18 States, 2 Countries and 1 District

Wow what a trip we had and we covered a lot of territory in 9 days!  Total mileage was 3188.  We had a few clouds and showers in our last day of driving but the further south we went the brighter the sun shined.  We stopped in Hillsborough, North Carolina which is the home of Daniel Boone apparently.  I went to my first antique shop there with Debbie.  Lots of interesting things to look at although it is not my thing for decorating, it is fun to look at.  We thought this motel on the property looked like Daniel might have slept here and that was why it was still open..OMG!  After swearing I don't do roadside picnics to Debbie, we did one today after we bought a sandwich at a Sheetz gas station (and yes that is really it's name) which is kind of like a Wawa and it was too hot to eat outside.  Debbie was looking for a store that someone in the Sheetz place told her about but when we had no luck, we dined in the parking lot of the Dollar General in the car.

After our "picnic" we drove for a good while and needed to stop for gas, drinks and general pits stop activites.  While there Debbie got a call from her son in law that her daughter was in the hospital having emergency surgery.  We were going to stop in South Carolina and have a short visit with our friend Kay but we passed so we could get home so Debbie could decide whether she needed to leave to get home.  As it turned out, her daughter did have surgery much later that night rather than when she got the call and she did fine and will be fine.  This was a good thing since it was too far and too late for Debbie to attempt to drive another 350 miles home.  We made it back to Atlanta at about 8:30 PM.  After finding out about her daughter would be fine, we had dinner and opened several of our prized bottles of wine and drank in relief that all is well and we were home safe.  We turned in shorty after consuming more than our share of wine.  The next morning we took the car back and went to my grandson's first football game and his sister's cheerleading squad cheered at his game  as well.  It was a beautiful morning although by the time we were in full sun at games end, it was just plain hot!  I found out that my uncle who was 102 passed away last night so thinking of the entire trip in 9 days we had a birth, an earthquake, a hurricane and a death...we came full circle.  It was an amazing trip with the highlights being Niagara Falls and Maine with both the lobster and the lighthouse and scenery, but beauty really in every state we went to.  Debbie and I have seen a lot of the world but  there is much to see in our own country we have determined.  Although I have no desire to get in the car again right now, I would do it again but next time take more time to drive it so we don't have to push so hard.  I'm not giving up cruising however.  Thanks to Dave and Carol for following our antics...my daughter and grandchildren did as well but for whatever reason she said it would not allow her to post comments.  Anyway, it's fun to write when you know someone will read it.