Day 51 - Finally Home

Well, we finally made it home on Friday, October 16, after 51 days and 8-1/2 hours on the roads of America. All in all, we had one of the best times of our lives, but we are definitely worn out and need a vacation from our vacation.

Listening to the weather reports from across the country and hitting rain in Georgia, we decided to shorten our trip and head for home from Savannah. We missed seeing Charleston, SC, and the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway that had been part of our initial trip plans, but common sense prevailed, and we're glad to be safe at home and in our own bed again. Our Vette adventures aren't over yet though.

The last two days of travel were filled with rain and traffic as we drove up I95 toward home. The rain finally quit as we were driving through New York City. I know New York City is known for pot holes, but I hit one pot hole that almost swallowed the poor Vette. I now have a rattle in the dash that will take a while to locate and fix. Now I have something to look forward to next Spring after I pull it out of storage. After this trip, the Vette is definitely ready for "a long Winter's Nap". It will go into storage this next week or so.

We arrived home and managed to get the Vette unpacked, for the most part, and settled down to relax for a while to unwind from the day's travel when the power went out in our neighborhood. Decided since we were both so tired and it was already dark, we may just as well go to bed, and so we did, at 7:45 in the evening.

Thought I had shut all the lights off, just in case the power came back on, but missed a couple things - especially the TV set, which came on at almost full volume about 10:30. Sheila woke me and asked who in the heck was making all the noise next door, and with both of us thinking we were in a motel somewhere, I told her I didn't know and to go back to sleep. I finally realized we were home and shut everything off and crashed for the rest of the night. Think we arrived home just in time. We had snow on Sunday, but no accumulation.

The trip has been much more exciting than we ever thought it could be. We have had so many laughs and good times and have done so many things together. From seeing Niagara Falls from the Maid of the Mist, shopping at the Mall of America, spending time with family and old friends, riding in an air boat, a 1949 Ryan Navion, a Model T Ford, seeing Mt. Rushmore, flying in a helicopter around Sedona, flying to the Grand Canyon in a Cessna and then taking a helicopter to the bottom of the canyon for a ride on the Colorado River on a pontoon boat.

This trip was what memories are made from. And of course, we can't forget going out on the Sky Walk at the Grand Canyon with nothing but 1-1/2 inches of glass between you and the floor of the canyon 4000 feet below you.



Motels ran from a high of about $150 per day in Niagara Falls, $95 per day in New Orleans, and the rest of the motels averaged from $65 to $75 per day. We watched our meals, not wanting to gain weight on this trip, and stopped for salads at Wendy's and McDonalds most days. (I never want to see another Southwestern Salad again!) The worst meal was at a Taco Bell in Lake Charles, LA. The best meals were, naturally, at Irene's in New Orleans.

The trip computer in the Vette indicated that we averaged 58.2 mph over the entire trip. We traveled a total of 8223 miles from start to finish. The best gas milage was in Canada when we got 34.3 mpg. The Vette averaged about 26.5 mpg over the entire trip. The gas milage dropped when we left Newnan, GA, and remained lower than normal, probably due to the rainy conditions for the rest of the way home. We paid a low of $2.17 per gallon in Des Moines, Iowa, to a high of $3.01 in Arizona for 89 octane fuel (they didn't have anything above 89 octane available).

We hit road construction in every state we drove through and only saw three accidents during the entire trip, thank God. Saw relatively few state police on the highways, and never received a single traffic ticket. I almost always drive the posted speed limit and Interstate speeds, not counting construction areas, ranged from 55 to 80 mph. I did pass several trucks in Nebraska or South Dakota that were slowing us down on the hills, and realized later that the GPS indicated we had passed them at 102 mph. They must have wondered what that red streak was that went past them.

Only Texas had a stretch of highway with an 80 mph speed limit, and on that strip of highway, we still managed to average over 28 mpg. South Dakota was the only state with 65 mph speed limits with lanes for bicycles on the highways, and we actually saw quite a few bicycle riders on the road.

Packing the Vette was a challenge every morning. Not that we accumulated much extra during the trip - We did ship some things home from Sedona. After arriving home and looking at clothing I took, but never wore, I would re-think what I would pack for another trip. Not just saving space, but saving weight when I had to lift the two big duffle bags over the rear bumper. Most days, I had about 4 inches of space for rear visibility between the luggage and the roof of the car.

When I packed the Vette each morning, there was no extra space to be found under the hatch. Storage compartments in the rear of the Vette were packed with maps, spare tools, and whatever else I could cram into them. It was so nice to take everything out of the Vette for the last time when we got home. K

Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home!!!  Our trip was amazing, but almost 8 weeks away from home is a long time.  Presently doing laundry in our own cranky washer and drier, no complaints though,clothes now clean and matching.  Ken and I have proven we vacation well together, now to decide if we live well together on a 24/7 basis, as it's our first week not traveling..  No plans for any drives for awhile, foliage enjoyed out our living room window.  Hope you've enjoyed our blog, hope we haven't bored you too much.   S

Day 50 - Where the hell are we???

We finally had a great Southern BBQ dinner last night, and the meat literally fell off the bones. Really worth the mess it made when one of the ribs fell apart and landed on the front of my shirt. That shirt will never be the same.

Drove all the way to some place in Maryland today, and it was raining every mile of the way. We are somewhere north of Baltimore for the night and it will sure be an early evening for two very weary travelers. Not much time to relax during the entire day's trip with all of the rain and traffic.

Driving thru Washington DC and Baltimore was a challenge in the rain with all of the trucks and traffic. Had planned to drive a little farther today, but I finally hit the "tired and worn out" wall and we pulled over. We have about 450 miles more to drive to get to Salem and should be home on Friday, unless we continue to have bad driving conditions. K

Was the movie Deliverance filmed in Maryland? We pulled off the highway to a small town in MD. it had 7 motels. We chose one we had stayed at previously in another part of the country, ah well. We pulled up to the check in and there standing smiling at us was a Southern gentleman, I told Ken if he pulled out a banjo not to smile back at him. Ken went into the lobby, I sat in the car, a lady was sitting in the car next to ours, she waved at the man on the porch and then he was joined by 4 young woman, all appeared very happy. The lady next to our car got out and the audience, { man and young woman} all squealled, " Maybelle you look wonderful". Maybelle said she had to fix herself and truthfully I agreed. Her hair was brown in front, black in back, and gray at the sides. She was generously proportioned wearing a track suit, 2 sizes too small. Even divine intervention would take time to make Maybelle fixed.
Just when I thought things were slowing down, Maybelle and chorus started to OOH and AAH, seems the gentleman had " brung a bottle of Crown Royale, my mother told me not to go anywhere empty handed". Oh good the chorus chimed, " we'll all go to Clays room for drinks".

Ken got back in the car and I gave him an update. " Oh well" he said" I was informed they're having the Jack Russell convention at this hotel today and tomorrow". Shortly after that I heard 20 Jack Russell terriers barking in unison to America the Beautiful or Jingle Bells. The cadence kept changing thus the confusion on the melody. Also the Jack Russells have a very high pitched bark, weak bladder, and a nervous GI system. The results were that they fouled the walkway, parking lot and several cars tires. Ken is going to guard the Vette tonight with a squirt gun, flashllight and a bottle of Captain Morgan.

Jack Russells are cute but have wierd names. Ones I've heard here are Dickie, Clay,Charles, Tinkerbell, Chablis, and Button Nose. I do not have a dog. but do have a cat named Sam, well Sammy if I'm feeling playful. When I take him to the vet I say, " Sams here for his checkup" he feels strong with a strong name and can easily hiss at each and every dog at the vets. Think the Jack Russells must all be working with animal behaviorists. I suggest they name the males, Rex, Spike, or Butch and the females, Marilyn, Ava, or Monique, " whats in a name?'

Wonder if we will have a peaceful nights sleep or if the canine choir will still be practising. S

Day 49 - Reluctantly Leaving Savannah

We very reluctantly left Savannah this morning in light rain that turned into heavy rain as we left Georgia and entered South Carolina. I think it quit raining one time during the day and that only lasted for about 15 minutes. Apparently, it is supposed to rain more this next couple of days.

We drove all the way to Durham, NC, today, and being without the air conditioning and defrosters is not fun, especially when we hit the Raleigh/Durham area traffic in heavy rain. Could hardly see the white lines on the roads, and a slightly fogged up windshield made driving very interesting.

We really loved Savannah and we are definitely going to return to that city. Not that we haven't enjoyed most of our stops, but the history and sights of the city were so very interesting. When you go to Savannah, you definitely have to take the tours of the city that are available. The ghost tours are also very interesting, and there are trolleys painted black and hearses available for these tours. Definitely a lot of fun.

We had planned to go through the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway on our way home, but with the rain in the southern part of the country, we may change our minds and just head home. We'll have to see what tomorrow's weather brings - Good weather and we may take the trail; bad weather, we will head for New Hampshire and be home for the weekend.

The trip from Savannah consisted of mostly flat land, although there were rolling hills. Lots of pine trees along the roads. We saw so many roadside signs advertising South of the Border, that we thought about stopping just to check the place out.

When we reached the South Carolina/North Carolina border and finally saw the exit for the place, it was pouring rain and it appeared that the place was deserted, so we didn't stop. It could have been one of the highlights of the drive today. Actually a very boring drive, and very tense to drive in the rain. The new tires performed very well today. K

Ken and I went on the Ghost Tour of Savannah last night. This is a picture taken at the Pirates Den, supposedly haunted. Many of our tour group said they noticed the difference in temperature from room to room. Ken and I must not be psychic, we noticed no change. Dinner was very nice, Ken had the flounder and shrimp casserole, I had the salmon, both excellent. Tour was fun, apparently Savannah was built on a necropolis, yes that's right, on dead people. Long story, but as the city grew well land became more scarce. so they built over reported graves. This gives Savannah the distinction of being the most haunted city in America.

Ken did a great job of driving today, packing as well, if retirement doesn't work out think he'd be an asset to UPS, or putting those rainhats in small plastic cases. Our luggage has become even heavier, all shopping and trotchkes. Tomorrow will only bring in one suitcase, today brought in 2 as it was so cold. No airconditioning but the temp was 54 degrees, I froze in the car, had on a jean jacket but no help. Needed extra suitcase to access warm sweater, jeans, and sneakers and sox. Ken wants barbecue tonight, he means ribs. Found a place just down the street from our motel that we think will fill the bill.

Our last hotel was Doubletree, when we checked in received 2 blockbuster cookies, mm good, but enough calories to feed a family of six for the day. Today we checked into a different hotel chain, were offered chocolate cookies wtih M+M's, a choice of cheezits or a muffin and an ice water, do they know the way to a travelers heart? A big dish of apples was also on hand, I chose the apples but a nameless one took advantage of the other offer, no cookie though.

Tomorrow up in the air depending on weather,will be good to get home. Loved every bit of our adventure but miss all we love at home. Phineas Fogg went around the world in 80 days in a hot air balloon. Sheila and Ken went around the USA in a Chevrolet in yet to be determined days, somewhat less than 80 days, but just as many miles or so it seems. S

Day 48 - Savannah, Day 2

Early this morning Ken and I got up and around and headed for the river to see the sites. It was about a 2 block walk from our hotel, then down an elevator about 2 flights, or walk down a 70 degree stairway, we opted for the elevator.

The river is beautiful as are the shops. I went into a cute shop called Jezebels, so many nice things, my mantra being no room in the Vette, no room in the Vette. I saw a pretty silk blouse, silk can fold up like a hankie, but thought I'd think about it, did pick up a cute headband, I love, Ken doesn't, think it's a man thing. Went to Vic's for lunch, very lovely on the river, delicious food.

After lunch hit the candy shops, those pralines and bear claws are yummy enough to make an anorexics mouth water. Did buy some delectables, have sampled a few, umm umm good. Back on the trolley for another tour. Tonight Ken and I will go on the haunted house tour and then out to eat in the Pirates Galley,think we'll have fun. S

Back is sore as heck from standing and riding the trolleys, but still had a great day. The lunch at Vic's was very good. Sheila had a salmon salad, and I had a pulled pork sandwich with peach BBQ sauce that I thought I would dislike, but loved after all. The tour this afternoon re-traced the sites we saw yesterday, but at least it wasn't raining and we didn't have the plastic sides pulled down on the trolleys this time. The seats were just as hard though.

Savannah is a city we both would like to come back to visit soon. Understand they have the second largest St. Patrick's Day celebration in the country, but don't think I would like to be here for that. The riverside is filled with lots of touristy shops and bars and places to eat. Cobble stone streets along the riverside and lots of old buildings with interesting histories.

Speaking of histories, Savannah is supposed to be one of the most haunted cities in the country, and of course, we are going on a tour of some of the places tonight. Sounds like fun and (hopefully) laughs. Also having dinner on the tour.

Tomorrow, we will start heading back for New England. Haven't decided if we will still head through the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway yet or not. Need to check the weather reports for that. We plan to be back home, hopefully, this next weekend. K

Day 47 - Savannah, GA

Well, we have been relaxing in Newnan, GA, for the past 6 days and haven't kept up with the blog - just relaxing and enjoying time with family. We have had a great time catching up with my sister Vicki, nephew Scott, meeting her friend Mike, and seeing my brother Neal and his family. We haven't seen Scott or Neal and his family in 10-1/2 years.

We had great news from our nephew Matt that we saw in San Antonio, TX. He is currently in F16 fighter pilot training at Kelly AFB in San Antonio and he flew an F16 for the first time last week. His comment to his instructor was "Unbelievable!" or something close to that...
(I may have cleaned up his comment slightly.)

Our nephew Scott is also trying to get into a Guard unit to become a pilot. He has interviewed with several Guard units around the country and is very hopeful of being hired by one of the units. It is quite a process to get into a Guard unit to become a pilot, but this young man will become a fighter pilot, without a doubt. Scott is also a very talented artist and his drawings are incredibly detailed, especially when it comes to drawing aircraft.

I have finally achieved my goal in life to be taller than my little brother Neal. Unfortunately, it took me standing on the top step of the deck and him one step lower to achieve the height difference, but it finally happened!

Neal and his wife Becky have two sons, Jake and Josh, and Jake towers over Neal by a couple of inches. Josh is a freshman in high school, and will probably be well over 6 feet tall too. I think Jake said he was 6 feet 4 inches tall.

Jake just received his acceptance for college and should receive scholarships for music. Jake plays a five drum set in the marching band, and I have never seen hands move so fast in my life with drumsticks. Josh plays the guitar, but unfortunately, I didn't get to see him play. What a couple of nice boys.

Vicki took us to a nice country-style place to eat, and the girls met a couple of new friends while we were there.

We left Newnan for Savannah today in one of the worst rain storms I have ever been in. The rain was so bad, I almost turned around and went back to Newnan, but figured we would run out of the rain eventually. We finally left the torrential rain for rain that didn't require high speed wipers, and moved from 40 mph to 65 mph after about 50 - 60 miles. What a mess!

Arrived in Savannah in 85 degree weather, sunny, but humid. The rain finally caught up with us later in the afternoon while we were on a tour of the city in one of those trolley-type buses with plastic sheets that roll down in rainy weather. Those trolleys are NOT weatherproof! Nice tour, however. Did learn a little more about my distant cousin, General Sherman. Have to go back tomorrow to get a little more information on his adventures. People here in Savannah like General Sherman, but you don't mention any relationship with him in the Atlanta area. They still remember Sherman sacked Atlanta.

I forgot to mention that the air conditioning system in the Vette gave up the ghost when we arrived in Newnan, so we have no AC nor defroster, so a fogged up windshield made matters worse leaving Newnan. Apparently something in the AC system has become blocked and the Chevrolet dealer in Newnan wasn't sure they could fix it quickly or if they had the correct parts.

We forgot to put photos on the blog when we were getting our tatoos, and no Nora, they didn't hurt that bad and no Nora, your mother did not have any piercings!

We plan to spend one or two more days here in Savannah before we head for New England. Starting to get worried about hitting snow on the way home and darned sure don't want to get caught in snow with the Vette. Met a couple from the Denver area on the tour today, and they were saying they had to de-ice their plane before they left Denver yesterday. K
Savannah is beautiful, such a fascinating city. Took a tour this afternoon and tomorrow will take off on our own. Plan to go to the river and investigate some shops, yes I know there's no room left in the vette, but that large purse of mine might be able to hold a praline or two. When the bell hop helped bring our luggage into the room he was amazed that we could fit all that " stuff" in the vette, I wanted to say " You ain't seen nothin yet". Want to do so much here but don't want to wait too long to start home. Haven't decided yet if I want to take a tour of Paula Deens kitchen with accompanying lunch at Bubba Gumps, or to take the haunted house tour of the paranormal " spirits and ghosts" of Savannah ending with a dinner at the legendary Pirates House which is well known for it's haunting. Ken doesn't think either sounds good, he wants to go on the perfect praline quest, that sounds good to me too. Would like to go to the City Market too, vendors from all over the world. Would also like to tour the house Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was about. Can only say one thing Savannah is definately a come back to visit place.
What do you think of our non matching tattoos? Ken got a half a tribal band, and I have a heart with a lightening bolt going thru it, some people just never act their age.
Yes people have noticed that I'm buying quite a bit of jewelry, just remember that space is an issue in the vette, but I have eight fingers and 2 thumbs, 2 wrists, a large neck and two ears that can accomodate a lot of pretty things. Maybe I do have a sort of Shopaholic quality but everything I've bought was either on sale, a museum quality piece, or just looked so nice on. I went shopping with Vicki, OK, so that was my first mistake, we both love shopping and encourage each other to buy things that look nice. Well when I heard that the weather was taking a nose dive to cool, I was so glad that I was prepared. I had found the cutest Calvin Klein, fake fur, lime green jacket in Newnan. Nice and warm, very stylish, and fit great, such a deal, just realized I forgot to mention that purchase to Ken, oh well he's in he loop now. More to follow S

Day 41 - Montgomery, AL, to Newnan, GA

Today we made it to Newnan, GA, to my sister Vicki's home. A relatively quiet drive and what I thought was going to be our first day of travel without construction delays. Travel from Montgomery was an easy ride with mostly 70 mph speed limits. Mostly flat to green rolling hills with one accident in the median strip - no bodies, just broken cars.

As we approached Newnan on Interstate 85, we finally hit construction that slowed us to 50 mph. We were looking for Exit 47, and with all of the construction signs, orange barrels, and construction vehicles, we finally saw the "Exit 47 Open Ahead" sign. Then the "Exit 47" sign appeared with what appeared to be an exit, so the Vette veered off through the barrels toward what appeared to be the exit ramp, only to realize that there was no exit there - just a rather large deputy sheriff having a few donuts and fried chicken. Fortunately, while he was wiping the sugar and grease off his chin, I sneaked the Vette back through the barrels into traffic and managed to find the actual exit 1/2 mile later.

Located Vicki's place with no problems, but it was a challenge to get the Vette into her driveway due to the height of the curb. Actually made it into the driveway wthout scraping the bottom off the car. Vicki was still at work, but she arrived home a couple of hours later. Her home is beautiful. Gave us a chance to unload the Vette and to get some laundry done before she got home. It had been a few days since we did laundry, and I was down to a pair of white socks before I was out of clean socks and would have had to go to WalMart for replacements.

Our nephew Scott arrived in time for dinner, and it was so nice to see him again. It has been about 10 years since we last saw him. We saw his brother, Matt, in San Antonio. Scott is also looking for the opportunity to become a fighter pilot in the Air National Guard. It is quite an interview process to get a flying position in the Guard, but Scott will do well too. Both boys are very impressive young men.

We're using Vicki's PC to post the blog today, and didn't take any photos on the trip yesterday that were post-worthy. We will be here in Newnan until Sunday or Monday, when we will leave for Savannah, GA. K

So nice to see Vicki and Scott again. Her home is beautiful and beautifully decorated, she has such lovely taste. Today Vicki had to work so Scott is going to take us out and about, will find a nail place and get my nails beautified, need nice nails so jewelry shone off to the best advantage of course. Vicki says Newnan has grown so much from a small town to urban area. Tonight plan on going out to dinner, Vicki says tonight is Margarita night and I can only say " sounds good to me." S

Day 40 - New Orleans to Montgomery Al

Hi Y'all, we're in Alabama. Left New Orleans in the rain this morning and it followed us thru. Had a great time in New Orleans.

Don't think we told you but the restaurant Irene's where we had 2 dinners, treated us very special. The second night we went to dinner there, they asked us if we minded sitting at a small table in the corner; if we preferred a better table we'd have to wait 45 minutes. We said we'd be fine at the small table. Well, the owner, Irene, came out to meet us; she said she heard we were a very lovely couple - sure have her fooled. After dinner we decided to share a dessert, and were presented with a primo desert with a candle and two glasses of dessert wine gratis. Seems Irene really liked us. Excellent food!!


! Also had a lovely hotel that was one rate in the AAA book and another when I called. They said that due to the Saints game, they had very few available rooms. After chatting for a bit, they told me they would comp the parking fee, $20.00/day, and give us the advertised fee for the 3rd day. When we got there they couldn't have been nicer.

Today checked in here in Ala, in Montgomery. Interesting city but much smaller than NO but maybe the section we're in . Will go out for a small supper pretty soon, really tied on the feed bag in NO, food so delicious, Ken really liked the po'boy sandwich and the fried soft shell crab. I loved the fish, so fresh and delicious.

Yes Katie, I did find something in Chico's - a really cute shirt, actually found several. Good sales.
Also saw Brad and Angelina's house, was told they go to Irene's too and are given a table in the back corner to they can have privacy. Apparently Nicholas Cage has 2 homes in NO, how to spend lots of money quickly.

Tomorrow onto Newnan Georgia to see Vicki. S

Hadn't planned to go to Bourbon Street last night, but we thought, what the heck. Must plan to stay away from those Hurricanes at Pat O'Brien's. The tatoos are a lot more painful than we expected, but it's all part of "Our Great Adventure".

Not a dry drive to Montgomery today. Hit rain as soon as we hit the outskirts of New Orleans, and it was torrential in several places. Gets scary in the heavy rain and saw lots of cars in the median strips in Louisiana and Mississippi. Most of the vehicles in the median strips were SUVs and pickup trucks. Seems like those drivers are the same all over the country when it comes to thinking they are invincible.

Another 320 miles on the odometer today, and we are both ready for an early night's sleep. Amazing how tired you can get from driving in rain. At least the sun is out now (for a while, anyway). K