Where we're heading next:
Home Sweet Home
Quote of the Day
Peanut, "Wow, mom, now we can say we've been to all 50 states! What are we gonna do next?"
Wrapping up an adventure like this is bittersweet for all of us. Exciting as it is to have actually accomplished seeing all 50 states, it's going to feel strange transitioning back into real life (with far less eating out and gift shops).
The song, "I'm proud to be an American" has genuine meaning for the kids now. Grandma said a million times, "You just can't imagine this until you see it in person!" Each character we met along the way has had a unique story to tell and for all of you who shared your lives with us, we must express our gratitude. Thank you for being our kids' teachers and thank you for letting us share our story with you as it unfolded.
This trip was made extraordinary because of the engaging guides, curious flight attendants, patient servers, generous B&B hosts, random excited travelers, passionate locals and especially the "Smilers". Pretty early on we incorporated the phrase, "We've got Smilers!" as cars passed us on the highway smiling and waving, and especially those few young adults who chased our car down to tell us about a special road trip that had changed their lives. And we all got so used to life in the car that a "long driving day" went from a 2 hour stint to a minimum of 6 hours on the road.
The kids became versed in how vastly different American culture is from one region to another, but more importantly, they concluded that kids are all pretty much the same no matter where you go. Here is some end-of-the-road trivia for you...
Top 3 Questions People Asked Us Throughout the Trip
1. "Do you Home School?"
2. "Well, how will you drive to Hawaii?"
3. "How come we haven't seen you guys on Oprah or the news?"
* We saw all 50 states in a 13 mos. period, specifically spending 5 months on the road.
* Most nights spent were in Hawaii (9), Alaska (8), New York and Texas (7).
* We agree on these favorites: North Dakota, Alaska, Vermont, doing the entire Lewis & Clark Trail backwards, seeing all 5 Great Lakes, Laura Ingalls Wilder stops.
Additional, specific favorites:
1. Grandma: Outer Banks, NC; Niagara Falls, NY; Alexandria & D.C.
2. Tomcat: Chicago, IL; Savannah, GA
3. CurlyTop: Lake Superior cabin; Echo Canyon, NM; Mystic, CT
4. Peanut: White Sands, NM; Mammoth Caves, KY; Niagara Falls, NY; everything Native American; Mystic, CT; snorkeling with turtles, HI5. Little Man: lobster boat, ME; swimming in Lake Superior; (He gave up remembering and said he liked just about everything on this trip!)
6. Doodle: Renaissance Faire, PA
Here's wishing you and your family safe and happy travels!
Trying to get out of Florida proved trickier than expected. The entire state is drenched. When the Miami airport closed down we got to hang out in the Orlando airport for several hours. Eventually, we made it to Miami, but missed our connection and got stuck for the night, without our luggage, of course, to keep things mighty interesting.
Fits of giggles ensued when I told the kids they could sleep in their skivvies! We were all out by midnight and now a new adventure begins: mas y mas cafe cubana!
Wish us luck getting into the air today!
Little Man lost his 3rd tooth of the trip -- front and center. This one he actually let me pull out before swallowing it in a hamburger (see other tooth posts).
So, despite the rain, it was a fine day for him. First, he got an exceptional Halloween costume for this year, and now he'll get a visit from the Tooth Fairy! I've had something for him since Kentucky,
when I thought it might come out on this trip. They always take longer than I imagine...
When I was tucking him in tonight he pleaded, "Try to remember okay, mom?" (I have to admit I'm not the most reliable fairy. One morning Peanut came running into my room and said, "Mo-om, you forgot again!" I told her how sorry I was for the 2nd night in a row, but that this Tooth Fairy is exhausted at night.)
STATE #50!!!
Pinch us, please...
It's raining BUCKETS again and we've just had a terrible disappointment. In fact, it's the unrivaled error of the entire trip, and utterly upsetting to me.
Following the signs to Cumberland Island National Seashore and the little town of St. Mary's to catch our ferry, everything seemed eerily quiet. I finally slopped through a parking lot to ask some fisherman where the ferry dock was. As it turns out, to travel to Cumberland Island, you have to take the Fernandina ferry, which just happens to be in ANOTHER STATE... 45 minutes away in FLORIDA!!
Tomcat did his best to get us back on the highway, but traffic was horrendous due to the rain. There were spin-outs e v e r y w h e r e. Trying to remain calm, my eyes welled up because I knew we'd never make it to the ferry in time -- and to think we'd just crossed the border an hour before only to U-turn back into Georgia! Arrrrgh.
Just to paint a clear picture of how much tension there was in the car, Grandma puked in the middle of this. Not that she was so terribly upset about missing Cumberland, but rather her allergies got the best of her -- this dry cough has been her constant companion since arriving in Mississippi; the Southeast is experiencing one of its worst allergy seasons in years. We rolled down the windows, handed her a trash bag and wondered what had suddenly gone awry with this trip?
Grandma pulled it together. I pulled it together. Tomcat shook his head and made the call to the Greyfield Inn for me. We decided to forfeit our exorbitant deposit and move on to Plan B. Trying to tell the kids, I was too choked up. Tomcat took over and explained that in this storm we'd miss seeing the wildlife anyway -- yes, even the wild ponies as they'd almost certainly be taking shelter inside the forests. And we wouldn't be able to run in the grass or ride bikes either.
I was simply aching inside and questioning how I could have possibly missed the fact that this island was in Florida, not Georgia. (We'd spoken about coming here to many people along the way, and the mixed up location never once came up!)
Well, I was a wreck and Peanut showed a wee bit of disappointment, but Little Man simply wanted to know when and where we were going to have dinner now that the plans had changed. Typical, huh? And Doodle said it was good it was raining so the flowers could bloom.
Doing our best to be optimistic, I said, "Well, instead of thinking of all the money we wasted, look at how much money I saved us by not having to pay the other half of the bill! Hell, let's get to Florida and go shopping!"
