Ok, so let me start. I had a really, really good time. I just don’t know why I got sent up the river twice. I’d been a good girl. Also, I don’t know why we had to stop. Mommy Sandy and I were still ready to keep going. Momma Michelle was ready for a break.
I had lots and lots of fun meeting new people. I like trolling for the Moms. I don’t know how they would do this without me. I have the whole back of the car. Mommies are cramped in the front. I get to play and dance and scamper around. I have my own driver. I stay in fun places. I get new sniffs all across the country.
I want to go again.
So, some facts and figures from our trip:
We traveled 6,800 miles and spent 35 days on the road. We drove through 20 states and visited 14 cities. We stayed in 9 hotels and 5 Airbnbs.
We had city tours in Salt Lake City, UT, Chicago, IL, Chincoteague, VA (pony tour!), Atlanta GA and New Orleans, LA.
Shout outs to family and friends (old and new) we saw along the way:
Colby, Hunter and Logan in St. George Utah – So great to meet new friends. Thanks for breakfast and the great SLC suggestions.
Deb and Virginia in Dubuque, Iowa– thank you so much for spending time with us in the middle of getting ready for a cruise. Great dinner and conversation. Cheese curds. Who knew?
Dee and Denise in Dubuque, Iowa– wow, we could not have asked for better tour guides to your beautiful and interesting Dubuque, Iowa! Thank you so much for introducing us to your city.
Jan and Sue in Hightstown, NJ – fantastic conversation and a great breakfast. For Sandy, seeing her best friend from High School after 52 years was amazing. We loved getting to know Sue and Tucker. Eddie says “Hi and Let’s play some more!” to Tucker.
David and Lee in White Settlement, Tx.– so good to see family on this trip. Thank you for showing us Ft. Worth and especially for the Longhorn herd and the Cowgirl Museum. Your deck is beautiful and relaxing. It was such a lovely time.
Louis in Tucson, Az. – besides that fact we love you for introducing us, we thank you for spending time with us and sharing your wonderful church and self.
Nathen in Tucson, Az. – thank you for making our time at Caruso’s so much fun! We enjoyed the banter and conversation.
Steve and Sergio in Palm Springs, Ca. – a special shout out to Steve and Sergio who keep an eye on our home and kept our plants alive. Thank you, dear friends!
Lessons learned:
We really don’t need as many clothes or other items as we packed. We can downsize. We think we knew that going in to this, but, oh well.
We need more than 2 days in most places. Longer stays in fewer places will be more enjoyable.
We liked the big cities, but we enjoyed that smaller towns just as much.
We should cap driving times at 6 hours including stops.
We were concerned the blog might feel like an obligation or “work”, but it turned out to be a joy.
Last thoughts:
There are amazing people all over this country – old friends and new. The barriers that we think separate us tend to fall away in the face to face meetings.
Bottom line, would we do this again? Absolutely! We will just take note of the lessons learned and incorporate them into the next trip. Currently, we think it will be next fall and we think it will be in a northerly direction. Boise, ID and Yellowstone will be on the agenda as well as Vancouver Canada. The rest to be determined! We thank all of you who followed along with us and can’t wait to share stories with all of you in person!
Until then, love to all!
2 Girls and a Dog
