Just a few days late getting this final post out and closing out our Going To See America 2015. After crisscrossing our way down the east coast starting in November 2014, we completed our 10,000 mile journey right where we began, on Wednesday May 20, 2015. We are about 10 days short of completing our 7th month on the road in Big Red. Knock on wood, Big Red performed flawlessly, as we have come to expect from this great Tiffin product. To Debbie's great dismay, I couldn't seem to schedule in a visit to a barber, and except for a trim from Erika in Bonita Springs, I haven't managed a real haircut since March 2014 in Borrego Springs, CA! I'll have to do something about that pretty soon. I'm going to include some photos from our trip that have nothing to do with the story at hand, so don't get confused. It's just an opportunity to include some photos at didn't make the cut previously.
We worked our way across the heartland cautiously watching weather reports. May is tornado season, so we have to be just a little bit careful. Of course we have the advantage of being able to sit and wait if there's nasty weather in front of us. Texas and Oklahoma were getting pounded with storms as we looked to the East, so our leisurely days spent with Randy and Retha actually worked to our advantage. As we said our goodbye's, the weather window opened up, and we headed across Tornado Alley on I-40 and I-44, with clear skies and good road. On Sunday we pulled into Akron, OH for a short visit with the in-laws. The hospitality is always terrific, and Bob and Char love to sit and visit, which gives me a chance to rest up from several days of driving. Kids and grandkids tend to show up when Aunt Debbie comes for a visit, and that's always fun.
By Monday evening we were all caught up, and Tuesday morning we continued our push for home. One more night on the road at a Passport America Campground for $16, and Wednesday afternoon we landed back on the Thompson Rd. With just a small amount of trepidation, we pulled into the driveway and up to the front door of our house that we had closed up nearly 7 months previously. As I calmly used to tell people all around the country, "we filled the pipes with anti-freeze, turned on the alarm, locked the doors, and drove away!" Now we were back. We wondered how the house and contents survived those many months of below freezing temperatures our friends talked about as we described our situations from the comfort of a sandy beach sipping a cold brew! Debbie went inside, as I tended to the job of unhitching the toad and parking Big Red. When she didn't reappear after quite a long time, I ventured in anticipating the worst.
Amazingly, everything was fine. Lots of dead ladybugs lying around, but that's to be expected. After all, the house has been here since the 1860's, and ladybugs love the red brick as the sun warms it on those crisp fall days. Our preparations were fine. The grass was about a foot tall, and we had to figure out how to get the water turned back on. But we were unable to locate any major disasters and that was fantastic. We spent Wednesday night in Big Red, and the next 2 days we moved back into the house after draining the pipes and checking for any leaks. Even the tractor started right up, and it seemed like I spent 2 days working on the lawn. The outside temperature this morning is a crisp 39 degrees, and we're suddenly remembering why we left last Fall! We fired up the pellet stove in the front room, and soon the house was nice and toasty. I think we'll find an inside project to work on till it warms a little bit.
Our Going to See America 2015 Journey has ended, but already preparations are beginning for the sequel Going to See America 2016! We had a terrific time, and we're hoping this story will be retold to grandkids and great grandkids long after we're gone. We know we are very fortunate to be able to do this. There were many highlights to the journey. Topping the list would be the news of grandson #1 arriving in October 2015! It's pretty hard to top that. Although MAE did a pretty good job at surprising us with her unannounced visit to San Diego! It's always great visiting friends and relatives across the country, and we hope we're not being too pesty with our visits. We feel very fortunate having these places to stop.
Ben, Joanne, & Jamo have a new house in San Diego, and that's pretty exciting. Looks like MAE is getting a big promotion and will be returning to Plattsburgh as the Office Manager in the U.S. Attorney's Office. We are very proud of her!
Our plan so far is to do the trip counter-clockwise for 2016. This will give us a chance to visit the North-West before winter weather arrives. Our list of places to visit on our westward journey, which should begin right around Labor Day, is growing each day. Of course, we'll be awaiting the new arrival in San Diego and Grammie is pretty excited about that! We are very curious to see how Jamo likes the new roommate! We should be visiting several National Parks out west as we move up and down the coast as we give Ben and Joanne some quality time alone. We're hoping to visit Big Bend National Park in Texas with Randy and Retha as part of our eastward journey. Then there's Spring Training in Florida in April. There's just so much to do and see.
The map below shows you where we've been in 2014 & 2015. There does seem to be a big hole up in the NorthWest. But we'll be filling that up pretty soon.
We hope that everyone has a great Summer in 2015, and hopefully our wakes will cross and we'll see you somewhere along the highways and byways of America.
Go-Sit-Down-Jamo.....Good Dog
No comments:
Post a Comment