Things we learned from our trip

I recorded that we drove approximately 3,397 miles. It could be a few more miles than that, but it's still a lot of driving. From adding up all the time we wrote down I have we drove 44 hours. It might be more than that, because that is an average of 77 mph and I know we didn't drive that fast a majority of the way. We drove a lot of back roads and highways that had a speed limit of 55 or lower. Still, that is a long time to be in a car. 

We wrote a list of things we learned from all this. Most of you probably already know this stuff, but it was my first big road trip I was in charge of so it was all new to me.

1. Don't assume that every hotel has shampoo & conditoner.

2. Don't assume every hotel has a blow dryer.

3. Not every hotel has an iron.

4. If you stay in the cheapest hotel you can find, it's going to be crappy.

5. Always have a map of the U.S. and the states in the car.

6. Keep a lot of food and water in the car. (We had plenty, but we want to make sure we do it again next time.)

7. If staying somewhere over a Sunday get a room that has a fridge and/or microwave to cook food on Sunday.

8. Even though Mapquest is very good (it only failed us once) make sure you have another source of map knowledge.

9. Be patient, very patient.

10. The sites usually take longer than anticipated.

11. Use AAA to help you find hotels and routes.

12. Plan the trip out well (get hotels in advance, things like that), but leave room for changes and extra stops, etc.

13. It's give and take for visiting in off-season. (It wasn't crowded or hot, but not everything was open, and some things close early)

14. Check the weather where you are going and pack accordingly. (We thought it would be warm but it was cold so we wore the same one jacket every day.)

15. Bring books on tape-they saved us.

16. If anyone gives you the chance to stay at their house, take that chance. It's nice to stay at a real house and it saves you money.

Thanks for putting up with all of these posts. I was really doing it for our records but we enjoying sharing too. I'm going to put ALL of the pictures here if you want to see them.