Today marks one year since we pulled out of our driveway to start our big adventure. In some ways, it feels like just yesterday. In other ways, it seems like a really long time ago. And, except for a few hours here and there, the whole family has been together 24/7/365…. and we still like each other!
I thought it would be a good time to review some stats on our trip up to this point:
1. We have logged 34,000 miles (20,000 mi. on the bus + 14,000 mi. on the tow car).
2. We have visited 33 states.
3. We have visited approximately 25 National Parks.
4. We have visited approximately 25 Museums.
5. We have been all the way from Key West to the Arctic Circle.
6. Vehicle maintenance has consisted of: replacing the U-joint, replacing the water pump, repairing one leveler, replacing the leveler control panel, re-hanging the main door, fixing a broken fuel line, replacing the kitchen faucet, having the transmission serviced and other assorted minor repairs. (a broken windshield is still waiting to be replaced)
7. Vehicle “mishaps” approximately 5 depending on which ones you count ranging from “kissing” a guardrail to trying to uproot (not on purpose) a 300 year Ponderosa pine to engaging in a “fender bender” in rush hour traffic.
8. Number of doggy “poop bags” picked up – we lost count.
9. Wild animals seen in their own habitat: black bear, grizzly bear, elk, key deer, white tailed deer, caribou, moose, bald eagle, alligator, coyote, fox, wolf, marmot, harbor seal, sea lion, dall porpoise, dall sheep, big horn sheep, mountain goat, humpback whale, ibis, great blue heron, little green heron, cattle egret, rattlesnake, cormorant, common murr, puffin, manatee, dolphin and three mice in OUR habitat.
10. Number of fast food restaurants eaten at – 0. (really!)
11. Our shortest stop – Los Angeles, California – 16 hours. (in some ways it was the longest)
12. Our longest stop – Telluride, Colorado – 3 months.
13. Number of emergency room visits – 1.
We were lucky enough to be able to spend our one year anniversary with family in the town where I was born, Philadelphia.
above: Kailash, David, Aunt Deetsie, Rene, Cindy, me, Michelle and Tyler.
The official end to our trip will be the second week of July. Meanwhile, we still have a lot of territory to cover including all of New England and other parts of the Northeast. We better get going…..
Cheers, to a year on the road!
“Travel is like love, mostly because it’s a heightened state of awareness, in which we are mindful, receptive, undimmed by familiarity and ready to be transformed. That is why the best trips, like the best love affairs, never really end.” — Pico Iyer
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