My husband and I just returned from a lengthy road trip – both in time spent away and miles driven. We left our coastal Southern California home mid-April and touched our toes in the Atlantic Ocean a couple of weeks later before heading back home. We saw so much beautiful scenery as we traveled across the country and observed some darker sights too. Traveling by car may have taken us a lot longer than flying, but we would have missed so much.
The main motivation for our trip was to visit family and friends, and because they live here and there, we were able to include a lot of interesting stops along the way. I added two new stamps to my National Park Passport book and visited my second Presidential Library. I took hundreds (and hundreds) of pictures, experienced a variety of weather events, and ate enough road food and BBQ to last me for a while.
I didn’t intend to take such a long blogging break and I appreciate the notes of concern I received from several bloggers who noticed my absence. I had planned to write a few posts while we were gone but the WordPress gremlins had other ideas. Additionally, although I was able to read the blogs I follow, commenting was apparently not in the cards either. Oh well… best laid plans and all that. Now that I’m back and my luggage is unpacked, I will share some highlights, observations, and a few photos from our trip over the next few weeks.
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wow!! That’s impressive. Did you use your electric vehicle? If so, was it difficult to find charging stations?
How many days were you on the road?
I’m looking forward to the details.
We had talked about taking the EV but while charging stations are plentiful here in the west, we weren’t so sure about other areas of the country. Out of the 34 days we were gone, we traveled from place-to-place about 20 of them. The rest were extended stays with friends, family, or in places we especially enjoyed.
I’ll take a road trip over flying any ol’ day. It’s such an intimate way to experience the country! Looking forward to reading more about your adventures.
We briefly discussed flying but quickly dismissed the idea. We would miss too much and would have to make too many compromises.
What a trip! Yes, one can see so much more traveling by car. I enjoyed these photos and will look forward to more. Welcome back! It was better to focus on taking photos and enjoying being in the moment.
It was such a great trip! Not only did we see a lot of the country, but we saw a lot of people that mean a great deal to us.
Now, that was a car ride! It sounds like you had a great adventure while seeing family, friends, and some beautiful parts of our country. It doesn’t get much better than that. Did you drive your electric car? Hope you have wonderful memories and photos to share. Welcome back.
We didn’t take the EV this time but plan to on future trips closer to home. I’m looking forward to sharing some of my pictures and impressions. Spending so much time on the road gave me a lot of time to ponder things. 🙂
I am so impressed Janis. That is a long time gone, lots of driving, but so awesome in what you got to experience. Can’t wait to read more and thanks for checking in. I was one of those that realized just how long it had been since you posted. Welcome home 🙂
Thanks, Deb. The trip really underlined how diverse our environment is across the country. The first days were spent in the Arizona desert and pretty soon thereafter we were traveling along roads that were surrounded by trees showing off their spring green. It was a great trip but it’s good to be home.
Looking forward to reading more! I have been to West Virginia twice and have also been to Rhode Island, so ahead of you on those two, but I doubt I will ever fulfil my once-held ambition to visit every state. Too many to go, too little time, and tbh the USA no longer feels like a welcoming place 🙁.
Haha! You beat me to those two states while I haven’t even been to Scottland. I’m sorry you feel that way about the USA but I can’t say that I blame you. There were a few places on this trip that we didn’t feel totally welcomed either.
Things going backwards in many ways here too 🙁.
I’m sorry to hear that, Anabel.
Welcome back! Anxious to hear about it.
Thanks, Kate. I promise not to share all 800 or so pictures I took. 🙂
🙂
Looks like a great road trip! You couldn’t add Rhode Island to the itinerary? 🙂
Haha! I would have if I could. We’d love to do another trip concentrating on the East Coast sometime in the future. I’ll be sure to include Rhode Island.
Welcome back, Janis. I wondered about your absence but you obviously put the time to good use and I’ll look forward to hearing all about it.
Thanks, Jo. It was good to be gone, but good to be back too.
🤗🩷
I’ve been wondering where you were. And to think you were so close to me! I love that you went on this adventure.
Oh, I wish I had known! I had one blogger meet up in Tucson (with a blogger that I have known for a while) and tried to have another one in North Carolina, but it didn’t work out. I think next time I’ll pre-publish my route and see who I can connect with along the way 🙂 .
Looking forward to more!
We definitely need to set aside some time to trade travel stories.
You are an inspiration! Vince and I have been talking about a trip like that for years! It’s about time we do it.
Oh, yes… do it! Spring was a great time, but the fall would be lovely too. There is so much to see and do so give yourself a good amount of time.
What a wonderful trip. How nice that you were able to combine visiting family with seeing so much of the country.
It was great to see friends and family along the way. We were so happy that they wanted to see us too 🙂
Hey Janis! Welcome back to California. But I’ve heard it’s been a bit cloudy down in SD. I guess you’ll have to do a short road trip up to Idyllwild and come for a visit. Would love to hear all about your adventure in person if possible. Pick a date! ~Kathy
Yes, we came back to cloudy skies and mild temps. We could certainly use some of the rain we experienced on the trip.
Quite a trip, Janis. I agree that driving lets you see and experience so much more than flying over it.
I am grateful that we have the time to take these types of trips now that we are retired. There is so much to see.
Sounds like a perfect way to spend some retirement time. I never tire of seeing this country by car, especially on the small roads, not Interstates. How cool you made it to new places and got all the way to the Atlantic.😊
We tried to take the backroads when we could. I loved going through small towns… so different from where we live.
Very cool. Looks like you traveled to many of the places I passed through on my x-country trip last spring. I was blessed with kind weather. It seems this year there was a lot more tornado activity.
We were pretty lucky weather-wise. I heard of tornado activity but, thank goodness, we didn’t see anything. We did experience some pretty substantial rainstorms though. I wish I could have brought some of that west with me.
Janis, welcome back. I can’t wait to hear about your trip and see a lot more photographs. We have a driving trip (Florida to Nova Scotia) coming up in September that we are looking forward to. It isn’t as ambitious as your trip, but I think it will be fun.
Your upcoming trip sounds wonderful! I’ve never been to Nova Scotia but I’ve seen pictures – it’s beautiful! I hope you enjoy your trip as much as we did.
Welcome home, Janis! What a great trip. I can’t wait to read and here more about it! ❤ ❤ ❤
It was a great trip, Donna! Since I couldn’t post, I took a lot of notes about things that inspired me along the way.
You were in my neck of the woods! One back entrance to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park is about four miles from my house in NC. If I had known you were coming through, I would have waved at you.
Wow, you live in a beautiful area! We spent a night in a little village called Maggie’s Valley… was that anywhere near you? I would have love to wave to you also. Maybe next time…
If you drove about 10 miles from Maggie to I-40, you went past the turn to my house. Next time stay with me!
It would have been wonderful to have made that connection. We spent several days in Asheville after Maggie’s Valley, so it sounds like we were pretty close.
You were VERY close.
What an excellent trip! Perfect for retired people!
Makes our Snowbird trip home (1700 miles) seem like not such a big deal!
I really loved having the flexibility to change our plans as needed. When we found somewhere we wanted to explore more, we added an extra day.
I can’t wait to read all about your trip—and see your photos! I’m SO disappointed that we didn’t get to meet up. It’s a good thing we didn’t get together, though. As it turns out, this virus was way more wicked than I first thought. Eric got sick a few days after I did, and we’re still recovering a month later. 😦
We were disappointed too. I was really looking forward to meeting you and Eric IRL. It sounds like you had a nasty virus. We really enjoyed our time in North Carolina, both enjoying all the state has to offer and spending time with family. I have a feeling we’ll be back one of these days. 🙂
Fantastic! My (contiguous) state list of leftover states includes RI and ND also (plus OR). Even though we live closer to RI, I’ve found it hard to tuck it into other Eastern state trips we’ve taken and plan to take. To the point where it feels like we need to make it a designated destination trip to get it ‘checked’ off the list. Weird, huh? As an aside: we, too, can add the ‘coast to coast’ trip as checked off, but then it’s a constant in our repertoire (done many times), so never felt like it was ever on any ‘list’!
🙂
What is it about RI and ND? This was the second time I did a west-to-east road trip but the first one (back in 2015) ended in eastern Pennsylvania, so maybe it doesn’t count 🙂 I think it would be interesting to plan another one that traverses the country along a northern route (and, just maybe, pop into North Dakota for a look-see).
I know, weird, eh? We were thinking of taking in ND sometime on our way to CO (home state where we don’t live anymore) to visit friends/family via MI. That’s where middle daughter & hubby live and it would take us the ‘Northern’ Route on I94…as I reviewed this idea (thanks for the nonmusical brainworm) I came across this video I thought you’d get a kick out of…now it’s your turn to catch the brainworm! HA!
Well, that highway is definitely going on my list!
ROAD TRIP! Yay! What an amazing adventure the two of you had! One of the best highlights of our travels is connecting with family and friends throughout the country. It sounds like you accomplished what you set out to and enjoyed the scenery and some terrific activities along the way. Good for you! I’ll be waiting (impatiently) to hear about your journey! Welcome home!
I know you are also a great fan of road trips – and I’m so happy that one of them included an opportunity to connect in person! I’ve been enjoying your recent posts and look forward to reading more about your next exciting adventure. I continue to have trouble commenting on your site but be assured that I am following along.
Always happy to have you riding along, Janis! Now if we only lived a wee bit closer . . .
🙂
Welcome home from your road trip, Janis. I’ll be looking forward to your posts about the trip. Your photos show how nice it must have been.
Thanks, Karen. We were so lucky to have had the time and energy to see and do so much.
I prefer road trips too, Janis, I’m so glad you took this one! Wow, the sights you saw and experienced. Gorgeous pictures and I’m sure you have great ideas to keep blogging for weeks. And thanks for sharing your map!
Using the Jetpack app is tricky, even on the road. Welcome back to the west coast just in time for summer in SD!
I don’t know what the problem was but, using my iPad, I wasn’t able to reliably post or comment. Since it was hit-or-miss I decided to just give up trying… too much else to do anyway. I took a lot of notes, though, and a ton of pictures so I imagine that I’ll be able to squeeze out a few posts about the trip 🙂
Wow! What a trip! That’s so cool and adventurous of you! Hubs and I also enjoy adding states and national parks to our lives. We may have to do this some day too when we’re “retirementally challenged.” 🙂
One of these days I want to gather a list of U.S. national parks and see which ones I need to be sure to visit (including the granddaddy of them all, Yellowstone). I was thrilled to add two more to my stamp book. I also want to visit more presidential libraries. The first, Truman’s in Independence, MO was fascinating. Clinton’s was very interesting too. Since there are two not too far up the freeway from us, I’d like to plan a trip to see them. Any excuse for a road trip. 🙂
Yellowstone is my favorite! I went there when I was 12. It was great. Hubby wants to go to the Reagan library. It is fairly close…
That’s amazing, Janis! I’m looking forward to reading more about your trip.
It was a lot of fun (and a lot of driving)! I hope to share a few of the highlights.
I do love a good road trip. Looking forward to more details about your adventures (and ya gotta visit Minnesota!).
I have no idea how I’ve missed Minnesota up to this point. I will definitely have to remedy that (and maybe add a stop in North Dakota while I’m at it).
That’s quite an excursion Janis. Do you and your husband share driving responsibilities? I’m looking forward to your photos from your trip. I always enjoyed the photos on your extended stay in Mexico a few years back.
Funny you should ask… we started out with the intention of sharing time spent behind the wheel. After a few days, though, my husband took over the bulk of the driving while I navigated and spent time determining our next stop and making hotel reservations. I’m a big fan of paper maps and I bought a new road atlas just for this trip. I was in heaven following our route on the map of each state we were in 🙂
Well, a navigator is just as important as driver, so you did share responsibilities equally in my opinion. That would be my preference too, but because I am not keen on expressway driving as I don’t do enough of it, plus you got to see the sights. I don’t have GPS in my car, so I always have a paper map in my car!
You really covered a lot of territory – so do you and your husband share driving responsibilities Janis? I’m looking forward to your photos from your trip. I always enjoyed the photos on your extended stay in Mexico a few years back.
Your route looks similar to the one He-man and I took back in 1983. We call it our ” Epic Trip”. You went to two NP’s that I haven’t been to both look really neat.
I’m glad you made it there and back again safely. I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing more about your road trip.
As I am reading reports of huge storms and tornados currently creating havoc in the same areas we traveled, I’m VERY happy to be home safe and sound.
Those two national parks were a bonus on our trip. We couldn’t stay long but we enjoyed what we were able to see.
Glad you had a great trip! I look forward to reading about it.
Thanks, Ann. I hope to share more soon.
Welcome back Janis! I look forward to hearing more about your trip and am curious if you took an EV again. We love hitting the National Parks and Presidential Libraries too. I see you visited White Sands from this post. That remains a standout stop for us. Such a unique location. Always love inclusion of a map! Tracey
No EV this time. Too many unknowns charging-wise across the country, unlike here in the west where there are plenty of stations. We hope to take it again on a trip up north later.
Presidential libraries weren’t on my radar until we decided to visit Truman’s in Missouri about ten years ago. It was fascinating. Now, I look for them along our routes like I do national parks.
Wow!! You’ll be several years writing about everything you saw on a trip like that!
It was a great trip and I plan to share a few observations and pictures (thank goodness for digital cameras 🙂 ).
What a trip, Janis! We’ve been thinking of doing something like this too. Our son went on a 7-month road trip heading west last year that began in Maine and ended in No. Cal. our home. He visited as many state parks as possible and had a trip of a lifetime. So now, it’s our turn. 🙂
Wow, seven months?! He must have had a great experience. I really encourage you to plan a cross-country trip. There is so much to see… it’s a whole other world out there 🙂
Woo hoo! I love car trips. My lovely bride not so much, so I always cheer when I see others take great ones. Love your pics so much. FYI, there’s a great article in the Washington Post today about EV’s vs. Hybrid cars. I had thought hybrids were on the way out, but apparently not. Hope you have a wonderful re-entry back home. – Marty
Thanks, Marty! Road trips are such a great way to see different parts of the country. I’ll check out that article. My husband is considering a new car and since I have an EV, he might be looking for an alternative. I think over the next several years, we’ll see better and better technologies available.
Wow that’s just an incredible job
Thank you.
Awesome trip. I often recommend a U.S. road trip. This country is so big, and so beautiful… It’s hard for most folks to imagine. I’ve had the privilege to visit all 50 of these great states and I highly recommend it. #TavelUSA
This same time last year we were in Europe. This time, we decided that we needed to see more of our country. Thanks for your comment!
That is how a road trip should look like!
I agree! It was a great trip!
Is it just me, or does the William J. Clinton Presidential Library look sort of like a single wide? I’m sure it must be significantly more complex and Presidential than that, but still…
Thanks for your wonderful post.
Haha! While I’m sure that wasn’t the intention, I can see what you mean. It is very impressive inside.
I know how life gets i still have to write any my Japanese trip back in February!
The road trip sounds fantastic! Can’t wait to read more.
Yep. I often tell myself that I’ll write about the trip when I get back but, by then, it’s no longer top-of-mind. I don’t intend to write about this whole trip but there are a few experiences and observations I would like to share.
The highlights are so important to document and a delight in read in years to come.
You did cover some miles! It’s a nice time of the year to be traveling. I’m curious what you thought of the Clinton Library. Have you visited other presidential libraries?
While I enjoyed the Clinton Library, it didn’t have the same impact as the Truman Library we visited several years ago (the only other one I’ve been to). I was surprised at how much was going on in the world during his time in office (both good and bad) and how many events his administration was involved in. I realized how much I had forgotten about that time period. Wouldn’t it have been nice if it could have been a shared presidential library?
That’s a fascinating perspective. The Clinton library was my first presidential library experience. I was enthralled by first floor (or two?) but after a while the whole thing began to feel like a gigantic media campaign, and that quickened my pace through the space considerably.