Home at last

We have been home for a couple of weeks now and I did want to make one last entry in this blog and perhaps add some pictures. We both had some kind of stomach flu during the last week of the trip so I think we were glad to be home. Once you get involved in catching up from a trip, it is hard to go back to review what has happened. But, I wanted to let you know how beautiful our country is and how satisfying it is to visit all the various parts of it.

On Sunday, October 26 we drove to Crestline to visit our son and his wife. We spent the night with them and got to our home on Monday. We had traveled almost 5500 miles in 26 days and visited thirteen states.

I always enjoy noticing the differences in the states and areas that we visit. From mountains to plains, from desert to farm land, from large cities to small towns, from wealthy areas to poorer ones, there is so much to do and see. I grew up in Minnesota and come from a family of hunters, so it was interesting to see hunting paraphernalia, especially in the south. The funniest was the “big game tree stand” – a metal ladder with a seat on top (I presume so you can sit comfortably in the tree awaiting your best shot!) There were also a lot more gun shops.

The differences in food is also interesting. My favorite candy bar is the “Nut Goodie,” only available in Minnesota. Then you have the “Bun Bar” available in the Mid-West. I also discovered “Cherry Mash” – only for sale in Missouri. We ate in Culver’s in the Mid-West, Waffle House in the south, Runza in Nebraska, Perkins in the north, Bob Evans in the south, Braums in the south, etc. But, we were never far from McDonalds or Applebees! We never quite got into grits or sweet tea. We found catfish along the river states. It is fun to be able to try different things.

So that is it for now. Thanks for joining us.