Mark's Final Post

I knew the trip was coming to an end this week when I placed my grocery order with Fresh Direct and ordered my Weight Watchers snacks - all to be delivered Friday afternoon. And, of course, also arranged for our Covid 19 tests on Friday.

As we reached the end of our summer journey, we made our way through Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. We also knew our adventure was ending when the highlight of the week was when we almost broke down on Route 80 in Indiana. Yikes! Turns out our car was completely out of antifreeze and it was overheating. Not good. So, we drove over 20 miles with the warning light "Engine Overheating. Slow down slowly and stop." Like I said, not good. But, all worked out fine as we both learned about the different types and colors of antifreeze and where to put it in the engine. Little did we know at the time that we would go through this overheating exercise two more times before we returned home. Judy has become somewhat of an expert in opening the hood and knowing where to add the antifreeze and the right amount just to get us through the next couple hundred miles before overheating again.

Chill week for us. We spent the first two days of the week in central Pennsylvania. Actually we spent two nights in one place so we didn't have a driving day. One of the days we hung out at a cool lake spot (Bald Eagle State Park). Although I ended up working a bit in the van while Judy was laying on the beach, I did get to join her for the afternoon portion. We really like the place and we're already talking about coming back to visit in the fall to watch the leaves change.

We spent our last official night at Camp Weequahic! Really fitting place for Judy to be since this would have been her 22nd year at her summer home. Saw Jerry, Scrappy and Chef, and got a "wheel" (pizza) from the Villa. Yum, yum! This was after we got stuck in the mud and Jerry had to pull us out with the tractor.

So...now this adventure is ending. What have I learned and what are the highlights and lowlights and key takeaways:

Key takeaways:

* I DID IT!!! This was a huge accomplishment on my part. I surprised myself. And, to be honest, it wasn't as bad or hard as I thought it would be. In fact, I would do it again.

* As expected before the trip started, the three biggest challenges were indeed finding good WIFI, finding good coffee, and finding good clean bathrooms.

* Our country is as beautiful as everyone has told me through the years and there are some amazing places to see. I cannot wait to do this trip again and cover places that we were not able to visit on this trip; especially Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona.

* There are A LOT of people in this country who support and love Trump.

* There are A LOT of historical markers in this country.

* It has been 40 years since I found my soulmate and we still laugh, smile and enjoy our time together. In other words, we didn't get sick of each other!

(not counting two hours on the way to Lake Itasca, MN)

Highlights:

******* JACOB & RACHEL'S WEDDING!!! ********

Lowlights:

* Way too many mosquitoes and they all seemed to find me.

*  Nevada

*  Having a few near car challenges; a nail in the tire a few weeks ago, the engine overheating this week, and having to get towed out of the mud just yesterday. 

By the way, my calendar still has that this week I was to be in Scotland with Jeremy on a walking trip. Maybe next year.

Our Itinerary for week 7:

DAY 45 / 46 - KOA - Bellefonte/State College, PA

DAY 47 - CAMP WEEQUAHIC - Lakewood, PA

DAY 48 - Driveway at 220 Buckingham Road, Tenafly, NJ

DAY 49 - Return the van to Jersey City; 14-day quarantine begins!

By the way, when we returned the van today, our mileage for the trip was 10,660 miles! They also said that they have discontinued offering the unlimited milage options on all rentals now.