Sunday, July 25, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Final Data Breakdown
Total Miles Driven: 7,991 (Shelly would not let me drive around the block 10 times...)
Total Hours in the Car: 127 hours (feels like 130 at least)
Average Speed (just since Tuesday due to a GPS malfunction): 62.4
Highest / Lowest Price for gasoline:
- $3.59 per gallon in Grand Canyon, Arizona (aka "the only game in town")
- $2.47 per gallon in Jackson, Tennessee
Lost Hubcap(s): still only one (thanks for asking)
Seeding tickets (some thought this category's omission last time was an admission): 0
Best Meal of the trip:
- Me - (tie) the crab and tomato sandwich at Nick's in Pacifica, California / Enchilada Pollo con Mole at El Chorlito, San Simeon, California
- Shelly - (tie) BBQ Chicken sandwich at Wawona Hotel in Yosemite Valley, California / Spinach and cheese ravioli at Kathleen's in Pasadena, California
- Jacob - still fish and chips at Nick's in Pacifica, California
- Malcolm - still the chocolate chip pancakes at Denny's in Santa Nella, California
- Emma - Macaroni and Cheese at Casa Grande in Glenn Allen, Virginia
Number of Traffic Accidents witnessed (only the aftermaths) - 2 (last one looked pretty scary - http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/254717)
Total $$$ in tolls: $63.65 (no bill from Chicago as of yet... fingers crossed)
Number of Times Completed the License Plate Game - 2* (not technically true due to the omission of Hawaii from each game) / I think people from Delaware hide all the time in their basements since they are so hard to find on the roads...
Number of Pictures Taken: 3,784 (not including the kid's cameras - ugh!)
Number of pictures taken since Tuesday afternoon when we left Monument Valley: 85
Number of States Travelled Through (a highly requested category): 25 (though we came ridiculously close to Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, and West Virginia) and we were supposed to travel through Alabama and Mississippi before a change in plans to arrive home sooner
Favorite Hotel Room (by family vote): Platinum Hotel, Las VegasCoolness Ratios:
- Seeing the NYS sign - 7 out of 10
- Getting stuck in traffic on the NJ Turnpike with 3 hours to go: 2 out of 10
- Allowing the kids to watch Avatar again: 3 out of 10 (for us), 10 out of 10 for Emma
- Dinner last night at Casa Grande in Virginia: very cheap and yummy 7 out of 10
- Seeing the house for the first time in 22 days: 10 out of 10
- Seeing the pool for the first time in 22 days 5 out of 10
- Seeing water in the basement under the hot water tank: 1 out of 10
No worries (hopefully), we now have hot water and no discernible leak continuing...
home.
Back in the East...
- Arizona to Utah to Colorado to Arizona (briefly) to New Mexico to Texas to Oklahoma to Arkansas to Tennessee to Virginia
- 2,356 miles
- 3 time zones
- 34 hours and 25 minutes in the van
- Lots of "fast" food
- Many hours of "TV" for the urchins
These was the primary view that I had...
Or this... I-40 through Oklahoma, Arkansas and most of Tennessee is a favorite of the trucks... especially Walmart trucks. Grrrr...
Thursday, July 22, 2010
And Another Thing...
The kids all still think it is 6:30 right now. Snoozing away the day. That was two days and 1,000 miles ago.
Today's journey takes us through Oklahoma!, through Arkansas and to Memphis, Tennessee. Scheduled for just over 7 hours of driving time. If we ever get on the road!
The Race Home...
It was a odd moment entering Texas. I had informally banned myself from the state ever since watching the Errol Morris documentary The Thin Blue Line. We survived our brief journey across with no injuries or arrests.
Is this New Mexico? Texas? Oklahoma? I forget...
Did stop here "briefly". (Michelle I could not find the gift certificate in the mess we call our "mobile home" I am sure it will turn up as we unpack). They screwed up half of the order and the wait ticked past 30 minutes. Never stopping there again...
Resorted to taking surprise photos of Shelly reading. This is the only one she didn't delete (shouldn't have shown her how to do that) and only after my pleading for the sake of the blog.
Funny, she didn't delete any of the retaliation pictures she took of me.
Biggest cross in the Western Hemisphere. Not as impressive as the Wind Turbines we saw about 10 miles later. They are probably planning something bigger soon.
Yeah! Oklahoma. Loved that movie... "Oh what a beautiful morning" (until the children arise...)
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Monument Valley
Monday, July 19, 2010
Grand Canyon Shuttle Bus Adventure
Waiting for the first shuttle...
Trapped on the bus.
Grand Canyon Death March
This was near the start.