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States slept in so far: 48
Still to go: 0
48 states total, plus visit DC

Days on road: 91

Days to go: 0

Miles driven: 17,406

Hours driving: 387  (45.0 MPH avg)

Pics taken (both): 45,576

Coming up:  Work and visitors from the north

Site Content

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Other notes:

Number of gallons of gas bought: 710  avg MPG: 24.5   --  from $2.28 (MO/GA) to $5.69 (California)

Percent of trip done, based on:

 * States:  100%

 * Miles driven: 100%  (guessing 17,400 total)

 * Days:  100%

 * States covered as a percent of land area they occupy:  100%

 * States covered as a percent of population:  100%

 * Snacks eaten (from what we brought & bought): 45%  (anybody need snacks?)

National Parks, Grasslands or Memorials visited: 42

Other state parks, monuments, museums, etc.: 32

Number of beds slept in:  63

Number of emergency pit stops:  28  (three times on 4/8)  Including woods in Nat. Parks (many times)

Naps taken: 108  (22 inside National Parks or Forests, and one in a museum), + abandoned gas station

Coldest temp:  25 (Columbia Falls, Montana) 

Warmest temp: 83 (Paso Robles, CA), 85 (Saratoga, NY 5/26), 89 (Kentucky 6/16), 91 (SC 6/21), 100 (GA)

Hours when raining: about 36 (about 2% of awake time)

Hours when snowing or hail:  about 5  hours

Best food - Kirk:  Fried Chicken in Nachez

Best food - Allison:  The Shed, Santa Fe - Green Chile Burrito (even leftovers were great)

Best meal overall - Savoury (Mariposa, CA)  - KC had Lamb/mashed potatoes, AC had Mushroom Ravioli

2nd best meal overall - Rocking V Cafe - Kirk had Buffalo filet, Allison had Green Chile Burrito

Best lunch: Topo Gigio - Chicago, IL (Penne alla Vodka),   Best Pasta: Boston

Best bargain meal - The Dog House, New Castle Delaware  great food for tiny money

Number of restaurants : 101

Number of fast food meals: 1 (day 19-breakfast on the go)

Items left behind or lost so far: 9  (three recovered, four re-purchased, 1 maybe, 2 gone)

Logistics issues: only 4

Pets visited with: 27 (seems like), there were even dogs at one hotel, even a bearded dragon, they seem to have stopped.

Number of times a phrase like:  'Isn't that pretty/nice/interesting?' was spoken: 13,212

Number of times a phrase like:  'Isn't that pretty/nice/interesting?' was answered: 43

Major highways:  I-10, I-20, I-26,  I-30, I-40, I-50, I-70, I-80, I-90, I-210  , I-190. I-64

&  I-95, I-85, I-75, I-55, I-35, I-25, I-15, I-5  & I-295, I-495,  I-695, I-795, 101, I-94, I-9, I-77, I -26, I-4

Major bodies of water: Gulf of Mexico, Pacific Ocean, Lake Mead, Lake Tahoe, Puget Sound, Lake Coeur d'Alene, Jackson Lake, Lake Michigan, Green Bay, Atlantic Ocean

Major Rivers: Mississippi, Colorado, Columbia, Yellowstone, Little Missouri, Snake, Missouri, Ohio, Allegheny, Monongahela, Niagara, Hudson (under it), Delaware Canal, Ohio Canal, New

Major Waterfalls: Yosemite,  Niagara,  Multnomah (Oregon), Paterson

Iconic roads driven:  Route 66 (for a while in Colorado), PCH, Mississippi River Scenic Byway, Lake Shore Drive (Chicago), Skyline Drive (VA)

Historic roads either crossed to walked on: Santa Fe Trail, Cumberland Gap, Appalachian Trail, Pony Express

Fastest internet download speed:  305 (Kevin in Colorado Springs)

Slowest internet download speed:  1 (Mariposa, CA (hotel)), and a few others

Number of souvenirs purchased:  123  &  9   (you figure out the number of either side of '&')

Number of speeding tickets, parking tickets:  0, 1 (no sign)

No. of wild animals expected to see by now, number actually seen: thousands, thousands

    So, we finally saw vast amounts of wildlife: buffalo, elk, pronghorn, grizzly bear, black bear, mule deer 

Number of really hot women expected to see by now, number actually seen: hundreds,  10  (3 were Internationals, another was 6'3", and Pittsburgh chipped in with 3), Boston, NYC & DC chipped in zero

Number of hitch-hikers seen: 2  (very surprising low number)  (one in CT, one in CA)

Number of times Kevin told me to get back to Florida: 27

Number of arrests witnessed: 1 (NOLA)  [plus 1 bum dropped on side of road by cop], plus a pull-over

Number of bad accidents seen: 1 T-bone  (15 minutes after happened)

Number of truck weigh stations passed during travels, number operational:  375, 6 (MT/MD/NC)

Number of curbs hit:  4 (1 in mom's van)

Number of fender benders: 1 (KC), broken light

Lowest and Highest posted Speed Limits (mph):  8 (down cliff in AZ)   & 80  (Idaho, SD  & Montana)

Number of times Kirk bit his tongue and did NOT say: "Wonder how that tastes", when Allison said "I really like xyz animal":  12

Shortest number of miles starting to drive in AM, then stopping for a picture:        0.3 miles

Shortest number of miles starting to drive in AM, then stopping for a potty break: 6.6 miles

Best (new) drink: Caribbean Mule - Captain Morgan, Pineapple Juice, Lime sour mix, Ginger Beer

Best Bartenders:  Mike (The Ohio Club, AR)  & Juan (Chapel Hill, NC)

Oil Changes: 3

Best state nickname: BOregon

Largest number miles the Google Maps lady-voice said, "Next turn in X miles":  255  (in MO then IL)

Number of hot tubs dipped in: 7  (only one naturally spring fed)

Smallest  Casino passed:  a four slots/seat casino in restaurant in Kadoka, South Dakota

Largest Casino passed:     WinStar World Casino & Resort, Thackerville, Oklahoma (largest in USA)

Lowest toilet seat: Indiana

Highest water in toilet bowl: Indiana (same toilet), which if you do the geometry means wet ones

State with most road tolls (to date): Ohio, New York is worse, Texas tops them both

State with best service center: Maryland  (Maryland House, I-95)

Movies watched: two

Hottest water: Chagrin Falls, OH, way over 130

Best shower head: McMurray, PA

Highest water pressure, shower: Richmond, VA (Dottie's)

Number of toilets broken: 1 - Allison Park, PA

Number of toilets with lights sat on: 1 (Mass.)

Number of toilets with cloth condom sat on: 1 (Weaversville, NC)

Worst Roads: New York

Strongest toilet flush: Rutland, VT  (scared it might pull you into the water cyclone)

Longest time in a state: California - 135 hours,  NJ is close 2nd

Shortest time in a state:  Indiana and Connecticut  - 18 hours,    Minnesota - 19 hours

Least amount of miles in a state: Kentucky - about 60,  Alabama - about 80

Number of tombstones seen - thousands and more

Relatives including spouses, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles:

  • Number of relatives visited, Kirk:   23
  • Number of relatives visited, Allison:   10

Number of friends visited, Kirk:   37  (including 12 fraternity brothers and 5 from WVHS)

Number of friends visited, Allison:   10

TV watched:

* One episode of Jeopardy (to see who the James guy was)

* Last half & OT of the NCAA Finals

* Last period of NHL Finals

* Last quarter of NBA Finals

* Last two shots on 18th hole by Gary Woodland (winner) at Golf's US Open

* 20 minutes of NFL draft

* Last half of USMNT USA v. TnT

* Less than 4.5 hours total, but certainly some of the key sports moments of the year

Number of iconic building visited:

* The Breakers, Newport, RI   125K sq ft, built in two years, 1890's

* Marble House Newport, RI   51K sq ft, built in five years, 1890's

* The Biltmore, Asheville, NC   179K sq ft, built in six years, 1890's

* The Hurst Castle, California   60K sq ft, built in 38 years, early 1900's

* The Empire State Building,   2,730K sq ft, built in 14 MONTHS, 1931 - Yes 2.7 million sq ft


AKVentures48 Blog