We left early in the morning on Easter Sunday – we were out the door by 8:15.  We had spent the entire day before packing and cleaning, cleaning and packing.  We were lucky enough to be able to fit everything in the Saturn, but it was a tight squeeze.  There was no visibility out the back, but at least we had mirrors.  We started the journey, stopping only to eat, use the bathroom, and fill up the gas tank.  As with any long drive you have to think of things to do while you’re driving, so of course we played the license plate game.  Andy found 17 states and 1 Canadian province.  I found 15 states and 1 Canadian province, which brought the total to 32 states, plus Quebec and Ontario.  We were hoping to get the entire lower 48, but alas, we were missing most of the Pacific Northwest and Southwest, with a few stragglers in between.  We also looked for funny billboards.  Our favorite was a series of billboards through the middle of Georgia that just said “Strippers – Need We Say More.”  Then we counted the animals we saw on and around the interstate as we drove.  We saw the usual cows, horses, sheep, and goats, but there were a few unique ones.  We saw two turtles walking on the interstate while we were in South Florida.  Then my favorite moment happened somewhere south of Atlanta when I saw a huge buffalo in a horse trailer driving on the interstate.  It’s not everyday that you see a buffalo on the interstate!

We drove and drove, only encountering traffic once about 20 minutes outside Atlanta.  For the first time in history, there was no traffic at all in Atlanta, so we sped right through the city.  We eventually crossed into Tennessee around dusk and made it home at exactly 8:59 central time, which brought us to just under 14 hours of drive time (thankfully the time change was on our side).  We unloaded the car, I attempted to quickly unpack then promptly gave up when Andy and I were way too tired to continue.  The next morning was business as usual, with Andy parking himself in the library while I worked.  Now we’re back to a normal schedule at home, but there is a great deal of unpacking and cleaning that needs to be done, so that will be keeping me busy for the next few weeks.  It’s good to be home!