Returning Home

We are back safe and sound - the laundry has been done - we have gone grocery shopping to re-stock our kitchen and we've downloaded all of the photos from our camera.  It was a delightful trip covering 2,789 miles and six states and provinces.  The eastern states through which we traveled were beautiful with many similarities to Michigan - except for the mountains and the salt water and the tides.  

We saw those differences and noticed a few others.  In Michigan the freeways have exits that are numbered to correspond with the number of miles between exits.  Not all states do this - especially states with toll roads.  The folks who use toll roads need to be able to calculate the amount due at the exit, so the exits are numbered consecutively with absolutely no relationship to the number of miles between.  I had to pay more attention to the map in order to be a good navigator.

In the outlying areas of Maine spicy food was hard to find.  I noticed the same thing in the more remote areas of Canada - not many Mexican restaurants.  It struck us once again that there is so much open land in the U.S. (and even more in Canada!).  Now it is true that we generally avoid large cities, so we are bound to see more open land, but it still amazes us when we travel.

The other thing I noticed is that our "work" when we travel is discovery.  We have time to look, photograph, and reflect.  We do not take our time up with keeping house and cooking.  As much as I love to cook and find it to be a creative outlet, it is nice to take a break from it sometimes so I can learn about new foods and appreciate the ability to fix a good meal.  I become so immersed in our travels that I experience a let down when we return home.  It takes some time to shake this off - even though I deeply appreciate sleeping in my own bed!

Fortunately, we have a great circle of family and friends to welcome us back and we have music.  We loved the eastern states and we are already planning two things: our next fall trip and re-visiting some of the states we discovered on this trip.

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