The Final Leg of Alex's 48th State Roadtrip

August 11 we drove to Kentucky to see my best friend from middle school, Terista. She is an RN at the hospital attached to the University. We sat outside at a table, socially distanced and visited. We didn't have enough time, because with our loved ones it never seems like enough time. We wound up driving through a Chik-fil-A (their gluten free buns rock!), then stopped not long after by the border to sleep. When we got up the next morning, we decided to drive to Spring Hill to visit Kim & Barry, get a little down time before getting back to reality. Alex got to play video games and hang out with his cousin, I got to sit and visit with adults. Win/win!

The next morning we drove home (about a 5 hour drive), cleaned out the car, and took it back to Budget. Only it wasn't the same beautiful 2020 Escape. I felt so bad returning a car that didn't have as many bells and whistles, didn't have the same value. The guy at the Budget near me is fantastic, and didn't shame me or make me feel bad. He did ask if we made it to Washington! 😎

We are still dealing with insurance stuff for the accident.

The biggest thing I learned on this trip (because there are always lessons learned), is that I don't want to pitch a tent every day, I don't want to not know where my head is going to rest. I want a vehicle that I can sleep in. There are so many places out west where you can boondock, lovely places, but I'm more comfortable doing so in a vehicle. And it is really exhausting setting up, breaking down, stuffing a wet and muddy tent into the car - let's face it, in 2 weeks it is bound to rain somewhere! In Idaho, we had to grab our food off the fire and run into the tent to eat. And, ants. I don't like bringing them into my car, or other crawly things, or setting up in the dark - because I drive sometimes until I'm pooped. I love the idea of pulling over somewhere, and going to bed, on my own pillow that I don't have to drag into a tent, or Kabin, or hotel room.

So there you have it, not much worse for wear, amazing beauty everywhere, Alex and I got along great (he's a teenager, so that doesn't always happen), and he is an absolute gentleman when traveling with me alone. Opens doors, sanitizes everything for me, pumps gas sometimes.

COVID-19 made traveling different - things not open, hours of operation shorter, no more breakfast buffets, but, we did it safely, always wore masks in public (except that 1 time in SD where I forgot in the gas station), ate meals in the car, back of the car, at picnic tables, or in our rooms - and we had a blast. Get out there, explore, adventure, travel - even if you just take little trips, you'd be surprised at what you see. Then there's always my favorite - find a dirt road if you can, roll the windows down, turn the radio up, and just BREATHE!

Happy roadtrips my friends. 🚙

This is the mileage on the 2nd rental - from Sioux Falls, SD to our home in Florida - 2086.3. With a grand total of 7,778.8 miles.