April 23, 2018 through July 2, 2018 - Some Final Thoughts As the Great Transcontinental Circuit Comes To A Close, Some Facts and Figures

First, here are a few facts and figures. We were on the road for 72 days. We drove 9047 miles and used approximately 423 gallons of gasoline (@ avg. of 21.4 mpg). We visited 24 states. We replaced one car battery and one iPad.

Back in April, we jumped in the car and headed eastward. We had some general ideas of where we wanted to go and who we wanted to see. The specifics, however, would have to sort themselves out as each new day came. It was a definite departure from our usual way of operating: Karen and I each normally feel more comfortable having a little more certainty to our daily schedules. Along the way, we learned some new things and we confirmed some old things. Following are three things that come to mind for me:

You Don’t Need as Much as You Think You Do

We knew we’d have limited space for clothing and other items so we packed accordingly. We came back with a lot of clothing unpacked and unused. Today’s electronic gadgets are small enough and powerful enough that we were able to stay connected just about everywhere we travelled. And, when we were ‘off the grid’ it was a nice break from the outside world. Our little Aliner kitchen had all the basics and Karen made some great meals for us on the road. When I got back to the house and looked at all the ‘stuff’ I have laying around, I realized I didn’t really miss most of it at all.

Move On and Get Over It  

We shared each other’s company 24/7 for 72 days, most of it either in or around our 12’ trailer, or in the car. We were always on the move, rarely staying somewhere for more than a few days at a time and often staying only one night in some places. The act of breaking camp and moving to our next destination was an opportunity to leave yesterday behind and start a new day. Living together in such close proximity can really increase the odds of rubbing each other the wrong way. There’s no way to avoid this, so you just have to figure out how to deal with it. I think we got better at moving forward and starting off fresh each day. Figuratively, ‘breaking camp and moving on’ is good therapy.

If You Make a Wrong Turn Once in Awhile, You Can Still Get Back on the Right Track…If You Listen to Your Navigator

This trip confirmed that my sense of direction is not what you’d call acute. Karen did a fantastic job of finding our campsites and guiding us from place to place using both her GPS, and the many maps and guidebooks we brought along. We managed to stay off the interstates for most of our trip, using secondary and tertiary roads instead. This allowed us to see much more of the country than we otherwise would have had we taken the straight line. There were a few times when we were in areas that were a little dicey, but we mostly enriched our experience by going on these routes. Much to Karen’s consternation, I often would turn left when she said turn right, or right instead of left, etc. Sometimes, neither of us got it right. I think this reinforced for me that, just like on this trip, life is not always as linear as we’d like it to be. We may not know exactly where we’re going, but if you work together you can usually get to where you need to be. I’m glad I have Karen to help me navigate – she’s good at reminding me when we get off track.

Thanks again to our great friends and family who hosted us along the way, and thanks to all of our friends and family who took the time to read about our trip!