September 19, 2007

OK, this is going to be a short e-mail, promise.

The best thing about this trip: to have connected and reconnected with friends who I hadn’t seen in years. It was wonderful to have gotten to know you better.

I will not forget the generosity of my friends, starting with David who loaned me his brand new pick-up truck to drive cross country. It would have been a very different trip in a sedan. No camping and no creepy dirt roads.

From east to west: thank you Jeff for letting me stay with you in P-town. It was a good way to ease into this trip.

Thank you James for your input and for helping me to figure out how long it would take to get to all the places. You put me at ease, at least for a little while. On my next visit I will take advantage of your hammock!

Diane and Richard, thank you for your trip suggestions. I have to go back to Sisters when the sun shines and Crater Lake is on the list for the next trip. Thank you for your hospitality, loved the pancakes! Richard, have you finished the countertop?

Carol it was great to finally meet your son. Catching up with you of course was wonderful as well. Can’t believe it had been five years. Thank you for showing me around town.

Lynn and Doug, thank you so much for opening both your San Francisco home and your place in Lake Tahoe to me. It was great to get to know your family a little.

Thank you Priscilla for taking time to show me San Fran and for your Louisville suggestions. It is a nice town. It was very nice to meet your daughter as well. Keep on working on the playhouse.

Thank you Leslie for giving me a place to stay out in almost nowhere (Lawrence, Kansas).

Phil and Michelle, staying with you was great. I had fun with your kids in the pool. Staying with you made it a little easier coming back to the big city.

Thank you Bobby for loaning me your GPS, it was reassuring to have.

Thank you to all of you who supported me via e-mail and phone. Your e-mails felt like a lifeline.

Thank you Mary for your input. You were always right on the money. I am breathing again!

If any of you come to New York, please give me a call, I mean it!

Most memorable moment: a dozen roses in my bedroom in Lake Tahoe, thank you Lynn!

The place I am most likely to go back to, other than visiting my friends: the area around Moab, Utah. Definitely deserves more than just three hours of my time.

Place I am least likely to go back to: Niagara Falls

Would I do this again: definitely. Little more time or smaller territory

Days on the road: 52

Total miles driven: 11,700

Days without any driving: 8

Fewest miles driven in a day: 93 Burlington, VT to Tupper Lake, NY

Most miles driven in a day: 520 Sisters, OR to Bellingham, WA – didn’t really want to

Number of states traveled thru, not counting Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware &

New Jersey: 27

Number of pictures taken: approximately 3,800. I am working on them now.

Worst roads: Manhattan, hands down! Even the dirt roads out west were better.

Nights stayed in motels: 14

Nights stayed with friends: 17

Nights camped: 20

Gallons of gas purchased: 544

Average price per gallon: $2.92

Cheapest gas bought in: Pennsville, NJ, just across the Delaware border $2.46

Most expensive gas bought in: Brantford, Canada $3.40

Cost of this trip: PRICELESS!!!!

Keep in touch!

P.S. OK, not as short as I thought, sorry. Thank you for reading all my e-mails!

I hope you enjoyed my little trip down memory lane. I can’t believe it has been eight years since I took this trip. Some of it feels like it was only yesterday…