After almost 10 weeks on the road, there are a lot of thoughts that have not made it into blog posts.
In no particular order:
- On the interstate highways, 70 mph is the starting point for trucks, not the posted speed limit.
- The air-conditioning in the vehicle works better when it is turned on. Yes, there is a story; No, I am not telling it at this time.
- The wind is almost never your friend. When it blows from the front, it makes the vehicle work harder and increases the fuel consumption. When it blows from behind, it pushes you around on the highway. When it blows from the side, you never know when you will have to make course corrections.
- Playing the guitar in a trailer is loud.
- On the interstate highways, if you can see the bumper of the person in front of you, you are not close enough.
- Electric heating in the trailer is wonderful.
- Some RV Parks are like Disneyland, others are like the Trailer Park Boys. It is kind of a crap shoot.
- The weather this year has been very unusual. Some warm places like Tucson are cool, while some warmer places like the Florida panhandle have been very hot.
- Finding cycling trails is a mixed bag. Some places have good cycling paths, some places have almost none.
- A cell phone and credit card will fix most problems.
- Americans can be very warm, generous and helpful.
- Poverty and poor living conditions are painfully obvious in many places.
- All small towns have a Dollar General/Family Dollar stores and both O’Reilly and AutoZone auto parts stores.
- Meat in the food stores is relatively cheap, while processed foods like breakfast cereals are relatively expensive.
- Restaurant meals are the same price as in Canada, then add the exchange rate.
- All grocery stores carry beer and wine inside the store.
- Stone Wheat Thin crackers are only available in Canada.
- City tours are a great way to explore a place and find where you would like to go back and spend more time.
- The most impressive natural site is the Carlsbad Caverns.
- Why do people in the large travel trailers feel a need to keep all of their outside lights on all night?
- State parks and natural areas are our preferred camping choice, but they are often hard to come by.
- There is A LOT of desert in the United States.
- When it rains, the sound of the rain is very loud in the trailer.
- Playing guitar outside will sometimes bring people over to talk.
- The woman I love makes a great traveling partner!
- It is best not to keep score when you are playing golf in February and March.
- The map is not the territory. Mapping programs are only so good. You need to watch the road signs and understand the changes to the highways as you come upon them.
- It is possible to live in less than 120 ft2.
- Buying a US National Park pass quickly paid for itself. Same with buying a KOA camping membership.
- Some types of asphalt mixes make road noise worse.
- Modern technology makes staying in touch with friends and family quite easy.
- Lastly, we enjoy writing our blog and having you along with our journey!
- Thank you for joining us. We will be back in a month!
