YES, we are still happily married and YES, we would do it again.

The Raw Numbers:

We traveled for 37 days and 36 nights.  

11 nights we stayed with friends and family, THANKS FOR YOUR HOSPITALITY!!

0 nights sleeping in a tent.
Average cost per night for hotels $112, including taxes. 

9,063 miles driven.

0 Accidents, 1 close call.

0 Speeding tickets, no close calls.

Total Gas Bill approximately $1200.
Lowest price paid for gas $3.13, highest $4.13. 

Before we left we played a little guessing game.  I guessed we'd travel 3,346 miles (wow, how wrong I was). And, Lester guessed a more reasonable, but still wildly inaccurate, 4,624. Not sure what we were thinking on that front, but we wouldn't have planned it any differently.  (That is, we didn't plan much and would do it that way again.)

We were "concerned" about last minute accommodations only twice.  Our first night of concern occurred on the drive from the Badlands to Cheyenne. We had not expected to go as far as Cheyenne but there weren't a lot of places to stop in between. That wound up being probably our worst hotel on the whole trip.  Surly front desk staff - both night and morning so they must be trained that way, squishy bed, lousy internet and paper thin walls were the comments we put on our only online review of the entire trip.  The other hotel issue was Carlsbad, NM.  If you'll recall, we wanted to see the bats depart for their nightly hunt from the caverns.  We knew that at that late hour we wouldn't, couldn't and shouldn't drive far. Our initial hotel search produced a $350 Holiday Inn. (Apparently they are aware of this particular tourist attraction in their backyard!). Sticker shock rapidly set in, however, and with just a bit of effort we found a lovely  hotel, not a chain, and well within our price range.

Follow up on the car problem we tried to get corrected in San Antonio.  You'll recall our total satisfaction with the Subaru dealership we went to, North Park Subaru.  They told us the car needed rear sway bars and bushings but they couldn't do the work in our necessary time frame as they didn't stock the parts. Upon returning home we took the car to our regular mechanic who replaced the FRONT struts, which were shot. The car once again runs like a dream; quiet as a church mouse. 

We've been back for a week now. And, still feel like we did on that last day while driving home.  It is nice to be home but would rather be exploring a national park or cute little town. This was quite an adventure and we are grateful we had the opportunity to make this trip.  We look forward to more barnstorming in the future but expect it will be years and years away.  

Some Q&A:

What was your favorite place?

A: The National Parks in Utah, all of them. 

L: I don't know. How do you pick one?  It is like picking your favorite child. I'll tell you which one, if you inquire offline - not for attribution.

What was your favorite meal?

A: Beignet and frozen coffee at Cafe Du Monde, New Orleans, LA.

L: Jambo Cafe, Santa Fe, NM

What was your biggest disappointment?

A: The Delta Blues Museum, Clarksdale, MS

L: What she said.

Where would you go again?

A: Madison, WI, Canyonlands National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, San Antonio, TX, New Orleans, LA, Savannah, GA. 

L: Portsmouth, NH, Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame, Madison, WI, Denver, CO, San Antonio and Austin, TX, New Orleans, LA, Savannah, GA. 

Where would you never go again?

A: Clarksdale, MS

L: Clarksdale, MS 

Where do you feel you have seen it and done it?

A: Roswell, NM, Carlsbad Cavern National Park, NM, Tupelo, MS

L: Pretty much all of it except where "I would go again" above. I have confirmed my previous suspicion that I am more of a city guy than a nature guy.  That said, the parks were amazing.

What is next on your Barnstorming list?

A: Canada, the Upper Peninsula, MI, the pacific northwest, and maybe a bit of Mexico.
L: The pacific northwest, the Upper Peninsula, MI, Northern California; above San Francisco, Toronto, Canada.

Finally we wanted to add some pictures that we hope you haven't already seen.

The Grounds For Sculpture, NJ.

Gillette Castle and its very funky red grout.

An abandoned military prison in Portsmouth, NH.  It was about to be re-purposed but September 11th put an end to that.  It appears talks might be restarting.  They are proposing a multi-purpose facility with office, commercial and residential spaces.

A cairn at the summit of Mt. Washington (6,288 ft) it marks the Appalachian Trail 

Our view in Vermont.

Relatively late in life, Frank Lloyd Wright began using these tiles as a signature of sorts on his buildings.  Each is different and sadly only about two dozen, which are known to be original, exist.  They're pretty easily counterfeited. Happily, two originals are at Taliesen East.

Remember the SPAM Museum?

A farm in Minnesota.

The entry hatch to the actual Minute Man missile.  Used to access the missile when maintenance was required.

Lester up close and personal with some wildlife.

You just never know what you're likely to see when you are out barnstorming!

The Stanley Hotel, in Colorado, was the inspiration for the hotel in The Shining.

Beautiful and quirky Crested Butte

Torrey, UT. The view from our al fresco dinner table.  So much beauty in such a small town.

Bryce Canyon's anthropomorphic formations made me think of the Terracotta Warriors of China.

The Terracotta Warriors of China.

A love gate in Sedonna, AZ buy or bring a lock to show your love.

Prickly pears at the Carlsbad Caverns National Park, they feed the wild boars. If you attempt to pick them without protective gear you will have incredibly fine needles in your fingers for days no matter how hard you try and get rid of them.  Or so Lester tells me.

Folk Art from the Folk Art museum in Santa Fe, this snake is made from bottle tops.

A San Antonio hansom cab.  It lights up at night.

Flowers at Mission San Jose, San Antonio, TX

Public Art, San Antonio, TX.

This is for you, Will.

Voodoo dolls and Mardi Gras beads.

A beautiful home on a beautiful square in Savannah, GA. That ivy is at least a half foot deep.

The weird.

and the wonderful, dinner with friends.

Your faithful barnstormers.

Thanks again for joining the fun.


A&L

Friday, Aug 1 - Sunday Aug 3

Cards, Beer and a Blog

We started a culinary walking tour of Savannah late Friday morning.  All was well until the skies opened and rain poured down on us - the hardest rain we experienced during our entire trip.  Lester and I decided we were ditching the tour two-thirds of the way through since our car was conveniently parked a block away, and all that was left was the cupcakes and honey tasting. We made a dash for it and headed to Hartsville, SC and our very dear friends the Ds.

We did receive a clarification regarding Winston Churchill and his pet macaw, or lack thereof.  Thank you alert reader BPMc3, our San Antonio host.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/3414323.stm

As tradition holds for the last 14 years when we are visiting with the Ds we stick to a strict regimen of eating, drinking, card playing and when weather permits, swimming. Tradition holds this time too, mostly.  The rain has kept us out of the pool, sadly.

Tonight's blogging view

Pinochle, for the uninitiated.

There is not much to document.  It has been a wonderful trip. Hartsville, SC as our final stop is perfect.  We will be home on Monday and reality will sadly kick in.  But until then we will continue to relax and enjoy the company and hospitality of good friends.

Coal, the most mild mannered Labradoodle ever.

It has been an eye opening, awe inspiring experience.  And, one which will be repeated at some point in the future. We hope you all can make such a trip at some point.

Look for one final post over the next week or two, as I said previously, a post-mortem of sorts. 

A&L

Thursday, July 31

And so the end is almost here.

Note: we apologize to our loyal coffee drinking readers, we had some Internet issues last night.  All seems better this morning.

I woke up late this morning.  Lester let me sleep until 9AM.  I think the time change may have influenced my late waking hour.  However, we had a slow and relaxing start.  We rolled into Savannah, GA around 12:30.  And, as luck would have it our room was ready for us.  So, we settled in and then started exploring.  And, let me add that once again, hotwire really came through.  All in, not including parking, under $100 at the Hyatt, Riverfront. Really nice hotel.

We started with the concierge who gave us a brief history of the founding of Savannah.  It turns out that Savannah was founded by the English as a strategic buffer between St. Augustine, FL which was owned by the Spanish and Charleston, SC which was an English colony.  Because it was a strategic location the founding fathers devised a number of open areas as defensive positions.  These defensive locations eventually turned into the two dozen or so public squares for which Savannah is justly famous.  Each is different and each is beautiful.

We wandered the historic section of the city for the balance of the day.

City Hall

While we were wandering through one square we noticed a woman walking and carrying four birds.  One each on her arms and shoulders.  We watched as she set three of them on the back of a bench. We commented on the beauty and size of the birds.  She indicated this was nothing she was going back to her car to get "the big guns".  It turns out that she and her husband take the birds into hospitals, nursing homes and schools. She brings them to this park to work on their social skills.  She and her beautiful birds attracted quite a crowd. And, she let the birds crawl on anyone willing to hold them. We declined the opportunity to hold but not to photograph. She told us some of these birds can live to be 100 years old and that a macaw Winston Churchill owned is still alive.  We have been unable to verify or deny this claim.  But, her birds were clearly alive and well and loving the attention.

We also saw some fun sights that required documentation. Nothing quite as grand as a giant chair but fun yard art and the like.

A very cool downspout.

We toured a beautiful church which, unlike the churches we saw in Santa Fe and New Orleans, has not recently been named a minor basilica but we would like to make the case that it should be, given its beauty.

We wandered by a lot of beautiful wrought iron for which the city is justifiably famous. But we were captivated by this gate. It is quite a work of art.

We also wanted to share our almost final hotel view - almost like we're being punished for some of our previous spectacular views.  We will have a much better view in our next stop and soon the view will be our own backyard.

We don't want to give the impression that Savannah is the perfect city (although it's pretty close).  There was a problem. As we were touring the cemetery in the middle of the city, we were assaulted by a smell.  A nasty smell, an awful smell. Lester claimed to recognize the smell, but couldn't quite place it.  Then it occurred to him what it was.  A paper mill. A quick google search and we discovered that International Paper has a mill in Savannah.  When the smell first showed itself, the wind had just picked up and shifted from a different direction...obviously the direction from which the mill vents its foul stench.  If you've never had the joy of experiencing this smell...well suffice to say, it's bad. 

So, tomorrow we had to Hartsville, SC to spend the weekend with our good friends J&J.  The plan quite simply will be to sit by their pool, cook in the big green egg, enjoy adult beverages and play cards. Like VT, what happens in Hartsville stays in Hartsville.  And, then on Monday long drive back to PA.  We do have plans to stop once or twice on the way. The grand adventure which you have joined in a variety ways - reading, hosting our visit, meeting up along the way is rapidly coming to an end. Too rapidly.

And, as a final note, once we are home, we will add a post-mortem, of sorts, with final thoughts and such.  Thanks for reading. We really appreciate you coming along for the ride.

A&L