Road Trip by the Numbers

Now that we're back, I've been compiling some stats to sum up our trip through numbers. There are a billion others I could've added, but for the sake of brevity and short attention spans, here are the most important (grouped, sort of, into similar categories):

States visited: 33
Canadian provinces visited: 2
Days traveling: 82
Days living out of suitcases: 123 (4 months, 1 day)
Number of different hotels: 42
Stays with friends/family: 10

Miles traveled: 14,504
Tanks of gas: 43
Number of oil changes: 3
Speeding tickets: 0
Parking tickets: 0
Fastest speed limit: 80

Items lost: 1 (Melissa's iPod)
Times pooped on by birds: 2 (once each)
Fights: 0

National parks visited: 11*
Bodies of water touched: 7**

Most time at a scheduled stop: 5 days (NYC)
Least time at a scheduled stop: 30 minutes (Taos, NM)

Blog posts: 54

* Zion, Grand Canyon, Great Sand Dunes, Finger Lakes, Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, Niagara Falls, Redwoods, Everglades, Blue Ridge, Castillo de San Marcos
** Colorado River, Rio Grande, Virgin River, Lake Ontario, Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico (we saw more than this, but these are the only ones we physically stuck our fingers or toes in)

If there are any numbers you'd like to know that we didn't include, just let me know, and I'll add them in!

We had such a blast on this trip and are so fortunate to have been able to do something like this. We know many people have dreams of a cross-country road trip, and we know how lucky we are that life worked in such a way that we were able to do it. We saw so much of America, and this country truly is great, vast, varied, and beautiful. Thanks to all of you for your support and interest in our adventure!!

And one last post coming soon: getting settled in our new downtown Raleigh apartment

A Romantic Anniversary at Keswick Hall

So, after leaving our hotel just south of Philly, we continued south into Virginia. As I said in my last post, I thought we were stopping at Monticello (Jefferson's home) for a few hours en route to our final destination in NC. I was driving along and following Tom's directions, completely unsuspecting. As we neared Monticello, he told me to turn left at an upcoming street, and I was puzzled by the absence of signs directing tourists to the former president's abode. "You'd think they would have MONTICELLO marked better!" I said as I made the turn. I drove down the road for a minute and came upon a giant house with beautiful grounds. But it didn't say Monticello anywhere. I was utterly confused. Tom, reveling in my confusion, finally let me in on his secret. He had booked two nights at Keswick Hall, a quiet countryside resort, for our anniversary. I have an awesome husband.

I was, however, absolutely and unforgivingly blindsided by this news. Me, the planner, doing something spontaneous? It took a few minutes to digest, but once I had adjusted, I was in heaven.

The front of Keswick Hall

View of the golf course & grounds from the back of Keswick Hall

Infinity pool

Our room had the veranda on the left in this picture!

We got there in the late afternoon, so we checked in, explored the grounds a bit, and then spent a few hours relaxing by the pool. I got a pina colada, Tom a bloody mary. Life was good.

We made dinner reservations at Keswick's in-house restaurant, Fossett's, for both nights. Fossett's was named after Jefferson's cook from the White House and his years at Monticello. When we headed down for dinner, we were immediately treated with such hospitality. Everyone in the hotel and restaurant seemed to know it was our anniversary, and they greeted us by name. AND - the food? AMAZING. Some unique combinations of food and flavors (pancakes with lobster and vanilla maple sauce, for example, was probably my favorite thing we tried). Everything was tapas style, so we got a few different plates to share. After dinner, we went to the bar for one more drink (which they gave us on the house) and then called it a night.

The next day, Monday, was our anniversary. We started the morning off with room service, and boy was our breakfast fancy (and delicious)! We had stuffed french toast, blueberry ricotta pancakes, fresh fruit, and grits. They wheeled in a big cart for us, and we ate on our private veranda. It was so luxurious!



After breakfast, we went for a walk/run through the golf course and surrounding neighborhood. Then, we headed to the pool and spent the afternoon lounging around. They have a lunch menu you can order from at the pool, so we ordered poolside and had the most delicious avocado jalapeno pizza and a grass-fed beef burger. Every new food and experience at this place made it even more awesome. I swear - if you're ever looking for a quiet, low-key getaway, this is the place! Click on the link at the beginning of this post to learn more about it.

In the early evening, we headed in and got ready for dinner. We ate at Fossett's again and had an equally delicious meal and dessert. Then, we headed back to our room and opened a bottle of sparkling wine on the veranda to celebrate our anniversary.

Tuesday morning, we packed up and headed to our final destination (for real this time). We'd be spending a few weeks at Tom's parents while we found a new place to live in Raleigh. What a great way to end our trip! Thanks to my awesome husband for delivering big-time and completely surprising me... and I thought we'd be celebrating just by eating dinner at The Melting Pot. :-)

Up next: Our road trip by the numbers