Two Lanes 412 (8,341) 72.5%
Top Down 527 (9,488) 82.5%
What an adventure. 11,500 miles. 9500 with the top down. At 65 mph that's 150 hours of the wind blowing in our hair. And 8300 miles off the freeways.
We saw America and Canada. We tasted them. We heard them. We touched them. And we smelled them.
Driving with the top down changes all of the senses. You don't just see forward, you see up and out. It is like an IMAX on wheels. And you are exposed to smells you never get in a car with the windows up and A/C on. These smells ranged from the sea in New Brunswick to the cattle trucks in Kansas to the flowering sagebrush in Nevada.
We live in on a very diverse continent. The extremes are remarkable. Here are a few that come to mind:
The smallest midwest farming towns to the streets of New York City.
I-95 from New York to Philly to US 50 across western Utah and Nevada.
The glacial carved mountains and lakes of Glacier to the flat fields of North Dakota and Kansas.
The English speaking Americans to the French speaking Quebecois to the Old French speaking Acadians to the Gaelic speakers of Cape Breton.
The Philly Cheese Steaks on South Street in the City of Brotherly Love to the fresh lobster on the wharf at Parlee Beack, New Brunswick.
The gardens of Grand Metis to the desert flowers of Nevada.
The Basilica of Notre Dame to the rising spires of the San Juans.
The towering buildings of Manhattan to the steep cliffs of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.
The rain dripping from the saturated sky in Appalachia to the rain evaporating before it hit the ground in Utah.
And the animals we saw: moose, grizzlies, deer, antelope, bison, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, cardinals, countless birds and butterflies, lizards, puffins, murres, gulls, and more.
Everywhere we ran into hard working. caring, kind, respectful people. While at times our views of the world, its problems and solutions, differed, it was clear that we all shared common goals.
This is a great land. It is a very different land than we see portrayed on CNN or Fox News. It is a good land. It has its problems, but it is a good land with good people.
We were fortunate to be able to see much of it up close and personal. While many cannot take the time to do it our way, I strongly recommend that it be pursued in pieces, It is eye-opening, rewarding, humbling, powerful, enlightening and inspiring. It creates tolerance in a time when all of the media tells us to think otherwise.
Thanks for joining us, and I hope that we have moved you at times. As for us, remain in awe.
And now for the credits and top places and photos:
Our gracious hosts:
Elissa and Jonathan Kappel; Diane and Frank Biondello; Brigitte LaPresto and Steve Anderson; and Lanette and Randy Doty.
Our house and pet caregivers:
Marissa, Greg, and Amy Chin; and Annabel, John, Tess, Emma and Jack Hurlburt
Our car (Box- star-babe), that never let us down is some very, very remote places.
Our Magellan GPS that only steered us wrong some of the time but found our way when we needed it most.
Our XM radio for the ability to find a variety of music that fit our mood and scenery.
The US Space program that made both of the above possible!
Top Lists:
Best hotels:
The Prince George. Hailfax, NS
Hyatt Regency, Phildelphia, PA
Many Glacier Hotel, Many Glacier, MT
Le Chateau Frontenac, Quebec City, QC
Best Inns and Cabins:
Gros Morne Cabins, Rocky Harbour, NL
Blue Jay Lodge, Placerville, CO
Auberge des San Soucy, Montreal, QC
Reflections Inn, Clearwater River near Kooskia, ID
Inn at Blackberry Creek, Walla Walla, WA
The Willows, Rossport, ON
Best meals:
Kansas City BBQ, Fiorela's Jack Stack BBQ, Overland Park, KS (OMG it was good!)
Lobster at Parlee Beach, NB
Halibut Stew at Pipa in Hailfax, NS
Chicken Skewers in the rain along the Clearwater River, ID
Sole along the Matapedia River, QC
Salmon and Turbot in Gros Morne, NL
Sushi at Akiyama, College Point, NY
Everything at Lot 30, Charlottetown, PEI
Philly Cheese Steak with everything on it (including the traditional Cheez Whiz) at Jim's Steaks, Philadelphia, PA
Sonic Burgers and Freezes
Just being at the restaurant at the Nevada Hotel, Ely, NV
Best drives:
Through northeastern California, seeing snow-capped Lassen and Shasta simultaneously
Along the Clearwater and Lachsa Rivers, ID
Along the north shore of Lake Superior, MN and ON
Through the Acadian Peninsula, NB
Around PEI
Onto and off any ferry!
Through Lancaster County, PA
Into the San Juans, CO
Across US 50 in UT and NV
Most inspiring places:
Glacier National Park, MT
The Lewis and Clark Trail, WA, ID, MT, ND, MO
Knife River Indian Villages, ND
Lake Itasca, headwaters of the Mississippi
The Basilica of Notre Dame, QC
Place Dufferin, overlooking the St. Lawrence, Quebec, QC
The Matapedia River, QC (fly fisherman and covered bridges)
Hiking to Green Gardens, Gros Morne National Park, NL
The Bay of Fundy, NB
The Fireworks over the Hudson River, NY
The vistas along Highway 50, UT and NV
Lake Tahoe, NV and CA
Seeing old friends after many years and having time and space melt away instantly
Best treats on the road:
McCabe's Famous Ice Cream, Cambridge , NB
Any cheese shop
Dry Apple cider wine, St. Lawrence Valley, QC
Best photos:
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