Observations From Our Trip

Things we have noticed on this trip….
• We are a family of smart alecs.  There were constant remarks that were just incredibly funny.  My kids are fun to be with.
• There are extremely kind people everywhere and extremely rude people everywhere.  No city has a lock on either kind.  We are blessed to know many extremely kind people.
• We were amazed by all the alternative energy all over the south – thousands of wind turbines, huge solar panel “farms,” and many of the cities we visited are really trying to go green.
• Our country is huge, and there are vast amounts of wide-open space with beautiful, but rugged landscape.
• Each area we visited, though very different from each other, is beautiful in its own way.  We loved the busy cities, the stark cactus-strewn deserts of Arizona, and everything in between.
• Red RAV4s (the car we drove across the country) are extremely popular cars and our children are convinced that there is a secret head nod that the other RAV4 drivers will recognize.
• We were compelled to wave to the people in other cars with Virginia license plates that we saw in Texas and Arizona.
• Trash that is thrown along highways and in streams is awful.  What makes people think that doing that is okay???
• Historical markers on roads that have a 75 mph speed limit are difficult to read.
• Walgreens, Wal-Marts and Cracker Barrels are everywhere!
• Almost all of the truck weigh stations we passed for over 6000 miles were closed.  Why do they even have them?
• License plate covers make it hard to play the license plate game.
• Sunsets out west are gorgeous.
• Turning off the GPS and taking back roads is well worth the time.  There are some incredible sights to see that are not found on the interstates.
• We are very blessed to live as we do.  There are many people across this land living in extreme poverty.  I think our children had a reality check with some of the things they saw.
• There is no place like home.