Journey's End

Mon. Mar. 14-Wed. Mar.16: Well, this was a strange end to our trip. After driving across three states from I75 to I24 to I65, we got to Bowling Green, where we thought we’d stay for the night. But it was only 2:30 and was drizzly and getting colder, so we decided to keep driving. On the internet Marv found an Indiana State Park near Louisville we thought we could reach by about 6:00 and headed for it in our fourth state of the day. When we got there a sign at the entrance said the Park was open. But when we drove in, it was eerily deserted. No one was camping, no one was at any of the registration booths, the bathrooms were locked and the water was turned off. We drove back out and drove to the park office, which was dark and said it was closed. As we sat and talked about what to do, an old park ranger pulled up and told us that we were welcome to stay but the water wasn’t being turned on until the next Friday. We just weren’t ready to stay with no water so instead we called Sarah and asked if we could just come there a bit earlier than expected. After having dinner at Mariann’s we got to the Penquites about 9:30, popped up the camper to get out the food from the fridge and our stuff to stay for two nights, and recovered from 12 hours on the road. Craig was at work until after midnight and left at his usual 6:30am, so we didn’t see him at all until the next afternoon. Tuesday we enjoyed playing with outdoor toys with the boys in the garage since it was drizzly and cold. In the late afternoon we all went to see Craig’s new workspace in the building CSO Architects is purchasing, did some birthday shopping with Jordan, and then went to Sahm’s for dinner. Wednesday after we got up with the boys and took them to Preschool, we got all our things packed up and ready to leave in the afternoon. There was time for lunch and some playing, and then we took off when they went down for naps. The final leg of our journey was a breeze, with clear skies and clear roads the whole way. The temperature dropped from 65° to low fifties as we neared home. The trip had taken 51 days, 5445.5 miles, and 333.9 gallons of gas as we traveled through eleven states. The least we paid for gas was $2.78 in Picayune, MS at the beginning of our travels. Although we saw gas for $3.79 in Atlanta, the most we paid was $3.45 in Dublin, GA. Luckily, we only had to buy a few gallons there and then we filled a few miles later for $3.36. After SUCH a rocky beginning, once Analyn was home and healthy and we had sun and mid-eighties in Florida, the rest of the journey was pretty much flawless. It was a great second Winter Adventure. Our next trip comes fast on its heels, when we go to Nice, France on Mar. 31 for two weeks in France followed by a few days in London. Come back then to follow The Savage Traveler!