Road Trip USA: HOME

Yes, I know this post is long, long overdue (sorry Colleen & Elizabeth!). No, I haven't given up on blogging. 

I don't think I adjusted well to returning back to regular life. The structure of the trip worked well for me. Certainly, there were days when we were tired and needed a break from the go-go-go, but the overarching plans and schedules were a good fit for my personality. When we got back, we pretty much had nothing planned. Going from super structured to no structure resulted in me wanting to do... nothing. 

By the end of July I forced myself to get back to making plans ahead of time, and things started to get better, but I couldn't get myself to blog. I compromised with myself saying, "I'll take the summer off and start back on September 1." So, here we are! This is the last Road Trip USA post, then we're back to "normal" blogging (albeit, with lots of catch-up posts).

School officially starts on Tuesday. This has been the longest summer ever for us! Since we started our road trip at the end of April, we've been "off" for over four months. We're all ready to get back to routine.

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One of the best parts of being home from the trip was getting to wear different clothes to church!

We were home in time to wear 4th of July themed church clothes (well, most of us at least). 

While we were gone, we got new floors put in our kitchen and entryway (a necessity as a result of warped hardwood from a leaky dishwasher). Getting the flooring installed was a saga in itself (our contractor kept pushing back the install dates), but eventually they got done just in time for us to return. Unfortunately, they didn't stay pristine for very long; they got super scratched in the process of moving the fridge back into place. Argh!

The real best part of being home was getting to see Mark and friends again. Some of our really good friends were leaving for their own vacation shortly after we got home, so we made a special point of having them over Sunday after church. Bryce was especially excited to see Jordan again. Sunday evening a variety of friends stopped by to say "Hello" and "Welcome home." It was an overwhelming joy to reunite!

Before we left on our trip, Aubree insisted that I measure all the kids so we could see if they grew while we were gone (Aubree knows her days of growing are limited and is anxious to try and squeeze out a few extra inches). As soon as we got back, the kids wanted to re-measure to see if two months had given them any extra height. As it turns out, they all grew 1/4 of an inch. Except for Graham; he grew an entire inch (probably as a result of all the hotel breakfast food he gobbled!).
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Since we've been back, there have been a number of frequently asked questions. I figured I'd go ahead and answer them in one spot.

Q. Would you do it again?

A. That depends on what you mean. Do you mean, "If you could go back in time, would you still choose to go?" In that case, the answer is an emphatic YES! The trip was epic, and memorable, and wonderful. We loved it! If you mean, "Will you plan another, similar trip?" then the answer is, probably not. Mostly that's due to logistical concerns. It was super hard to leave our responsibilities and commitments for two months, and I imagine that will just get harder as the kids get older (which was the main reason we went when we did). Also, the trip was expensive, so that's obviously a factor as well.

Q. What was your favorite part?

A. Hands down, our favorite part was the people we got to see. Getting to see people in their own homes and lives was extra special, even sacred. Outside of people, we are mostly in agreement that our favorite places were: Carlsbad Caverns, Texas, Jamestown, and Nauvoo, but even that not-so-short-list feels too constrained. We saw and experienced so many wonderful places!

Q. What would you change?

A. Given the goals and outcomes of our trip, I really wouldn't change too much. The biggest thing I would change is to plan more time in Jamestown/the Colonial Triangle. I would also have done a little more research ahead of time in a few places (like Chicago and Maine) about places to visit and things to see. I would have gone to get ice cream in Palmyra.

Q. What was the worst part?

A. Besides the car breaking down? New Orleans and most of New Mexico (Albuquerque, Roswell, and Carlsbad Caverns were the exceptions). 

Q. How did your kids like the trip?

A. They all say they really enjoyed the trip, but how they handled the trip fluctuated based on personalities. Nellie struggled the first two weeks. Once Mark came, she got a ton better, and she continued strong even when he returned home. I think, being so young, she kind of forgot what "regular" life was like after a certain point. She was great (almost always) in the car. Thane and Graham thrived in this type of setting. They both loved the constant adventures and new, exciting things and people to see. 

Bryce prefers routine. He had a fabulous attitude the whole time, but it wasn't until around the 6-week point that he really settled into the new normal. You know, just in time to get ready to head home. At the 6-week point, he told me, "I'll be glad to get home, but after being home for a couple weeks, I think it would be good to get out on the road again." 

Aubree was also a really good sport even though she really missed her friends and home activities. I think if she had a friend along, she would have loved every single second of the trip. She got some grief for looking grumpy in pictures. She attributes that look to not wanting to show her braces when she smiles and trying to keep her eyes open (she usually ends up with them closed in pictures). She didn't act grumpy while we were traveling. That being said, she was the most excited to be home.
Just a couple weeks after we got home we had an opportunity to attend a family reunion in Southern California. We'd known about the reunion before we left, but I thought, "There's NO way my kids are going to be willing to get back in the car so soon after getting home." Turns out, they were more than ready! We didn't end up going to the reunion for other reasons, but I was impressed with their resilience (I was ready to go too!).

Q. Did you plan to buy a new van?

A. Definitely not! Although, in preparing for the trip I'd tried to consider all types of circumstances, so I had thought about the possibility of the car dying. It wasn't ideal, but as someone recently told me, "The hardest things to go through make the best stories once they are through."

Q. How did you keep your kids busy in the car?

A. Mostly we listened to audio books. When we ran out of audio books, we listened to some podcasts. When Mark was with us, we listened to some music. The kids became pretty good travelers quickly. I think the got used to being in the car so they figured out ways to entertain themselves.

Q. Was it worth it?

A. FOR SURE! Anyone who is considering a similar trip should go for it! And make sure to stop and visit us in Seattle. We learned a lot about how to be good hosts from all the phenomenal people who allowed us to stay with them.