4270 miles and 75 hours later...

... we're back.

Almost the equivalent of driving from Chicago to San Francisco and back. Or Montreal to Salt Lake City. That was the five day travel portion of our vacation down to Bonita Springs, Fla.

As much as we had a good time with good family and friends, it is nice to get away from the transient lifestyle. And what a nice surprise to come home to sunny above freezing temps. For months I was wondering if we would be battling a snowstorm coming home.

Our trip down was two legs with a day stopover in the countryside near Raleigh to see Mom. The return trip was three legs with another day stopover in Raleigh and a stopover in New York City to see archidose and his wonderful wife. I have now been in NYC four times and only set foot on the island of Manhattan once. And that was for work, so we hope to return for a real visit soon. This may sound weird, but I really have enjoyed driving in NYC. The bustle and jockeying make me feel alive and remind me of Chicago. Your senses and your brain are working hard to work with the traffic, determining your route and the most efficient means to get there.

Oddly enough the most traffic we encountered was in Orlando and not in the corridor between NYC and Washington. Those areas went relatively smoothly. Though DC to Richmond was also difficult.

Our rented Kia Sportage was concurrently an automobile, a dining area, a sleeping area, a playroom, a restroom (in a diaper kind of way), and an office. It was a nice car that lacked power at times but the very low reliability rating in Consumer Reports will prevent us from getting one.

Lastly, we came across many interesting names of towns, but this one stuck in our minds. Someone from Montreal is called a Montrealer. But what do you call someone from this place...



I've got some interesting observations of Florida that I hope to share soon.