Home at Last!

Well, we've finally reached the end of The Blevins Family Excellent Adventure. We arrived Sunday evening and have been unpacking and settling in, and I'm now ready to leave my final message.

All told, we travelled 10,531 miles in 50 days. We saw 31 states and provinces, and lived a dream that my parents have always had: to spend an entire summer touring the United States .

Here's a list of some family favorites along the trip (or some not so favorites!)

Favorite Beach Experience: Definitely Hilton Head in South Carolina, where we got to not only see our family but also learned the fine art of body surfing from Uncle Mark, a skill that we used at every other beach we visited, even in Cape Code where the water was only 50 degrees (Wyatt was actually the only one who went in there).

Worst Food Experience: We all had some food that we didn't care for, but by far the one who experienced the absolute worst food experience was Dad, who got food poisoning from a Chinese buffet in Beaufort, SC, and was vomiting on his chartered fishing trip the next day.

Coolest Motel Person: Chuck at the Twilite Motel in Maine. He offered us great advice, and even warned us about the crowds at Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, and boy was he right. He gave us a nice, big, clean room, and even advice about where we should be sure to go. He was a real help, and a great guy.

Worst Hotel: Some $40-a-night dump off of the Jersey Turnpike. I don't want to elaborate. Too many bad memories. What I will say is that we never went without some kind of shoes, even in the shower.

Worst Drivers: The Quebecois up in Canada. They drive like they're in the Indy 500, and there are no traffic cops, compounded with the fact that the roads are in very bad disrepair. They were even worse drivers than in Chicago. Actually, Chicago driver's weren't particularly bad, they were just speedy and mean. Defensive driving on a whole other level.

Most Memorable Historic Site: The award really goes to Mr. Vanderbilt, because the Biltmore Estate takes the prize as our most memorable (and favorite) historic site. The whole experience was fascinating and fun, and it was certainly well worth doing. I'm not sure how educational it was, but it was thoroughly enjoyable.

Best Value: The Coney Island hot dog restaurant in New Castle, PA. It was a little local hole-in-the-wall place, with $o.99 chili cheese dogs and a double cheeseburger for $1.80. The entire meal for four, with hot dogs, burgers, fries, drinks included, cost about $15.50. It was definitely the best value of the trip.

This vacation was everything that we could have hoped it would be. We had few and minor hick-ups, and it was altogether a trip that we'll remember for the rest of our lives. We all give thanks to God for keeping us safe and smoothing the way. I've thoroughly enjoyed writing this blog, and to the faithful few who've stuck out to the end, thank you for giving me someone to write for. Until next time, it's been truly wonderful, and I wish you all a fair and fond farewell.

Jane