Home Sweet Home

We made it !!  After 6 weeks on the road, we are finally home!

Here is the final tally:

- 9586 miles driven
- 17 National Parks / Monuments visited
- 18 States and 2 Canadian Provinces visited
- 8 fish fossils
- A couple new tee shirts and hats and
- Too many memories and photos to count

Something Fishy

I like Aquariums. And our friends, Paul and Anne claimed the Chattanooga aquarium was as good as the one in Atlanta.  That sounded impossible, but worth checking out. 

Chattanooga did not disappoint. It is actually 2 aquariums in side by side buildings covering fresh and salt water respectively.  I thought they had a better focus on marine education and handled the crowds better than Atlanta. They also included some animals that live around the water making it more than just an aquarium. Two thumbs way up!! 

From Chattanooga we had a choice of driving interstate to Hendersonville via Knoxville, or back roads across the Smokies. We chose the latter which allowed us to revisit a favorite restaurant in Sylva NC we discovered this spring with Kala and Dave. But while we were eating, that powerful storm we hit in St Louis (or one like it) caught up with us. The rest of the trip to Kevin's parents was in heavy rain.  Another reminder how lucky we were most of the vacation with the weather. 

We should be home Sunday and I think we will both be ready to resume our normal lives.

Rain, Rain Go Away

Our plans for going up in the Arch in Saint Louis and exploring the Botanical Gardens were altered a bit this morning when it was raining so hard we could hardly see to drive!

The forecast didn’t look good and we decided to run from the storm – and made it to Scottsboro, Alabama (where the sun is shining).

Along the way I picked Paducah, Kentucky for a quick stop.   The good news was that the sandwich shop was great and the murals along the boardwalk were somewhat interesting.   We also saw a tourist steamboat that comes down the Ohio River.  The bad news was that the storm caught up with us while we ate and stayed with us through Kentucky.

The day did make us appreciate how lucky we have been with the weather - and how good it sounds to be home after 5 and a half weeks on the road!

I liked Ike

We got a late start to the day as the yummy breakfast served at the B and B we stayed in was not to be rushed. When we finally finished, we headed over to the Eisenhower presidential library.  

I think this is one of the better presidential libraries we have visited because it covers not only his political life but also his life as a 5 star general. (And yes, Paul, his home was in Kansas). We spent too much time at the museum so drove straight thru to St Louis after we left. We plan to stay here a couple nights which will be nice after a couple long driving days. 

So the stats on Custer to this point are: 17 states; 8500 miles driven; most expensive gas - $5 a gallon in Banff; least expensive gas - $1.89 in Missouri;  Roadkill - 2 birds, 1 turtle, and 4 gozillion insects. 

Blog catchup

We spent the last 4 days enjoying time with my sister, Kala, and her husband Dave.   We had great times catching up and taking advantage of their wonderful toys (a mountain home with a view and a sailboat on Dillon lake in Colorado!).

The first 2 days of our visit had quite a bit of rain – so a great time to catch up on laundry, play indoor games and make sure our wine/beer consumption quotas were being met.

The 3^rd and the 4^th included a mostly great (but occasionally very muddy) hike to … a waterfall, a chance to sail with Skipper Dave on the beautiful lake, fun tooling around nearby Breckenridge and enjoying incredible food, and a great fireworks display from the deck.   We couldn’t have asked for more beautiful weather (or better hosts).

Today we headed back towards home.   It was mostly a driving day but we did get a chance to stop and see 2 of Kevin’s aunts that live in Bogue, Kansas.

We also enjoyed a good visit with Kevin’s cousin Patti (seen below arguing with Kevin about who is older, or younger, or better looking or something) and her husband Larry.

We are now stopped at a Victorian Bed and breakfast in Abilene – staying in the Eisenhower room and looking forward to a visit to the Eisenhower presidential library in the morning.