Day 41, continued

Day 41 – July 8, 2102

Rose Hill, Va/Cumming, GA

276 miles/5 ½ hours

We left Rose Hill very early.  I’d committed to getting up at 4a.m., so we could hit the road at 5…at the latest.  But let me tell you, 4 a.m. HURT.  Rich had mercy on me and got ready on his own and I think started loading his stuff.  I finally dragged my you-know-what out of bed by 5.   Some coffee and I was ready to go.  As I’d loaded most of my stuff the day before – my big task was waking the crew, who’d become acclimated to sleeping LATE.

Lots of tears and moaning….ect….but after bittersweet good-byes with the grandparents – Willie Nelson was crooning from the car stereo….about being on the road again…as we drifted down Smith Berry Lane.

We stopped for breakfast, north of Knoxville and then continued on….mercifully missing all traffic, wherever we went.  We pulled into Ryan’s Bluff at noon and the kiddos went crazy when we saw HOME. 

Home.Sweet.Home.

I spent all day unloading/unpacking/doing laundry…before I knew it, it was 4p.m.  I’d planned to celebrate (belatedly) Rich’s birthday with a nice home cooked meal and presents….but there was no way.  Time got the best of me.   I ran to CVS for toilet paper, milk and breakfast bars.  We ordered pizza for dinner and Rich and I caught up on TIVO (as did the kids – on a different TV).

We did eventually celebrate daddy’s birthday – on Monday…I swear!

So, as a DebriefingJ and to answer what some curious minds wanted to know:

Miles Traveled:

6,545

Gallons of gas consumed:

* Still to be determined – but I do have the data…just haven’t got to it yet.

Countries:

2

States (visited…not just driven through)

17

Cities:

30

Presidential Libraries

3

Boat rides

2

Speeding tickets:

0J

Chance encounters with friend of dead parents:

1

Visits with family and friends:

6 (citiesJ)

Broken:

Blow dryer

iPad screen

Car-phone charger

Bracelet

Mom’s laptop

Camera – damage…still working…just not wellJ

Lost:

Bear’s backpack

Mom’s favorite pillow

Audrey’s camera

Countless things of Hunters

DS charger

More than one DVD movie

Favorite places:  (Speaking for momJ)

Philly, PA

Rehoboth Beach (kids too)

Cape Cod

Boston, MA…especially, Concord, MA

Burlington, VT

Kingston, ON

Chicago, IL

Des Moines, IA

Nashville, TN

Places we loved because of people we love!

Rehoboth Beach, DE

Boston, MA

Cape Cod, MA

Pittsburgh, PA

Columbus, Oh

Rose Hill, Va

Don’t need to visit again:

Atlantic City (what LITTLE we saw!)

Montreal, QB

Buffalo

Cleveland

Wheeling, WV

Minneapolis/St. Paul

Madison (liked it, don’t need to go back)

Hottest Place:

Des Moines, IA – (only place we broke 100 degrees)

Coldest:

Boston – 52 degrees

Highest gas:

Chappaqua, NY – $ 4.14/ gallon

Lowest gas:

Some little town NW of Nashville, just after crossing the KY/TN border $2.88/gallon

Best Memory – honestly, too many to list

Worst Memory – they’re already fading….but I’m sure the bookstore in Madison will haunt me for a while.

Bookstores visited:  soooo manyJ….favorite is Browse About Books in Rehoboth – a must seeJ

Thank you so much for your interest and sweet e-mails.   Y’all kept me laughing and at times, literally kept me going.  I have the best family and friends.  Thank you so much for caring soooo much about us!

 I think we’re done for the summer….but you never know…I may get the itch and head south to visit family and friends in FL, at the end of the month!  I’ll keep y’all posted!

Peace out….