Benz: My motor didn't even get started either Monday or Tuesday. Of course, that's pretty usual for Mark who has never driven me around town very much but instead bicycles to work routinely. But the past month was so wonderful for me to be able cruise for hours on end. I was born for days like that! Our two longest days ended up being back to back; 715 miles one day then 785 miles the next day. Nine other days exceeded 400 miles. Only one day did we not actually advance forward on our route; that was when my humans weren't feeling well.
I know that some view me as being only a collection of steel, rubber, leather, and wood and that some say I'm only just a machine, or only car. But some of you understand that being real isn't easy to define or to understand. This trip meant so much to me and to Mark and Julie. And we all loved sharing the adventure with all of you who were interested. We've enjoyed having so many of you involved in all kinds of different ways and being a part of our adventure.
Mark: Monday and Tuesday have now come and gone following our return home on Sunday. It has felt really weird to be staying in one place rather than travelling. I love being home, but I also miss the adventure of the open road and the unknown discoveries of each day. Numerous people have asked if the trip was good. This was a fantastic journey! Julie and I keep talking and reminiscing about things that we saw and experienced. We had many hours together and loved travelling together. During the journey there were lots of decisions to make regarding where to stay, how far to continue each day, how late to sleep each morning, and where we would spend our precious time. We worked as a team to sort out priorities and figure things out. We also shared our deeper thoughts and emotions, some prompted by Benz and her connections to the past, and those are incredible precious memories for me.
Julie certainly shares my wanderlust. It was incredible to sample this country from sea to shining sea. I have a new sense of how large our nation is. Yet wherever we went we talked with people who have done long road trips to see the country. One family that we met at Yellowstone was on a quest to visit all 48 states, but over a span of several summers' road trips. This summer they visited 18 states, bringing along a cousin visiting from Germany. There is a widespread wish to spread wings and see parts of the country far from home. It seems to be a common outlook that, no matter where in the USA we call home, we all share the nation. We are all Americans who cherish this nation and its multitude of marvelous things.
This journey was challenging because of its pace. We knew that it would be but still we're amazed at how little sitting still we were able to do. (yes, we sat in the car seats a lot; but that's not sitting still!) For example, usually our coffee shop stops included Internet time to get things posted or articles written. We knew we needed to average around 400 miles per day to be home for the start of marching band camp, so we had to pay attention to pace and distance ahead. For me, who typically chooses to see fewer places but to immerse in those few, this was a different pattern of travel. But I cherish it for the adventure that it provided and the challenge that we met in making it happen.
Here are a few factoids that some of you have been interested to hear about. Benz told you above some distance statistics. Fuel: We spent $2,244.89 for 548.7 gallons of gasoline. Since we travelled 9,979 miles, that calculates to an overall 18.1 miles per gallon. I'm pleased with that, because I wasn't sure we'd get over 15 miles per gallon. The highest price we paid for fuel was $4.64 along I-5 in California. The lowest amount we paid was $3.78 in Springfield, MO. From Colorado to Minnesota we never paid under $4.00. In the East, prices were really scattered depending on the taxes in each state, so we paid over $4 sometimes but well under $4 other times. The highest price we saw anywhere was just outside Death Valley National Park where Regular gasoline was $5.91 per gallon. I talked with the station owner there, and they have virtually no mark up. Only one fuel transporter will even make a delivery to them because it's a four hour trip one way so it takes a driver a full day to make that one delivery. Julie and I discussed buying a gallon just for bragging rights, but chose not to! That station owner says that their price sign is the most photographed item at their Panamint Valley Resort.
Our lodging bill totals $1,086 for 26 overnights. Friends and family helped keep that total down (THANKS!), as did one night of camping.
One fascinating aspect of our trip was the number of Europeans that we interacted with. The Euro is its strongest ever, as is the Swiss franc, and Europeans are benefitting from their favorable exchange rate. Instead of travelling to Europe to practice my French, I just travelled the USA! I spoke French with travellers in Durango, at Death Valley, and at Yellowstone. The family at Death Valley was even from Strasbourg! I dabbled with German when we met a Swiss family at the Golden Gate Bridge. We gave a photo of Benz and ourselves to each of those families, with our blog address included, and we hope to hear back from them in the weeks ahead.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Benz: Didn't I look really good on television tonight, coming down the bridge into Cape Girardeau? Really now, 40 years old isn't very old! I sensed that some people thought maybe this trip was too much of a challenge for a "40 year old" automobile. But I knew that I could go the distance for my good people Julie, Mark, and Bearnadette. When you're in good shape, age isn't such a factor. Gene, then Phyllis, and now Mark and Julie have always taken good care of me and I really wanted to show all of them how much that has always meant to me. We've all done this together and it is wunderbar satisfying to have completed this trip. What's next?! I've heard neat things about the drive to Alaska.
Bearnadette: What a surprise to see myself on the Welcome Home banner! I love it! Thank you so much to all who helped! It was so exciting to arrive home in Missouri and see so many family members and good friends waiting for us at the end of the bridge.
Bearnadette: What a surprise to see myself on the Welcome Home banner! I love it! Thank you so much to all who helped! It was so exciting to arrive home in Missouri and see so many family members and good friends waiting for us at the end of the bridge.
Home sweet home!
Winona MS to home. 325 mile day. 9979 miles Trip Total
Our very own Cape bridge was a beautiful sight to see! Golden Gate Bridge, George Washington Bridge, and now the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge. Now we're home. Home sweet home. And how wonderful to see a giant WELCOME HOME! banner on the front porch of the house as we rounded the corner onto Weissinger Lane. Family and friends, THANKS!
There was a small group of people to meet us at the bridge as well as a camera from KFVS12 TV. Our homecoming story is scheduled to run on the 5pm news tonight.
Julie and I are eager to hop in the swimming pool..... so I'm cutting this post short. We'll fill in some more details over the next few days for those of you interested in knowing more info and some of our closing thoughts on this marvelous adventure.
Thanks to all of you who have followed our travels. It has been tremendously fun to share this adventure through the blog. -- Mark
Our very own Cape bridge was a beautiful sight to see! Golden Gate Bridge, George Washington Bridge, and now the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge. Now we're home. Home sweet home. And how wonderful to see a giant WELCOME HOME! banner on the front porch of the house as we rounded the corner onto Weissinger Lane. Family and friends, THANKS!
There was a small group of people to meet us at the bridge as well as a camera from KFVS12 TV. Our homecoming story is scheduled to run on the 5pm news tonight.
Julie and I are eager to hop in the swimming pool..... so I'm cutting this post short. We'll fill in some more details over the next few days for those of you interested in knowing more info and some of our closing thoughts on this marvelous adventure.
Thanks to all of you who have followed our travels. It has been tremendously fun to share this adventure through the blog. -- Mark
On track for 2:00
Still on track for arrival at bridge around 2:00. Depending on how the roads are, we might even be a little bit earlier than that, around 1:45. We'll keep you posted.
Homeward Bound
Rolling at 7:50 this morning with 314 miles to the bridge. ETA is 2:00 pm. We'll post another update later this morning.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Pensacola FL to Winona MS
457 miles today.
Mark: Went for morning ride and finished up carrying my bicycle and walking along the beach on the brackish water bay where the Potters live. (Not Harry's family) Left Pensacola at 9am. It is so difficult to leave blueberry waffles and good hosts. THANKS again! Julie and I set our our first priority as visiting another National Park at the Gulf Islands National Seashore. Then, we took short swim in the Gulf of Mexico. That completes the water circle of the country. This was our warmest water entry yet on this grand circuit! Alas, it was time to leave the beach and point our way north. We'd already made our decision to bypass New Orleans and also the Natchez Trace. Traffic moved pretty slowly at some places. Then, we really got slowed down a few times with some of those incredible big southern raindrops that brings down huge volumes of water in very short time. And even the fastest, most reckless drivers slow down. We crawled along a few times with water inches deep and visibility dropping to only a few car lengths. I told Julie that I've gotten caught in such rains in Florida while bicycling and it is PAINFUL! We did invest time to travel a 20 mile section of the the coast in the Gulfport area. The aftermath of Katrina is still powerfully visible. What made our immersion experience to view the aftermath even more deep was, well, the water. Thunderstorms, lightning scary close, thunder rocking the car and scaring Bearnadette. Surreal. For a short while I was watching especially closely for any tornadoes because the sky was so dark. I felt like I had at least a tiny hint of what that coast was like when Katrina made her visit.
Onward, onward. We drove on north and are now overnighting at Winona, MS, which is south of Memphis. We're give an update in the morning about our departure time and we'll strive to get a few updates posted through the morning so that people can have an idea of when we're likely to next see our home bridge and home city.
I'm having those emotions that I always have at the end of a great journey. I don't want it to end and yet I'm so eager to be back home. I just love the rhythm of travel and the unknowns and the discoveries. So, I wish it could go on. Yet, I long to be home. This experience shared with Julie, and shared with so many of you, has been awesome. -- Mark
BENZ here: It has been so many years since I've had a chance to crank out the kilometers like I've been able to do on this trip. The balanced driveshaft (thanks again, DLS Portland!) and new steering coupling have made me feel young again. It can't be nearing the completion, can it?! I told these humans I was ready to make this trip and that I'd serve them well. This has exceeded all expectations as a fantastic adventure. Mark, Julie, and Bearnadette have been superb traveling companions. And really now, how many automobiles ever get to visit all 48 states lower states plus the District? I've earned bragging rights! Yes indeed, we have let the good times roll.
Bearnadette here: Wow, what a storm today! I was shivering with fright inside my sweater. But once the thunder and lightning ended, I loved the cooler temperatures. It was a nice break from the postage stamp weather we've had! I'm sad that the end of the trip is near. We've been to four national parks but I haven't seen any wild bears yet! But on the other paw, it'll be great to get home and sleep in. I ended hibernation early for the trip. It's almost too much for a bear to bear, but this adventure has easily been worth the few days of sleep I missed.
Julie: Jim Croce has been one of Dad's and my favorite albums to listen to on our trip. So as it began to rain in Alabama, we both wanted to go walking in the Alabama rain. Stopped in Spanish Fort AL, went for a quick walk, then went inside a Starbucks. As Dad ordered his coffee we told the workers about our trip. Everyone there was very interested with our story and admired the Benz. Augie, one of the workers, even gave Dad his cup of coffee for free. Thank you for the fun, Starbucks crew! Even though I don't drink coffee, I really enjoy going to coffee shops because so often I find that the workers are super friendly and fun. Today proved the point yet again.
Mark: Went for morning ride and finished up carrying my bicycle and walking along the beach on the brackish water bay where the Potters live. (Not Harry's family) Left Pensacola at 9am. It is so difficult to leave blueberry waffles and good hosts. THANKS again! Julie and I set our our first priority as visiting another National Park at the Gulf Islands National Seashore. Then, we took short swim in the Gulf of Mexico. That completes the water circle of the country. This was our warmest water entry yet on this grand circuit! Alas, it was time to leave the beach and point our way north. We'd already made our decision to bypass New Orleans and also the Natchez Trace. Traffic moved pretty slowly at some places. Then, we really got slowed down a few times with some of those incredible big southern raindrops that brings down huge volumes of water in very short time. And even the fastest, most reckless drivers slow down. We crawled along a few times with water inches deep and visibility dropping to only a few car lengths. I told Julie that I've gotten caught in such rains in Florida while bicycling and it is PAINFUL! We did invest time to travel a 20 mile section of the the coast in the Gulfport area. The aftermath of Katrina is still powerfully visible. What made our immersion experience to view the aftermath even more deep was, well, the water. Thunderstorms, lightning scary close, thunder rocking the car and scaring Bearnadette. Surreal. For a short while I was watching especially closely for any tornadoes because the sky was so dark. I felt like I had at least a tiny hint of what that coast was like when Katrina made her visit.
Onward, onward. We drove on north and are now overnighting at Winona, MS, which is south of Memphis. We're give an update in the morning about our departure time and we'll strive to get a few updates posted through the morning so that people can have an idea of when we're likely to next see our home bridge and home city.
I'm having those emotions that I always have at the end of a great journey. I don't want it to end and yet I'm so eager to be back home. I just love the rhythm of travel and the unknowns and the discoveries. So, I wish it could go on. Yet, I long to be home. This experience shared with Julie, and shared with so many of you, has been awesome. -- Mark
BENZ here: It has been so many years since I've had a chance to crank out the kilometers like I've been able to do on this trip. The balanced driveshaft (thanks again, DLS Portland!) and new steering coupling have made me feel young again. It can't be nearing the completion, can it?! I told these humans I was ready to make this trip and that I'd serve them well. This has exceeded all expectations as a fantastic adventure. Mark, Julie, and Bearnadette have been superb traveling companions. And really now, how many automobiles ever get to visit all 48 states lower states plus the District? I've earned bragging rights! Yes indeed, we have let the good times roll.
Bearnadette here: Wow, what a storm today! I was shivering with fright inside my sweater. But once the thunder and lightning ended, I loved the cooler temperatures. It was a nice break from the postage stamp weather we've had! I'm sad that the end of the trip is near. We've been to four national parks but I haven't seen any wild bears yet! But on the other paw, it'll be great to get home and sleep in. I ended hibernation early for the trip. It's almost too much for a bear to bear, but this adventure has easily been worth the few days of sleep I missed.
Julie: Jim Croce has been one of Dad's and my favorite albums to listen to on our trip. So as it began to rain in Alabama, we both wanted to go walking in the Alabama rain. Stopped in Spanish Fort AL, went for a quick walk, then went inside a Starbucks. As Dad ordered his coffee we told the workers about our trip. Everyone there was very interested with our story and admired the Benz. Augie, one of the workers, even gave Dad his cup of coffee for free. Thank you for the fun, Starbucks crew! Even though I don't drink coffee, I really enjoy going to coffee shops because so often I find that the workers are super friendly and fun. Today proved the point yet again.
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