18 PART IV ~ EAST TO WEST

PART IV

We now have less than two weeks left in our cross country trip. We plan is to be home by the end of October. We will be driving through nine states to get to California; Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. We will be driving straight through, staying overnight in each of the states except for 3 nights in Utah. We will not be staying overnight in Illinois, but driving through. That will be a very long day; 3 states in one day.

We will only have time to explore 2 of the states; Pennsylvania and Utah. It will be our first visit with the trailer for Ohio and Nebraska, but unfortunately there is no time to explore those states. We will do so in a future cross country trip. In Utah we want to spend time at Zion National Park. This is one of our favorite places and we want a chance to relax a bit before heading home to the busyness of unpacking, cleaning up the yard and house and getting ready for the holidays.

We will only have time to explore 2 of the states; Pennsylvania and Utah.  It will be our first visit with the trailer for Ohio and Nebraska, but unfortunately there is no time to explore those states.  We will do so in a future cross country trip.  In Utah we want to spend time at Zion National Park.  This is one of our favorite places and we want a chance to relax a bit before heading home to the busyness of unpacking, cleaning up the yard and house and getting ready for the holidays.

Regarding the other five states; we have already visited and explored them.  However, there are still lots to see and do in all of these states.  Hopefully we can keep our health and energy to do more cross country trips and revisit all 50 states and explore new areas in each of them.

PART III SUMMARY

We were too early for the full glory of the fall colors in the New England area.    We did see a lot of color, but we were out of the area before it reached its peak.  We saw signs of fall everywhere with pumpkins, scarecrows and ghosts decorating storefronts and peoples homes. We enjoyed many sights in the area.  We saw the rocky shores of Acadia National Park and walked the streets of quaint harbor towns in Maine.  We visited Concord, the capital city and home of Christa McAuliffe in New Hampshire.  We spent some time visiting with good friends in the Albany area of New York and explored an underground river inside Howe Caverns and shopped at some quaint country stores.  In Massachusetts we visited the Kennedy family home town of Hyannis and explored the Cape Cod area and saw Provincetown, the first stop of the Mayflower.  And we saw the “rock” where the Pilgrims made their home in Plymouth in 1620.   We stayed in the smallest state of the US and toured some mansions (summer homes) of the rick and famous in Newport, Rhode Island.  We went back into history and walked the streets of 19th century Mystic Seaport in Connecticut and we walked the famous boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  We rode the ferry at Cape May and crossed the Delaware Bay where the Delaware River meets the Atlantic Ocean.

REVIEW

So far on this trip:

We have traveled for 99 days and driven 12,404 miles.

We have visited 17 states, and 5 Provinces.

We have visited 94 towns, villages, cities.

We have visited 12 National Parks, Monuments, etc and 8 Historical sites,

We have visited 7 Gardens, 8 Zoos, 4 Aquariums, 12 Museums and 50 other attractions.

We have attended 5 Events,

And we have had 3 crises:  Broken Axle on trailer (delayed trip for 6 days), lost cat for 6 days (Crystal), 3 emergency vet visits for Crystal (became critically ill).

Now we are heading west; California here we come!