The Swing of Things

October 15^th, Home In West Virginia

Joyce and I enjoyed a couple quiet days to recover from all the long driving and living out of a car.  There was quite the unpacking job and the poor MINI had so many dead bugs all over the front that only a serious detailing would make it presentable.  Aside from the aesthetics of the car, it was now flashing service needed due to the mileage we had reached. 

We were lounging in the den over coffee the next afternoon and we did a final figure on mileage covered from beginning to end – 8,067 miles of travel in 37 days!  For someone like me who has always been so full of wanderlust, that amount was a surprise even in my book.  Joyce had never undertaken that kind of road trip either.  When we looked at the actual mileage, it really struck us how far and wide we had traveled.  But, as we look at the map of our route in the middle of the country, it is obvious there is so much more of America to be seen.  Someday….

We thought that, if we do a trip anything like this again (but maybe three weeks instead of five) we would want to do it with Walter. Also, while Joyce would still be in favor of tenting, we thought an RV would have definite advantages if we could tow it with a truck or tow a jeep or car along behind. We saw plenty of places we would have liked to have taken a Jeep.

The MINI was a fantastic vehicle for road tripping but being able to stretch out and lounge when not driving would be a welcome way to cover so many miles.  (The MINI may just have to be hitched behind the RV.)  The other amenities like having all our belongings staying in one place instead of constantly unpacking and packing up, having a ready kitchen whenever we need it, and a bathroom of our own would be definite advantages.  We saw that all over the country there are so many options for RV’s.  There are even RV rental companies that will pay you to get their RV from one place to another if you are flexible on your timing and destination. 

We were surprised in the last day of our trip that the leaves had not yet changed color. We were even more surprised as we moved northward into Maryland and, especially, into West Virginia, that the leaves had not changed there either. Fall this year seems to be a slow transition of green to dull green and then falling leaves, most likely due to the hot weather extending into late September and early October.  We are still holding onto some hope for autumn to come to this area before we get into winter.  Still….it was wonderful to spend a good part of the fall season in the mountains and the southwest.  Aspens will always be a favorite tree. 

Not withstanding the less-than-vibrant Fall colors, it is great to be back in familiar surroundings and routines. We now have a journal here online to look back on. The overriding feelings we came away with were a joyful experience full of wonder and gratitude for the beautiful country we saw, the wonderful people we connected with along the way and the easy camaraderie and compatibility between us as we navigated this lengthy undertaking.  And foremost in our gratitude is to Walter for holding down the home front for us while we were gone for so long.  He took great care of Scout and Spencer as well.  We also were very happy to have our friends Sue and Kristie staying at the Greenbelt house for a good part of our trip.   We so appreciate the people in our lives….it’s because of you all that we were able to chase this particular dream.  Thanks to you all for reading and keeping tabs on us; for taking this journey with us!