Almost Home......3 More Sleeps!

We are closing in on the tail end of this Awesome Summer 2017 Road Trip.  Only 3 more sleeps and we will be home in our own bed!
The photo above sums up how I've felt many days lately, being trapped in a car hurdling down the interstate. ;-)

After leaving Hubs' sister last night, we spent the night at a motel nearby, then drove 5 hours today and then did a Hubs activity.

An OUTDOOR activity, but luckily the temperatures haven't climbed into the triple digits the last 10 days or so.
Rah.

Another Hubs activity tomorrow morning and then it's onward to meet and spend some time with a blog reader of mine and her DH and then on Monday meeting another blogger and her family.
Then just one more sleep and we set off for home on Tuesday.

We haven't chanced Chinese food for meals(except for the night in Fargo ND when we ate Mongolian BBQ)but we threw caution to the wind tonight and ate at one of those buffet deals near the tiny town we are staying this evening.
I say "chanced it" because Chinese type foods seem to have an affect on my digestive tract that necessitates being near a restroom an hour or so afterwards and beyond. lolz

I also have a long history of being very susceptible to food poisoning while traveling.(Oh, the stories Hubs could tell!)  So I am often wary of eating establishments, even chain restaurants.
Knock on wood we have avoided any "incidents" thus far.

Not only is this trip winding down but so are Hubs' and mine energy and enthusiasm.

A full month out of our comfort zone.....it's been fun, scary, tiring, thrilling and about 50 other adjectives all at once. lolz
Hubs and I are both in agreement that 4 weeks together in a car traveling probably won't happen again.  It got ugly a couple of times. ;-)
2 Weeks appears at this time to be our limit and staying civil and sane.  Thank goodness we had folks to spend time with(and act as a buffer at times)so we didn't kill each other. 8-)))

I am looking forward to regular blogging again as soon as I get caught up on financial things, laundry, cleaning, dog wrangling, Weis(PMITA)Markets and Rite-Aid frequenting.
I've got a backlog of FIVE, Count 'em Five, trips of various sizes to blog about now(from last July, last August, last September, this May and this Summer).
Between all that and my regular nonsense I've got plenty of ammunition for the blog.

Here's hoping everyone is having a good Weekend and I'll talk to y'all soon. 8-)


Sluggy

2017 Road Trip......Day 20 Ahead

Day 19 of this Summer Road Trip is in the books.  As we begin Day 20 there are 10 days left until we get home.

Yesterday we crossed off another state on our dwindling list of "Never Been To"s......

It was a stressful day between the traffic....South Dakota-who'd a thought that?.....and being alone in a car with Hubs for almost 4 days.  As the pioneers who crossed this land use to say, "today  I saw the elephant".  I snapped and wanted to just get out and walk home at that point.
Well, I didn't though.

One more day of driving and being alone with Hubs and then I get a reprieve as we get to hook up with SAM in Minnesota.
Then it's on to Sonya Ann's house for a few days, plus another 4 meet-ups with Family, Friends and Bloggers mixed in with another four nights in motels too.
I hope I can hold it together for another 10 days.

I don't see how folks who work on the road do it for extended periods of time and stay sane.  This different motel room game every night is tiring.  Between schlepping all your stuff into a motel and out the next day and the never knowing how bad/good the motel will be(it's been quite the wide variety of establishments!)it is unnerving and not conducive to staying calm and getting a good rest each night.
Add in all the time zone changes we've been through too plus some days we don't know what time or DAY it is.
Both Hubs and I are a bit cranky at this point.

Day 20 ahead and we cross off the last "Not Been To" State we are slated to hit this trip from the list and then it's all familiar real estate we've seen before(pretty much).

My poor camera has gotten a work out as well.  I am approaching 4 Thousand photos taken.  I sure will have my work cut out for me once I get home with tons of editing of those.

Ok, I've got to get moving here.  A mystery breakfast awaits once I get dressed.  I wonder what it will consist of?  Such a crap shoot each morning with the vittles.  We've always got our dinner leftovers tucked in the room fridge we can reheat if the offerings are sparse and/or inedible. lolz

I'll try to post again tomorrow or Tuesday if I am still alive/can function/can get online.

Have a great Sunday and pray for me that I don't lose it today on the boring drive East. ;-)

Sluggy

Halfway Done!

Tomorrow we leave Kim's house and start the journey back East to PA.

We are at the halfway mark on this trip and I have to say, I am kinda tired.   And I am not the one doing all the driving(so far)!!

Being on the go-go-go every day(until today)for 2 weeks in this extreme(for me at least)heat has been sapping my energy.  I have tried not to let it make me less than charming company but it has been hard.

I sure wish the gods hadn't decided to make the latter part of July so warm wherever we've gone so far.  And it looks like the first part of August will be just as brutal as far as temperatures go.

It's 102F as I type this here in Idaho and we are "getting out of Dodge", as they say, just in time before it hits 106F later this week.

We've had some good times so far, even in the heat.....along with a near death experience. lolz

We'll mark another state off my "Never Been To" List tomorrow and then head back through Montana, before dropping back down into Wyoming for a couple of days and then off to another "first"-South Dakota.  The day after that North Dakota also gets crossed off that list as well.

In 6 days we'll be in MN to see SAM and the day after that, we'll be at Sonya Ann's place, then in OH 4 days later to see Chris and Rachel and home another 4 days after hitting OH.

I figure when I do finally get home, after doing a mountain of laundry and catching up on all my financial book work, I'll prolly sleep for a week!

Then the real fun beginnings.....editing photographs that will likely number about 2000+.  Gulp.

Then I have to blog about last August's trip before I can recount THIS Summer's crazy adventure.

And yes Anne, I have finally gotten to see the "infamous deck" and have photographic proof to share about it. lolz

Sluggy

It's Coming Along

So this Mega Summer Road Trip is coming along....at least the planning of it is. ;-)
We are up to Day 15 and everything that needs planning(route, stops, hotels)is done.  Now I need to work on the return trip.  I sure wish I had the whole thing nailed down though at this point.

I do need a few suggestions.....

* Does anyone have any recommendations for a good bbq place around Kansas City MO or heading North into Omaha, NE?  That's the stretch of road we'll be on and it will be lunch to dinner time and we can't leave that part of the world without trying authentic KC BBQ, right?  8-)

* Has anyone toured the big touristy sites in WY/SD Badlands?  We are headed through there(Custer Battlefield, Devil's Tower, Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse Mt., Thermopolis Hot Springs)and need recommendations on where/location to stay.  Does it make sense to stay at a central spot for a few days and drive to each thing/area to tourist?  Or do 1 night stays and hop from site to site?  And how many days do we need to actual see/do these sites?  I realize distance between locales out West are longer than out East so I am trying to limit how much driving we do in a day.

* Anybody have any ideas on what to see/do in North Dakota?  Nothing springs to my mind except one quick thing we want to see in Fargo.

That's about it for now.

I AM getting a complex though.

First blogger Tanner visited me a few years ago(plus we had dinner with her on 2 of our OC excursons)and then she disappears off the face of the earth.
Then Judy(who's various blogs come and go)decides to end all contact with me.
Now another ex-blogger who I was still in contact with on F/B has given me the cold shoulder.  After I knew our route this Summer I contacted her on Facebook and suggested a meet-up if she was available.  I didn't hear back for a week or so, so I went to send her another message.  She has suddenly quit Facebook and taken her profile down(or blocked me from seeing it, if you can do that).  Really?  If you didn't want to see me, just say so.

Am I really that awful or annoying a person?  *Don't answer that Kim......* ;-)
What am I doing to drive everyone away?

Anyway, that sure made me feel like shit for awhile and I really didn't feel like going on this trip anymore.
But I'm over that now.  I can't wait! to get in a car and drive 6 thousand miles with Hubs. *snort*
I think this trip will convince him to go back to work and not be home with me 24/7.....hehehehe

And at the risk of offending and driving away more readers I'll ask again if anybody out there wants to meet-up on our drive out to Idaho(going through PA/Western MD/WV/Northern KY/tiny piece of Southern IN/Southern IL/MO/NE/Northern CO/Southern WY/ Northern UT/most of ID/MT-that's it so far).  If so drop me an email privately and I'll see if we can fit that into the itinerary.  Who knows?  Maybe I'll have a spare box of Giveaway goodies in my car to bestow onto you?  ;-)

Ok, I am off to finish packing for the Virginia trip and doing a little shopping before I leave.
What are you up to today?

Sluggy

Pick My Trip Budget

So I am in the beginning stages of planning this Mega Summer Road Trip for 2017.

I haven't even tried to figure out a budget for this Behemoth yet so I'd like to pick the brains of my readers.

Here are the details to help you figure out what you think we should plan on spending for this shindig.

* I've completed the tentative trip route and here is a close up on the area we are frolicking through.....

* We will be traveling for about 28 days total covering about 7000 miles total.  A national report notes that in 2017 gas will be at it's high of $2.67 per gal. but should go down over the Summer so I am figuring $2.50 avg. per gal. for this trip.  The car we are renting gets 27 city/39 highway and has an 18 gal. gas tank.  Who wants to do that math? ;-)

* About that car rental, that is the only "known" amount right now, at a total after taxes and fees of $932.

* We have free lodging for up to 4 of those days so this means we need to pay for 24 nights of lodging.  I am looking at an Air BNB option or two once we get to ID, but otherwise it will be one or two night stands along the way.  There is one special lodging we might do in WY for 1 night if we can get a reservation when we need it.  This one is pricey at $145-$165 per night.  Fort Laramie Bed and Breakfast

* How many meals we will need to pay for are unknown right now.  Most motel nights stays we will get a free breakfast.  While we will eat free at breakfast while at our free lodging(a friend's house), we will most certainly take them out for lunch or dinner at least once.  Hubs and I will try to eat one big meal a day(lunch)and just snack or have something light at dinner time or not eat again that day.

* There are admission fees for some of the sights/things we are going to do.......what we know so far(this for both of us)-

Mt. Rushmore--$11
Little Bighorn Battlefield--$20
Pioneer Archway--$24
Distillery Tour-$20

* We do need to purchase a GPS since Hubs no longer has a smartphone.(It's either that or pay $10.95 per day for GPS in the rental car...yikes!)  We hope to knock that off the list for $100 or less.  Any recommendations by those in the know on which brand/model to purchase is appreciated. 8-)

* Road Tolls-so far we know of one, the Mackinac Bridge in MI, at $4 per crossing.  And if we get through IL without paying a toll I'd be shocked! lol

* As far as souvenirs goes...we really don't plan on buying anything as keepsakes.  Maybe a postcard or a t-shirt or if I find something that would make an awesome Christmas present for someone I gift to.  I am sure Hubs will buy some alcohol of some kind to haul home but I don't plan on doing that.
I guess we need to build a souvenir budget into this plan but I am clueless right now on how much.

So that's what I have so far.
If you have any tips or ideas please send 'em on!

What should our tentative budget be based on all this?

Sluggy

Road Trip Plan so Far

Planning this thing is going so slow because we are covering so many states/so many miles.
Plus I have to let Hubs have input about where/what/when.  It would go so much faster if "I" just planned it, but what can ya do.  ;-)

Here is the state itinerary to date in order of when we will be passing through them.....

Pennsylvania
Ohio
Kentucky
Illinois
Missouri
Nebraska
Colorado
Wyoming
Montana
Idaho

Then Back from Idaho by way of.....

Montana
South Dakota
North Dakota
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Michigan
Ohio
Pennsylvania

Right now it's 6,833 miles door to door and will take about 30 days to complete(depending on how soon some folks get tired of us).  8-)))
And that's not counting any side excursions.

We have on the excursion agenda so far--

Mt. Rushmore
Little Bighorn Battlefield
Fort Laramie
Great Platte River Road Archway

Those are the big touristy type things we'll stop at.
There are lots of little attractions along the way we are considering too.


I am already tired and we haven't left the driveway! lolz

Here's a visual of our route so far on a map of the US.........

Ok, so I am not so good at drawing freehand a straight line. lolz  But this is the basic route so far.

Once we get to MN on the way back we aren't sure which route to go from there-either WI, IL, IN, MI, OH to PA or WI, IL, WI, MI, OH to PA.  We'd like to see the UP of MI so the second route would accomplish that plus have us avoid Chi-town(which is always a good thing!lol)but it's longer.

We will be stopping to see 3 folks definitely(and as many as 6 more).
If you are along the route I've mapped out so far and would like to hang out with Sluggy and Hubs(or give us lodging for the night too)email me.

Sluggy