This was the most welcome sight of my entire trip! Home at last.
This morning I woke up very early with nothing to do but go home! So I joined the three other '6 a.m.ers' at the continental breakfast and hurried on my way. I managed to make it home before lunch.
What a fun month this has been. Over 7,000 miles, finishing the 48 continental states, staying with 14 different people and at 4 hotels. I've had countless McDonalds stops, enough "rest area" stops to be a critic and to know that California rest stops are lame and South Dakota rest stops are awesome, and more than a couple stops just to take a picture. I've sung, danced, prayed, talked to the car, talked to myself, laughed and cried, gotten lost, been afraid, helped people, annoyed people, and done a whole lot of driving! I've met people unlike those who I would normally meet: tourists from Switzerland, bikers from Sioux Falls, ranchers, farmers, a surveyor, professors, pastors, waiters, coaches, moms, volunteers, jobless graduates, retirees, and so many more! The things you learn about the world from meeting so many people are incredible.
Despite the fact that this blog is in it's final chapter, I do hope that I will be able to talk to each of you readers more about my trip! I have a lot to say still! All that time in the car by myself has made me even more talkative than usual. Just as pictures sometimes don't really capture the bigness of a thing, so too do blogs sometimes not capture the real experiences.
Thanks for reading this, everyone! It really was so fun for me to share this adventure with so many others.
"...we do not take a trip, a trip takes us."
-John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley
I'm sorry to say this is my first comment... on your last blog. I can't wait to talk to you. Your ending the blog with a quote from Travels with Charley was perfect. I'm so glad your home!
ReplyDeleteYahoo! Welcome home!
ReplyDeleteHello Jane, I found your blog via your mom's blog. I am another quilter from the Chicago area. I truly enjoyed reading about your journey, and congratulate you! It sounded like a great trip - thanks for sharing it with us out her in blogland. And I just wanted to mention, if you're ever in our area, you are welcome to stop by and mow our lawn. :) (p.s. we have wifi too)
ReplyDeleteLike Chris above, I came here from your Mom's blog. I have enjoyed traveling with you!
ReplyDeleteI took a solo roadtrip too - but I only went about 5000 miles in 2 weeks. :^) I called mine "The Girlfriend Tour" as I was traveling to visit with 3 of my girlfriends. I went from SoCal to Texas, then Missouri, then Idaho & home again. I understand exactly what you meant about enjoying the time driving alone, singing loud or listening to the local radio stations. I did find that not all of the rest areas had restrooms in Texas! Some only had picnic tables...and WiFi! lol My longest drive was the last day, coming home from Idaho. I had planned to spend the night with friends in the high desert, but we got our days mixed up, so I decided to just go home.
Thanks for sharing your trip with us.