Epilogue

The trip was GREAT! We had so much fun and saw so much of the United States. We had so few problems that it's hard to believe how it could have worked out much better. Of course, getting evacuated from Orlando and having the Disney portion cut to just one day (and having the Universal Studios portion eliminated entirely) was probably the biggest disappointment. But we did get to see the Wild Animal park that one day, which was our main objective. Also, walking around the Disney park elicited the realization that we're not kids anymore and that going to a popular theme park doesn't hold the same excitement and affection that it once did (with the crowds and the long lines and the high costs.) So, maybe I was just living in the past a little too much.

Our route included 35 states, a handful of which were new to Susan and me. In fact, of the 15 states that we didn't visit on this trip, I had visited 12 of them previously. So, if I were visit North Dakota, Kentucky and West Virginia, I would have visited all 50 states. (But I'm not planning any such trip at this time...)

Our starting Odometer reading was 120,855.7 and the ending was 134,785.6, which comes to driving 13,929.9 miles in 92 days. We averaged right about 10 miles per gallon while towing, say, 11,000 miles, and averaged 16 MPG for the 3000 miles we were unhooked from the trailer and sightseeing, which means we probably purchased 1285 gallons of gas. With the gas prices ranging from a high of $4.69 (in California) to a low of $2.69 (in Kansas) we likely paid about $4500 in gas alone.

Similarly, we stayed at campsites that ranged from a high of $150 per night (Disney) to as low as $0 (Harvest Hosts and Walmart) which likely averaged to $65 per night. At 91 nights, that comes to about $5900 in campsite fees.

(I'll see if my credit card receipts confirm these estimates.)

In embarking on such a trip, it seems there are two ways to proceed - 1) plan every day out in advance and have reservations in place for as many of these campsites as possible, or 2) just hit the road and only make reservations for a day or two ahead. I went with the first approach, and amazingly we stuck to the trip pretty much as planned. The exception is when Disney evacuated us and we had to scramble to fill in the 5 days that we wouldn't be in Orlando. But, it all worked out and we added Nashville to the trip as a bonus. But also, I think it fits my personality to have everything all planned out in advance. I believe I sleep easier every night safe in the knowledge that our itinerary is not vague.

I want to express my appreciation to several people:

Mark & Loni - for your hospitality during our stay in South Carolina. We had a wonderful visit with you, despite the remnants of hurricane Helene.

Becky & Brian - for hosting our Cousins' Reunion at your home and then escorting us around the old neighborhood for two more days! It was such a pleasure to get to know you.

Alan & Patricia - for checking in with us weekly and providing support and advice along the way.

The Hiatt Clan - for hosting another Cousins' Reunion at your childhood home in North Carolina (and again in Draper, Utah.) It was also such a pleasure to get to know all of you.

Heather - for watching our house for us while we were gone and watering our plants and keeping the squatters from settling in.

Sean & Cristina & Maxx - for taking Hobbs into your home for 3 months!

And I want to thank ALL OF YOU, my Blog Readers. Your devotion in following along in this trip with us motivated me to craft these postings (42 in all!) so that this trip became very well documented. Thanks to you we have captured the thoughts, feelings, and pictures of our trip and will be able look back and relive this epic trip right down to the daily details for years to come.

Above is how the actual trip turned out.

So, are we burned-out from camping and ready to move on to some other mode of vacation? No! Quite the opposite - Susan and I are already talking about our next trips! One idea is to head southeast (Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico) while another is to head north to Oregon, Washington, Alberta and British Columbia. So, faithful readers - stay tuned!