I didn't think I should leave you hanging as to our whereabouts... we arrived home yesterday around 5 pm. Yes, that is two days earlier than originally planned. Unexpected variables went into this decision-- the extra driving done to bring Michael's parents back early, government closures of at least 4 National Park sites we planned on visiting, a pending trip to Florida next week for my grandfather's memorial service... plus the fact that I think all of us were missing home (and friends) quite a bit!
After a relatively quiet night in the West Virginia Wal-Mart parking lot (at least there were no police knocking on our door this time!!), Michael and I were up around 5 and moved the girls back to our bed so they could continue snoozing (one big bonus of travelling in an RV!!).
We (Michael) had over 500 miles to drive today so we needed to get the show on the road. Five hundred miles doesn't sound like a lot but you must remember that even though you 'can' travel faster than 55 in an RV, it seems that is what your speed averages (instead of closer to 70-- or higher?!-- when you are driving a car.) It was a pretty uneventful trip with the exception of when we almost killed a car that crossed into our lane and slammed on his brakes so that he could make the exit ramp he hadn't planned properly for. A crazy move in ANY situation-- much less when you pull in front of a vehicle 6 times your size. SO VERY thankful for the angels of protection around our vehicle and his!
One other item of interest was the toll road in West Virginia. The toll was 40 cents. Which really just seems like a waste of time to collect. How many cars have to go through that booth in an hour just to cover the salary/expense of toll workers??! In Florida, they have tolls that are 50 cents... but they are about every 5 miles so by the time you've gone a decent stretch, you've laid out a fair amount of money. In Georgia, we have a HOV toll lane that can charge as low as pennies-- but it's collected electronically (no expense of toll booth workers). I don't know-- it just seemed odd to even bother with a toll for that kind of rate. The northeast, now, they know how to charge tolls! It cost us over $23 to cross the state of New York!
We stopped at Red Robin outside of Charlotte for lunch (a family favorite and we had a free birthday burger for Michael so BONUS!) and made it home as I said, around 5 pm. We unloaded the RV and then wanted to cry because of the piles of things that needed to be put away and laundry that needed to be done (okay, maybe that was just me!!).
We are thankful for a safe trip and all the prayers that surrounded us while we were gone. While many things did not go the way that were originally planned, we still had an amazing time. Our biggest regret is that Grandma & PawPaw did not get to finish the trip with us. We are so thankful to them for the opportunity to continue on the journey. We got to experience so many new things and see so much of our great country and God's beautiful creation.
Another road trip for the Timms family is now in the books.
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