Day 21--Reflections...

When we decided to start driving toward home this morning (Friday), we knew that it would be about a 16-hour drive.  We assumed this would take us two days.  But, when we passed the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, we decided to just keep on going.  By the way, the Arch is about eight hours from Lansing, and definitely worth a visit.  We didn’t stop there on this trip, but we have been there--traveled to the top of it, took lots of pictures, toured St. Louis.  It’s a very nice 4-day getaway.   We’ll be home by about 1:00 a.m.  By the time we get home, we will have driven 5,433 miles through 12 different states in 21 days.    Unbelievably, we’ve had zero traffic or construction problems.   Zero.   So, with my laptop on my lap, I’ll end this Road Trip blog with some random thoughts…

I love maps.  When we’re on a road trip, I always have at least one map on my lap.  Sometimes, I have two or three.  Yes, we have and love our GPS (Lola), but I like to read maps.  I like the names of the towns and rivers and lakes.  Some of the names are logical: Hot Springs, for instance, or Dogwood, or Robertsville.  Some are more puzzling: Blue Eye, Flippin, Herculaneum.  There’s a town in Arkansas named “Dogpatch (Marble Falls),” with both names printed on the map.  Some names are just fun: Halfway, Romance, Old Jenny Lin, Steve (not Stevesburg or Stevesville, just Steve).  There’s a city in Quebec with the name of “St.-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!,” spelled exactly like that, with the exclamation marks.  That’s why I love maps.

 I like signs, too, and take lots of pictures of them—names of cities and states as we enter them, scenic drives, parks—things that will remind me of where we’ve been, or things that amuse me.  I wish I had taken pictures of some warning signs we saw as we traveled out west—warnings about deer, elk, big horn sheep, bears, cows, and tractors. 

We saw another amusing water tower, but I didn’t get a picture.  It was two towers, actually, right next to each other.  Both of them were white.  On one was the big blue word, “COLD;” on the other, “HOT.”  Now, that’s just funny. 

John and I (and, usually, Joe!) have traveled to 45 states together.  Besides Alaska and Hawaii, we have yet to visit North Dakota, Louisiana, and Mississippi.  So, I have lots more road trips to plan!