Varied Skies

With emotions running high, we clicked off the last miles of the last leg of our long journey. The Atlanta skyline gleamed in the distance as we motored down I-20 by Six Flags and transitioned to the Atlanta Racetrack, known by some as I-285. Oh, there’s the Atlanta traffic we all know and loathe. “Look, there’s the new Braves’ Stadium,” rising over the already congested Cumberland interchange. “This construction stinks. Could the lanes get even narrower?” Why, yes, yes they can. And they did. We managed to avoid exchanging paint with other white-knuckled drivers as the reality of daily life in the Atlanta burbs smacked me in the face.

With just a few miles left to home, anxiety settled in. Is it possible we could complete the trip without a major hiccup, or would the engine suddenly die within sight of our goal? What would the house look like? Is it even still there? As is the case with most worries, those were wasted thoughts. We made it. The house stands.

Excited, yet already missing the road, we began the process of moving back into our home. M3 declared, “this is a nice house,” as if he had forgotten that he had lived here and was moving in for the first time. Both M3 and L scurried around rediscovering old toys and reclaiming their bedrooms. M and I labored to get the house up and running, turning on water, filling the hot water tanks, lighting the burners, plugging in electronics, starting the refrigerator, etc. As one might expect after a 13-month absence, a repair list rapidly developed, including a non-functioning AC system that cools the kids’ bedrooms. Out back, an unwanted tree somehow managed to sprout and grow nearly two stories during our absence.

We visited with friends and had dinner with family before retiring for the evening. The kids slept in our master bedroom while M and I spent one last night in the motorhome. How fitting.

It has been a real pleasure blogging about our trip and sharing our adventure with you. We really appreciate all the support and wonderful comments from our readers. But, I’m not one inclined to post about daily life on the internet. I don’t do Facebook. I don’t do Instagram. I don’t send Twits. I don’t see that changing. I do plan to publish at least one more post on this blog about our trip once I digest the experience in its entirety and formulate some coherent thoughts. Until then, I’ll leave you with these trip tidbits:

Days on the Road: 398 (13 months, 2 days, with a leap year)

Motorhome Miles Driven: 18,280 (see Where Have We Been? page for destinations)

Average MPG: about 6.9

Motorhome Trip Legs: 99 (not including side trips for service appointments)

Average Miles/Leg: about 184

Car Miles Driven: about 15,901

States Visited: 48 (all lower states)

States Camped: 42 (all lower states but KS, NE, CO, DE, WV, and RI)

Campsites Stayed: 100 (we moved sites within the same campground on a couple of occasions)

Canadian Provinces Visited: 2 (British Columbia and Ontario)

Oceans Visited: 2

Great Lakes Visited: 3

# of Days Family Joined Us: 126 (31.6% of trip; Grammy and Pops=96 days; Nana and Papa=30 days; AS and CM=6 days overlapping with Nana and Papa)

National Parks/Seashores/Historic Sites Visited: 68

Junior Ranger Badges Earned: 67 per kid (St. Gaudens Visitor Center had yet to open for the season; some gave our patches instead of badges)

# of Oops! (recorded): 33 (see Oops! page)

Motorhome Service Appointments: 5

Car Service Appointments: 5

Roadside Service Calls: 0

Unintended Stops on Side of Road: 1 (left rear jack extended during transit)

Blown Tires: 0

Tires Replaced: 1 (road hazard warranty covered slow leak from nail puncture of car tire)

Shipments of Replacement Parts: 6

Number of New Addresses in My Amazon Account: 22

School Grades Completed: 2 (M3 7th Grade; L 5th Grade)

Most Worthless GPS Instruction: “Make a U-turn When Possible” while driving a large motorhome towing a car

Funniest GPS Instruction: “Prepare to Drive Straight” while traveling a long road with no cross streets (was I weaving too much?)

2nd Funniest GPS Instruction: “Turn Left on Misery 13” for Missouri Hwy 13

Scariest GPS Instruction: “Turn Left on Roller Coaster Road”

Most Annoying GPS Statement: “You have arrived” while traversing a single lane interchange 100 feet in the air and, as it turned out, 2 miles from our intended destination.

Curviest Road in Motorhome: Hwy 120 to Groveland, CA (west of Yosemite)

Steepest Extended Grade in Motorhome: US-191 over Indian Summit outside Price, UT