So Good To Be Home!

We enjoyed our night in Atlantic City, and by 8:00 in the morning we were under way and headed for home. It was a nice day...great traveling weather. We hit the Garden State Parkway and almost right away it was down to one lane due to road work...16 miles of road work...sigh! Hmmm...road work & tolls...sure signs we're closer to home! Once we got past that it was smooth sailing until the George Washington Bridge. There was a lot of congestion there, as expected, but we were over the bridge and out of the city in about 1/2 hour so it really wasn't that bad. It was funny, the signs said EZ-Pass Only in Left Lane but that was the slowest lane of all! There were lots of trucks all jockeying for position and trying to move into the EZ-Pass lanes...it's like a game with them. At one point we felt like we were in a tunnel surrounded by walls made of trailer trucks!

We made good time after that, and I never thought I'd be so happy to travel 95 North! We stopped for lunch at about 12:30, and as we traveled on it was so good to see familiar signs & scenery...the exit for TF Green, the big blue bug just before Providence, the first sign for Cape Cod, and finally, the Welcome to Massachusetts sign! Driving down Route 25 it was wonderful to see the cranberry bogs, and we couldn't wait to see the Bourne Bridge. What a sight for sore eyes it was! We pulled into the driveway just past 3:30 and our journey had come to an end.

Now that we're home here are some of the details:

Time: Sept 1 - Oct 1 - 31 days
Total miles: 9,688
Gas used: 336 gallons
States: 31
Hotels: 25

Rick's Best: Yellowstone & Deadwood

Deb's Best: Pacific Ocean & driving Route 1 on CA coast

Rick's Worst: Hurricane Ridge
Deb's Worst: Poor hotel choice in San Francisco

We seen so many incredible places, met a lot of nice people, and some real characters! Saw National Parks, Forests & Monuments, State Parks, drove on cliffs & scenic by-ways, a little bit of Route 66, stood on a corner in Winslow, AZ, met the Jolly Green Giant, found the Twenty Mule Team, watched some gunfighters duke it out in the street, went to jail (just visiting!) and so much more. This country is so amazing, and we only had a taste of what's out there!

Animals? Lots! Including a grizzly bear, bison/buffalo, deer, elk, big-horn sheep, pronghorn deer (antelope), & a bald eagle, burros, and prairie dogs. Not to mention all the ones hanging on the walls in the Buckhorn Saloon!

Regrets? A few things we didn't get to see. Memories? Enough to last a lifetime!

So, that wraps up our adventure. I'm glad you all enjoyed traveling along with us! For now we'll enjoy getting back down to the business of real life...until the travel bug bites again!

Cape Cod Bound!

Good morning! We'll be on the road in a few minutes and headed home...finally! Had fun last night but no luck at the slots...slept great...need our own bed...looking forward to spreading out instead of being in a car or hotel room...it's time! According to the map program it should take us about 6 1/2 hours, so with a stop now and then and whatever we hit for traffic, so we should be home late afternoon. See you all soon!