ROAD TRIP 2023, THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS

Ok, so Rodin's "The Thinker" might be a little over the top, but truth be told, I do spend some time reflecting and thinking about all that transpired while I was on the road for 9 weeks. And while most of my experiences were great, there were a few rookie blunders once again. But I am getting way ahead of myself here, so let's roll the tape back to my departure from Cape Cod. Upon leaving the Cape, the initial plan was to head for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (never been there but remains on the bucket list), then travel through Wisconsin and North Dakota. That all changed abruptly after learning that my friend, Mary B, was having some difficulty sorting out some short and long term plans related to her employment and other pressing issues. And so, I returned to Asheville for a couple of days to help her figure out some options related to those problems and of course, a chance to briefly enjoy the Asheville area one more time. Leaving Asheville, I headed for West Jefferson once again to meet up with my realtor and a chance to meet up with a general contractor who resides in Ashe county.

After several hours of discussion and a couple of wonderful meals, I think we came up with some workable options related to Mary's dilemmas. In fact, she believes one problem has already been solved as a result of our conversations and processing. WELL DONE MB!!!! Onto the next set of challenges.

West Jefferson is a gorgeous area in Northwestern North Carolina and just checks off all the right boxes for the balance of my retirement years. Unfortunately, housing inventory is minimal but on the plus side, there are plenty of undeveloped, reasonably priced land options, but not in the downtown area. So, the search continues to find the right piece of property at the right price. All options are on the table. The key to this ongoing search is "patience" and even more "patience".

Heading West out of North Carolina I traveled through a short portion of Virginia and into Kentucky. My route took me past several places I've been before including Pikeville, Prestonsburg, Lexington, and Louisville, eventually making my way to Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and finally into South Dakota. The trip home went smoothly however, I did encounter several severe thunderstorms which forced me to take cover at a few truck stops until the storms passed. Overnight camping en route courtesy of Cracker Barrel, however, I think they need to up their food service a bit. The "to go" meals I had were less than average and portion control seems to be the name of the game at the CB these days. Even Lenny turned up his nose when I offered to share a meal with him. And if you know Lenny, that's a very rare occurrence.

When traveling, all of us see some unusual things, like this camper for example. Taking comfort to a whole new level by bringing along a portable hot tub. Can you believe that?? Talk about all the comforts of home. Lenny, why didn't we think about that???

A few interesting signs along the way. While this might be true for some appliance stores, my hunch is that a number of internal components within the television come directly from China. "Close, but no cigar" Mr. Retailer.

Excuse me but HUH???? What does this mean?? I have no idea but perhaps someone out there can explain it to me. If they have trouble with numbers or fractions, perhaps this is not the right banking choice.

Marion's on the Cape posted this sign on their front porch. Marion's btw, is a pie bakery with a sense of humor.

Finally, a restaurant appropriately named after me (well, not all the time) Wish I had gone there for breakfast. Who knows? Might have changed and improved my infrequent disposition for the long term.

Uh oh, this doesn't look or sound too good. Think I prefer the word "hidden" as opposed to "blind".

This is interesting. McDonald's now puts messages on the tops of their drink lids. Lenny's paw pointed this out to me. Sorta like a Chinese fortune cookie. Actually, the cheeseburger I got for Lenny had even less of a chance. I blinked and it was gone.

Oh come on Micky D....it's just a cold ice tea, not a winning lottery ticket.

You cannot travel through New England without seeing a Dunkin Donuts on just about every corner and in some cases, two of them directly across the street from one another. Even more prolific than Starbucks in Seattle. In fact, according to Wikipedia there are over 12,900 locations in 42 countries. However, 11,552 are located in Rhode Island and Massachusetts alone. Go figure. This might sound weird, but believe it or not, I prefer McDonald's coffee over DD. Plus, those folks in New England actually stir the sugar in the cup before they hand it to you. What a novel idea!!! Boston cream donuts are still the bomb!!! Lenny preferred the old fashion ones.

Is it just me or have restaurants gotten much louder? It's almost impossible to have a normal conversation at a normal volume (under 80 decibels) while enjoying a meal with family or friends indoors. The only solution is to dine outside and hope that you're not seated next to some screaming kids. Oh boy, there goes Mr Grumpy again.

And finally, this is Lenny's go to breakfast. However, hold the sauce. When you order Mickey D's sausage burritos, you get two with each order. I am lucky if I get ONE bite out of the order as he can scarf these things down in a New York minute. In addition to his breakfast preference, Lenny has acquired a taste for chicken McNuggets, Bojangles ham biscuits, Subway Italian sandwiches, and any sort of pizza crust. He's not picky. Lenny was a wonderful travel companion on this extended road trip and adjusted quite well to all the changes we encountered along the way. Yea, he can come along on the next adventure.

After 9 weeks on the road, it's good to be back home. Would I do an extended trip like this again?? You bet I would. Over the course of 9 weeks, I was able to scratch off a number of items on my bucket list and most importantly, spend time with family and friends along the way. Gas prices, for the most part, remained very stable and in fact, the lowest fuel price was in West Jefferson at 3.05 per gal. When was the last time you saw prices at the pump that low?? Of course, now that I am home, I must attend to the rookie mistakes I made on the road which will include fixing a number of bumps and bruises on my 4 Runner and camper. Hopefully, not too expensive to repair. Will start tackling those projects next week. Thanks to all those who followed us along on this journey. Lenny and I hope to squeeze in one more adventure this summer and perhaps head for parts of Montana. Stay tuned!!!