the rundown (usa)

Total miles driven: 19,000

Number of states we were in: If I counted correctly, 30 + Canada

Where we slept: Neighborhood streets, campsites, RV parks, relatives and friends, strangers' homes (couchsurfing), motels, rest stops, national forests, Walmart parking lots

Most days without a shower: Three

Top ten favorite cities we visited (in no particular order): St. Louis, Albuquerque, San Diego, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Memphis, Savannah, Washington D.C., Philadelphia

Least favorite cities: Tulsa, Oklahoma; Pierre SD; Niagara, NY

Most valuable travel item: Dr. Bronner’s soap: dish soap, laundry detergent and bath soap in one! Biodegradable, fair trade, all natural, smells good, works great.

Most amusing travel item: Camp showers. Always produced laughter, and was pretty effective!

Favorite moment: Michael Franti concert in Louisville followed by fireworks 4th of July with Guy & Barbie

Most miserable moment: Experiencing heat exhaustion through a terrible sunburn coupled with heat indexes of 107 and sleeping in a tent

Top 5 meals:
1. Mrs. Wilkes, soul food extravaganza - Savannah, GA
2. Frontier, huevos rancheros - Albuquerque, NM
3. Interstate BBQ, BBQ platter for 2 - Memphis, TN
4. Los Sombreros, chicken mole - Phoenix, AZ
5. The Shack, $2 fish tacos - San Diego, CA

Worst meal: KFC, Guy had the “ Double down” sandwich, two chicken patties (acting as the bread) sandwiching bacon and cheese. I gagged as I watched him eat it.

Best dessert:
1. Little Dipper, coffee-chip chocolate dipped ice cream - Missoula, MN
2. Interstate BBQ, sweet potato pie - Memphis, TN
3. Crumbs Cupcakes, Los Angeles, CA
4. Fourway, lemon meringue pie - Memphis, TN
5. Rita’s, pineapple gelati - Philadelphia, PA

Nicest accomodations handed to us on a silver platter: David & Larry’s house in Palm Springs, Traveller’s Rest cabin in Darby, MT

Worst accomodations: Swiss Cottage Inn - Niagara, NY. Gross. I considered sleeping in the van.

Biggest “oops” moment: Realizing I left my driver’s license and check card at home several days into the trip!

Most ferocious animal encounter: Attack goose guarding the men’s bathroom in Carthage, MO. Or maybe the alligator in Charleston that jumped out of the water several feet…from my feet.

Most talented animals: Peabody Ducks, Memphis

Scariest bathroom experience: Walnut Creek Park, Oklahoma - dive bombed by a plethora of gigantic bugs while attempting to bathe under a trickle of water

Most surprising thing I learned about my travel partner: He’s very meticulous and well…he’s type A.

Most appreciated traits discovered about my travel partner: He’s well-planned, thrifty and clean!

Biggest relationship saver: Season 5 of The Office

Creepiest line: When an old Texan man told Guy he “had a pretty daughter.”

Favorite Route 66 roadside attraction: Cadillac Ranch

Kindest stranger: Bob, our couchsurfing host in Albuquerque - who gave us a copy of his house key before we even met him!

Most memorable stranger: The Cat Whisperer in Seattle

Solemn moments: Oklahoma City National Memorial, Big Hole National Monument, Unity Church in Bozeman, the site of MLK Jr's assasination at the Lorraine Hotel

National Parks and Natural Wonders we visited: Petroglyphs National Park, Petrified Forest National Park, Grand Canyon, Sabino Canyon, Joshua Tree National Park, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Redwood National Forest, Mt. St. Helens, Devil’s Tower, Black Hills National Forest, Wind Cave National Park, Badlands, Niagara Falls, Mammoth Cave

Favorite: Grand Canyon

Favorite stretch of drive: Pacific Coast Highway

Fun places we went: Desert Musuem, San Diego Zoo, Gateway Arch, taping of The Tonight Show, Hollywood, Rodeo Drive, Santa Monica Pier, Chinatown, Fisherman’s Wharf & Golden Gate Park in San Fran, Pike Place Mark in Seattle, Bozeman Hot Springs, Deadwood, Mount Rushmore, Wall Drug, Beale Street, Sun Studio Memphis, Tybee Island, Magnolia Plantation, Maker’s Mark Distillery, Utz Chip Factory

Most interesting historic sites: Civil Rights Museum (Memphis) Selma to Montgomery March Route, Fort Pulaski, Library of Congress, U.S. Capitol, Supreme Court, Smithsonian Museums, DC Monuments & Memorials, Gettysburg Visitor Center & Park, Independence Hall/Philadelphia Historic District

Problems with the van: Leaky windshield, one flat tire, dented by a pole one day before leaving, stench inducing water spill

Star Sightings: Julia Louis Dreyfus, Eric McCormack, Larry David, Jason Alexander

Best beach: East beach, Santa Barbara, CA

Best rest stops: Texas. Free wi-fi, granite countertops, automatic sinks & flushing toilets

Worst rest stops: Washington. Dirty, basic. Depressingly full of homeless folks

Most physically challenging moment: Mountain biking with my aunt and uncle in Montana

Most unexpected moment: Throwing maggoty deer hides into the river on Standing Rock Reservation

Biggest learning opportunity/most humbling experience: The Natural Law Instutite, SD

Biggest life lesson learned: Finally feel like I know how to live day by day, and be in the moment