Click, Snap, Twist.....

The sounds you hear are the locks being closed on the memory box for the epic journey.










No more “where shall we get gas?”; “what’s that noise?”; “how many more miles?”; and other travails of day to day travel. But also safe are the wonderful meals, great times spent with family and friends we don’t see enough of, the awesome scenery and a realization of what a large and beautiful country we are blessed to occupy. Somehow flying over the landscape doesn’t give you the same feel as driving over it mile by mile by mile. Over the course of the weeks, we drove through 13 states (and not the puny little ones either), and put 7721 miles on the Momster who performed pretty well for a lady of her age. The beauty of nature is awesome: oceans, mountains, deserts, hills, bayous, swamps, rivers, bays and cities. I think it will take some time to recall all the little joys we had, from the home made signs for boiled crawfish to the little road side stands of fresh food



and the realization of how many restaurants still exist that are not chains.



Oh, yeah, and there was that lovely dinner with friends, and gosh, there’s a sandhill crane, boy, look at those rocks!, Hi Ed! Nice to see you, Roger! John and that leisurely lunch. Real Italian food in Louisiana… the countless “Hi I’ms…..” and the truly good service.

So, there are still a few stories to be told. And, despite the fact that we’re back in the digs, if the readers will indulge me I think over the next few days we’ll re-live a few of the memories..

And maybe not so coincidentally, a second lock box closes, as today marks the end of my first year of “retirement”. Mr. Garcia’s line of “what a long strange trip it’s been” applies not only to the physical journey we just completed, but also the mental journey that I am still in the midst of. It has not been as easy as I thought. It’s damn hard. Since this is just a snippet, we’ll leave some more deep thoughts for another time..

Journeys are always educational, maybe not always what you thought, but you do learn something about yourself. I know I took away some lessons that will apply to future ramblings. Like leisure travel requires hard work….

Second worst roadside sign: “Road Work Ahead”

Worst roadside sign: “Next Facilities 95 Miles”

But, through it all, we were always

DFD