
Feeling a bit blue about no longer being on the road, I was searching for a quick fix of inspiration and came across this quote:
“Never make your home in a place. Make a home for yourself inside your own head. You’ll find what you need to furnish it – memory, friends you can trust, love of learning, and other such things. That way it will go with you wherever you journey.” ~ Tad Williams
I think I have read it about 18 23 times already, and I’m sure there are more readings to come. Read each word and take it in, it’s a lovely place to go in your head for those of us who love to wander; especially for those such as myself who never quite seem ready to settle back into “normal” life again.
Home Again
We are in fact home again. We drove something like 8,000 +/- miles through 16 states, (we had to do some backtracking due to weather) stayed at 25 hotels and ate ourselves silly across this vast country. We visited numerous National Parks and we only forget 1 time that we had a lifetime pass with us. Duh! We had to have the car tires rotated and the oil changed while in Washington, D.C. and for good measure it was time to replace the brake pads as well. Hazel the Honda Hybrid did herself proud!

Hazel at Arches National Park
Polar Vortex
We managed to be on the road during a polar vortex. Ha! How many people can say that? It should be noted though that we never once had to put on chains nor did the weather delay us. We managed to either stay in front of, or follow behind, the worst of the weather.
It wasn’t all gray and cold though, we definitely saw the sun and embraced its warmth at every opportunity.

Under the Tucson sun
But hey, we were traveling in the middle of winter after all, one just doesn’t expect to find ice fountains in Charleston; quite truthfully the locals didn’t know what to do with themselves! One of the hotel clerks said to us, “I hope it doesn’t snow because we don’t do snow, we can’t drive in it!” It was actually pretty funny as she pleaded to Mother Nature to keep the snow to herself.

Frozen fountain in Charleston, SC – so typifies the cold and one of my favorite photos from the trip
Two Months on the Road
We returned home just two days shy of two full months on the road. Two months! We were a bit ahead of schedule because a storm front moved into Moab, UT while we were there. We were lucky enough to visit Arches National Park with just a beautiful dusting of snow flurries, but the next day we hit the road and skedaddled outta there!

Driving across Utah
We’ve never been gone – from anywhere – for two months but I gotta tell ya it was epic! The places, the people, the sites, the time on the road, the quiet comfort of driving in silence and getting lost in one’s thoughts. Being on the road offers so much if you open your mind to the possibilities.
I have a boat car load of stories to share with you and more photos than you can imagine. I think between the two of us, probably 1,000 photos were taken. I’m just trying to decide if I should tell our stories from the end, and work my way back to the beginning, or start at the beginning and work my way to the end. What do you think?

And the sunsets – the glorious sunsets
What a great trip you’ve had, can’t wait to hear more about it in the coming posts and see more of the thousand photos you’ve taken! Tell your stories in a way that you think makes sense, that might not always mean posting chronologically – mix it up (saying that, I have to admit I find it hard to do this myself!) 🙂
It was epic, Amy! I’m still trying to process it all. And it’s funny because all of a sudden I’ll remember something and think, oh wow, that’s right, we were there! We took in so much I tend to forget. Telling all of our stories will be fun for me as I’ll bring it all back to the surface of my memories.
I think each photo you took is likely to have a mini story. Tell your stories as you post the photos, order of time does not matter. We already know each story begins and ends with the stories that came before and the ones that jump in after. I will look forward to reading them as you put words down and send them out. 🙂 I understand completely about feeling strange being “home” and I love your quote. I will read it and share it again. Thank you for sharing your journey with us.
I like the way you think, Miss Neva, I always have! I think I shall follow your words of wisdom and throw caution to the wind by just writing from where it starts in my head.
Welcome home Patti! That sure was one epic road trip 🙂

Kim recently posted…30 lessons from three years of blogging
Thanks, Kim, it was an amazing experience and one that will stay with me always. Already thinking about what’s next?!
I like the chronological approach from start to finish. Just my two cents worth. That’s a good quote by Tad Williams 🙂

Mike recently posted…Pasta alla Vodka To Spice Up Your Saturday Night Date
Thanks for the feedback Mike. I might go all crazy and just go random! 😉