Home! :)

We've arrived safely home! :)

I think we all have mixed feelings... somewhat disappointed that our adventure is over, relieved to be home, overwhelmed at the giant to-do list and responsibilities that await us (school, work, etc), thankful for the many blessings that we are coming home to, looking forward to seeing friends and family, etc!

Some interesting trip tallies:

Days: 74
States visited: 26
Countries visited: 2
Junior ranger badges earned by each girl: 19
Miles driven: 10,080
Flat tires: 2
Dead batteries: 1
Accidents: 0 (yay!)
Messages on home phone answering machine: 21

Looking back, it's been an amazing and wonderful adventure. We've seen, done, and learned much more than any of us had anticipated. We feel greatly enriched by these great experiences and are so thankful that we had this opportunity to explore our great country.

And it leaves just one question... "What's next?"

:) Connie

Visit with Pops and Family

We visited Pops (James' dad), Hope, Morgan, and Logan in West Virginia from July 29th through August 1st. James and Pops did some fishing and shooting and we all had some great family dinners. Anna and Jamie had a lot of fun playing with Morgan and Logan, too.

What a great visit! :) Connie

RV Cuisine

A lot of people ask us whether we eat at restaurants frequently while we're traveling in the RV. Actually, we probably ate out less than 10 times over the whole summer. This is for two main reasons 1) cost... there is no way we could afford to do all the fun things we've done this summer if we were spending lots of money on food, and 2) efficiency... we found that we actually saved a lot of time to do a quick pullover and have lunch in the camper rather than to find a restaurant and go in to eat, etc. Plus, the camper doesn't fit within the clearance of drive-throughs! So, we had to make good use of the TINY kitchen and LIMITED cabinet space in the camper for our meals.

Typical breakfasts: cereal, toast, bagels, English muffins, blueberry muffins, french toast, eggs, or pancakes.

Typical lunches: sandwiches, chips, cheese, crackers, salami or summer sausage, fruit/berries.

Typical dinners: Pasta or grilled hot dogs, steaks, chicken, Italian sausages with corn, beans, stuffing, mac&cheese, salad, or fruit.

It was a yummy summer... good thing we did all those hikes to burn off the calories! :) Connie