The grass in our yard is calf high, but you will excuse me if I don’t feel like climbing on the lawn mower this afternoon. Yesterday, the kids and I ground out a huge day in the Sprinter.
How far are we going to drive today, Kellan? Last photo before leaving the shore of Lake Superior yesterday morning.
We had good weather, but we endured heavy Sunday vacationer traffic the entire way and a hellish 1.5 hour wait at the border. We scavenged food from our cache of random left-overs in our camping box and supplemented our snacks with gas station fare eaten in the van while we cruised and listened to The Boys in the Boat. I purchased the audiobook version to pick up where Karen had left off while reading to them.
We had been prepared to stop for a rest if we needed to, but the powerful scent of home was building with each mile we drove. At 8 pm, we still felt strong, but put it to a vote anyway: peel off and stay with Grandma and Grandpa tonight or push for home? After 17.5 hours and 1016 miles, we shut off the engine for the last time on our trip. In our driveway, in Cornwall, VT, just before 1:00 AM.
When you ride 1000 miles in 24 hours on a motorcycle, the achievement is known as an “Iron Butt”. Driving that far in an enclosed Sprinter is not a fair comparison by any means (more like a "Feather Butt") but it's still a significant distance. Although it had been unintentional, breaking the 1000 mile in a day barrier on our last leg seemed like an appropriate capstone to the trip.
Speaking of capstones, there is still plenty that I would like to post about our adventure, the van set up, the gear that we used, etc. People have had lots of questions along the way that I plan to answer. First, we have some unpacking to do, some back-to-school shopping, maybe a bit more sleeping and definitely a shave. I’m sure that we will quickly adjust to the new pace of school and sports and music and work.
In the meantime, we have been home for 12 hours and the kids are out playing in the van.
It’s good to be home.
