Prologue -The Back Story

So, what has prompted this 7 week, 10,000 mile adventure? We've done cross-country road trips before and we really enjoy that mode of travel. This year, when it was announced that the annual Rotary International Convention would be held in Atlanta in June (its not usually in the US) we were intrigued. Then, we learned that the bi-annual National Senior Games competition would be in Birmingham, Alabama, the week before. That iced it! (Not to compete, just to be there one day. I am the Idaho Registrar).

For the past few months we've been planning our itinerary. Highlights will include Church and baseball in Kansas City, Branson, Birmingham, Atlanta, Linda in Florida, Edith in Myrtle Beach, Big Meadow in Shenandoah, Pa Dutch country, Maine, Jake in New York, Medora, North Dakota. The plan is to arrive home on July 15th.

We're driving our diesel VW Golf.  (50 mpg!) Its been the subject of a scandal at VW which requires us to give the car back at the end of year. The plan is drive it across country, rack up a lot of free miles, then see what's available as the 2018 models appear in the fall.

We have done cross country trips twice. First was in 2001 when we moved from Oneonta/Drew to American Falls. The second time was after Sam retired in 2012. I had done it twice as a kid so this current one makes five for me!

I dug around in my family "archives" and found a notebook where it had been my job to account for all expenses in our family trip of 1962. We left Lexington July 16th and returned on August 26, 1962. That's 41 days. The expenses were hilarious! The total cost of the trip was about $1,500. The average motel bill was $14.18. Average daily expense was $35! Now, we will try hard to keep daily expenses at $200 or less, but that may be impossible!

I can't recall the second trip, across Canada and back by the "northern route". It had to have been between 1963 and 1965, when I graduated from High School. I doubt it could have been while I was in college until 1969.

One of our goals in life is to visit all the National Parks. We're getting close. We've visited 40 of the 50 in the Lower 48. We'll pick up six more on this trip, leaving only 4 to go (two in Florida, two in California).

We've already checked off all 50 states so next up is the parks.

(Note: I've never figured out how to make these posts go in date order, oldest to newest. So, start at the bottom!)

We dropped J.Q. and Zona off in Rocky Comfort, Mo.
We'll be visiting the cemetery there - lots of Biggses!

Red pins are all that's left!