Home at Last-May 3, 2009

It is really hard for me to imagine that we have actually been gone for seven weeks, that we have driven through 32 states (and a province) and put 11,915 miles on my little black Mercedes. The time has flown by and I honestly feel like I have just had a full semester of school as I have learned and experienced so much. We had a whole box of maps and AAA travel books for the various states that we visited and we threw our last map and book away when we left Bear Lake. By car is the only way to really see roadside America, really experience where the people live, where they shop, how they talk, what they eat, and how dense the trees are in the east, how flat the plains are in the central states, and how rugged the mountains are in the west. We have searched for alligators in the bayous of Louisiana and looked for a grizzly bear in Yellowstone, we've eaten gumbo, cray fish, bison, conch chowder, boiled peanuts, cheesecake and my personal favorite, sugar pie in Quebec. We've experienced all kinds of weather, from super hot to freezing and snow, we've seen the devastation left by hurricane Ike in Texas and the everglades in Florida, the vastness of the plains in South Dakota, to once again the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains. You just can't see this from an airplane and it has been so wonderful to be up close and personal with this great country of ours. Having the opportunity to visit so many museums and learn more about our country, also gave me pride in our heritage. I am definitely proud to be an American and I have never loved our country more. If I could pick just one part of my trip that was my favorite, I would have to pick my traveling buddy. Craig was like having my own personal travel guide with me all the time. He always knew so much about every place we went and knew all the places that we needed to visit. We are home now and our trip is officially over, but it won't be our last.