks of gas. (That's also 54-44oz. Dr. Pepper, and 54 gross rest rooms!)

We had 3 oil changes.

We stayed in 36 hotels, some great, some not so great! The average price was $63. Our favorite was the Marriott Marquis at Time Square. We try to forget about the least favorite!
Most reservations were made through Priceline on the fly. We're converted!

We were blessed to stay 14 nights with family:
Sandy Utah -- Steve and Barb and kids
Austin Texas -- Jon and Suzette (family reunion)
Durham N. Carolina -- Donna and Ed Hicks (Denny's cousins)
Fredericksburg Virginia -- Betty and Ken McConnell (Denny's cousins)
Elizabethtown Pennsylvania -- Roger and Jeannie Pickett (parents of Annie Ditto)
Hudson Ohio -- Wally and Sue Selden
Hinton Iowa -- Ron and Sylvia Fischer (Denny's cousins)
Woodbury Minnesota -- Craig and Carolyn Selden

We kept track of the roadkill:
deer, raccoon, possum, fox, armadillo, skunk, goose, bird, squirrel, prairie dogs, cats, dogs, coyotes, rabbit, badger, mouse, porcupine, and tons of rubber re-tread.

We found out "Freeways" are not free in the east. We spent $93 on toll roads (Turnpikes).

We found out parking is expensive in big cities! We spent $262 on parking!

Most humid place: Atlantic side of Florida

Hardest rain: Southern Iowa

Craziest drivers (besides Denny): New York City

Best food:
Mexican: Austin
Barbeque: Sticky Fingers--Charleston
Pizza: Savanah
Nice dinner: Savanah (we celebrated our mission call to Romania)
Lobster: Maine
Car food: Cheetos and Dr. Pepper

Best Bed: Marriott in New Orleans

Best CD: John Denver Greatest Hits

Longest day driving: St. Paul to Billings (13 hours, 900 miles) We could see the barn!

Best Sport: Denny

Our highlights:
Visits with family
National parks
Hummer trip in Moab
Hiking
Austin
The Deep South
Visiting Civil War sites in Vicksburg and Gettysburg
Beaches in South Carolina and Florida. (you can't believe Clearwater and Sanabel & the Keys!)
Key West
Getting our mission call in Savanah Georgia
New Orleans
Kennedy Space Center
New York City, Washington DC, Boston
Church History Sites, including 7 Temples
Maine
Seeing the rocky mountains after 58 days!

Signs we liked:
"The weather is here. Wish you were beautiful!" (Biloxi Mississippi)
"NO LOITERING" Thugs, crackheads, prostitutes, drug dealers, gangs, vagrants, pimps, drunks, drug addicts, shoplifters. (gas station in Mississippi)
"Bridge may ice in cold weather" (Louisiana...every bridge had this sign...are you kidding me?)
"If Noah was wise, he would have swatted the 2 black flies." (Maine)

What we spent:
Food: $1629.00
Gas: $1232.00
Lodging: $3652.00
Entertainment: $1424.00
Misc: $688.00

Total for 58 days of almost pure fun= $8,625.00























2 comments:

  1. We're waiting with bated breath!

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  2. You guys are amazing! Thanks for taking us along on your trip with you. Can't wait for "Gloria and Denny's Excellent Adventure II-Escape to Romania."

    LOve, JB

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