Our Travels

Home Sweet Home

It is a bit surreal to be back at home. We are all thrilled to be back in our own beds, although Michela did say her room seemed really big and lonely by herself. It is definitely a bit of a let down to be back to our mundane, normal life after a summer of having a new adventure every single day. There is no way to sum up the entire summer in any one meaningful recap of favorites, best, or even worst list. We had such an amazing variety of cool, different, random experiences that it is hard to capture it all in pictures or words. I did, however, track a few things along the way – so here are some trip stats:

* 12,000 miles
* $2,164 for gas
* Gone for 68 days, camped 22 nites, stayed with friends/family 38 nites, hotels for 8 nites
* 14 National Parks
* 2 Theme Parks
* Stayed in 12 different houses
* Toured 10 major cities
* 19 states and 2 countries
* All 3 time zones
* Swam in 10 pools, 8 lakes, 5 rivers and the Pacific Ocean
* Conquered 11 hot tubs
* Received 1 parking ticket, no speeding tickets & only retained at one international border crossing

We all learned a lot and laughed a lot – and surprisingly did not really fight or complain about anything. The kids gained some valuable new life skills like learning to play poker and black jack, to swim and jump off rocks into rivers, to camp and to read maps. Eli also learned how to blow bubbles with bubble gum.

Overall, it was an incredible adventure. A big thanks to all of you – Toni, Steve, Anne, Jayme, Ro-ro, John, Judy, Sandy, Bob, Johnny B, Jane Anna, Ben, Zack, Jenny, Lisa, Charles, Sidney, Karen, John, Ellie, Sophie, John, Rachel, Brian, Justin, Molly, Morgen, Courtney, Brian, Amy, Sam, Anna, Joe, Jacquline, Andrew, Sally, Chris, Gus, Michael, Herb, Cathy, Chris, Carol, Peter, Jimmy, Julieanne, Derek, Peter, Anne, Braden, Jessica, Bill, Marg, Lori, Ryan and the Bros --- who hosted us, fed us, and took us and our dirty clothes in. Our guest room is available and we are anxiously waiting for you to visit. And, if you need a vehicle, the Phat Ride is for sale. (see posting at http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/car/202506251.html)

# posted by Dino @ 12:46 PM