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Inspirational guest blogger Judith Whitehead from Amherst, N.Y. Decided to take time off from her health-care career and travel cross country with the love of her life...
Judy and husband Steve about to embark on their cross country sojourn...Your own backyard can be anywhere you make it... No that's not Richard Dreyfus, It's Steve Whitehead!
My husband and I had made this drive many years prior, when we were much younger. We always threw caution to the wind at that age. We decided to awaken the teenager in us and take the plunge. Several days before our trip, we had to change our course dramatically because a tornado and floods overtook the southern route we were used to traveling. So we redirected our attention to the northernmost route we could take without adding too many miles.
We were given a GPS to use but, being the skeptics we were, we decided to use the old-fashioned Triptik from AAA. It had worked so many times before, so why mess with the tried and true?
We left Buffalo on a rainy day; one can always count on rain in Buffalo in the spring. We got a late start and decided to stop in Toledo, when darkness threatened our sight and judgment.
We tried to make this trip as economical as we could, looking for hotels that we could use our reward points with, and that included a free breakfast and services. We found that hotels are in great competition these days and are more than willing to please.
Waking early the next morning, we were determined to make up the extra time and drove nine hours to Nebraska. Surprisingly and pleasingly, all the gas prices were lower than in good old New York. We paid as little as $3.50 in some states. When we drove across the country 30 years ago, the price of gas was about 75 cents.
We decided to make a short stop and tour an original sod house built during the prairie days. It was amazing to see how hard life was then.
Our most memorable state to cruise through was Colorado. To our glee, it was off season in Vail and the hotel rates were a quarter of the price. With snow still visible on top of the mountains, it was very beautiful and we wished we could have stayed longer.
Las Vegas is always an amazing sight. You drive through miles of endless desert and dust to almost suddenly come across an oasis of hotels and lights in the middle of nowhere. We stayed outside the city limits and were able to settle into a Hampton Inn, again collecting our points and enjoying a free breakfast buffet.
Determined to make it to Los Angeles in four days, we started out early the next morning. We knew we had arrived by the inversion layer of smog that surrounds the city when approaching.
I guess we still have the adventurous nature in us, because we thoroughly enjoyed our road trip, driving on a budget and seeing the way the rest of small-town America lives. I took 600 pictures, topped off the gas tank 10 times, partook in four free breakfast buffets and got to reconnect with my husband with no interruptions except for a few cellphone calls.
This was a trip we will always remember. We were able to reconnect with old friends, visit with family and revisit all of our old favorite places.
So to all you baby boomers out there, if you have the gumption, the time and a few extra bucks, don’t just think about doing an adventure — do it. You only go around once, so check out how the rest of the world lives. America has much beauty to offer right here in our own back yard.
Below Douglas Dunn pictured with his New electric Car!(The Leaf) We are looking forward to his upcoming blog....
Just say NO! This coming Tuesday September 27Th, Doug will tell us about his new Leaf on Life!
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