We left Red Deer on July 23, 2018 and arrived back on April 5, 2019. About eight and a half months. Yes, it was a long time to be away but we certainly had a great time and saw some amazing sights. Definitely checked off a few things from the bucket list!
The truck and trailer both performed well. We drove 37,177 kilometers (23,100 miles). We pulled the trailer almost half of that number (17,500 km or 10,900 miles). I put a new set of tires on the truck in New Brunswick before we crossed into the US. Other than that it was just oil changes (three) and some oil changes in the transmission and transfer case that were due in Louisiana. Our average fuel consumption for the entire trip was 16.8 liters/100 km or 14.0 MPG US gallons. That includes all the towing. I'm very pleased with that.
We did some maintenance on the trailer. It needed a new water pump and of course the usually re-caulking, but nothing major.
We traveled through 8 Canadian Provinces (missed Newfoundland and BC) from July through October, then passed through or stayed in 20 States and Washington, DC from October until April. Pictures? Yes we took a few. Just under 30,000!! Maybe even a couple of 'keepers'.
So we thought about all the great things we saw and tried to narrow it down to maybe a top 3 or 5 or 20! We made a few lists and categories and wanted to share them with you. To be honest we enjoyed every day, every mile, every location and sight. If we had to narrow it down, here it is in order of date we visited.....
Most moving:
- Swissair Flight 111 Memorial - Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia
- Arlington National Cemetery - Washington, DC
- Vietnam Memorial - Washington, DC
- Astronaut Memorial - Kennedy Space Center, FL
- Hurricane Harvey Museum - Waveland, Mississippi
- The Alamo - San Antonio, Texas
- Little Bighorn National Monument - near Billings, Montana
- Perce Rock, Gaspe, Quebec
- Cape Breton Highlands, Nova Scotia
- Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia
- Everglades National Park, Florida
- White Sand Beaches of South Carolina and the Gulf Coast of Florida, Alabama and Mississippi
- Alligators - Florida
- Manatees - Crystal River, FL
- Gladys Porter Zoo - Brownsville, TX
- Bird watching - Rio Grande Valley, TX
- Ottawa, Ontario
- Montreal, Quebec
- Quebec City, Quebec
- Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Washington, DC
- Savannah, Georgia
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- Cape Breton Highlands, Nova Scotia
- Fall colours - Rural New Brunswick
- Florida Keys
- Texas Hill country
- Parliament buildings - Ottawa, Ontario
- Coal Miners Museum, Glace Bay, Nova Scotia
- Alexander Graham Bell Museum, Baddeck, Nova Scotia
- Sailing in Halifax Harbour and seeing the Bluenose II, Halifax, Nova Scotia
- National Monuments - Washington, DC
- Spanish Forts - St Augustine, Florida
- Kennedy Space Center and watching a Space X rocket launch, Cape Canaveral, FL
- Snowbird Extravaganza concert of top Canadian entertainers - Mission, TX
- Sitting on a beach - Wherever!!
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| Parliament Buildings |
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| Underground Miners Museum, Glace Bay, Nova Scotia |
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| Alexander Graham Bell Museum, Baddeck, Nova Scotia |
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| Bluenose II in Halifax Harbour |
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| Washington, DC monuments |
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| Spanish Fort, St Augustine, FL |
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| Space-X launch, Cape Canaveral |
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| NASA, Kennedy Space Center |
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| A beach.....somewhere! |
What helped make all the sights and locations memorable were the people. We met some wonderful folks along the way. Special mention must go to the hospitality of the folks of the Deep South - Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana; as well as the great folks in Eastern Canada and the Maritimes. They all made our trip such a pleasure.
I can't forget my old work team mates in Winnipeg, Montreal and Halifax. It was great to see them again and for some it was the first time meeting them in person after working with them virtually for years!
This was certainly a bucket-list trip. Not sure we would tackle one quite that big again, but we're not done exploring yet so who knows.
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| Sunset over Arcadia, Florida |
......and that was Our View From Here!
That was certainly a trip of a lifetime. I like the listings you did. You saw some things that most people only dream of seeing. Glad your home planning for the next adventure. We will be in Bentley in a few days so may look you up for a coffee.
ReplyDeleteThat would be great Lorne. Email me at dcmcmechan@gmail.com. We'll make it work!
DeleteYou certainly enjoyed your time on the road saw many amazing things and made memories, We enjoyed travelling with you revisiting pretty well all the places I have been to over the last 50 years , brought back so many wonderful memories.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome trip. That is a huge step from when we first met you and Cheryl in Dec. 2017. I remember her not sure whether she could stay away from home for that whole winter trip. I'm so glad she loved it as much as you did. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWow, that was quite the trip! I see a lot of your highlights were in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, that area is on our list for 2021. Really looking forward to that trip!
ReplyDeleteWow, what an adventure. It's always difficult to pick and choose, and you had so many to pick and choose from with all the touring your did. Glad you are safe, sound and looking forward to another adventure!
ReplyDeleteThat was certainly a wonderful trip! Thanks for taking us along! It would be hard out of all that time to pick favorites but you did an awesome job! Glad you are home safe and sound until the next adventure hits you!
ReplyDeleteAn epic trip and a really nice way to recap it. Lots of miles and everything went mostly trouble free, can't ask for more than that. Now the hard question, what do we do next??
ReplyDeleteWow that was quite the trip. Thanks for taking us along.
ReplyDeleteIt was so much fun following along, thank you for that! We had started out on the same trip in 2016 but it came to an end quickly in Niagara Falls, but we hope to do it again in a few more years.
ReplyDeleteThat was an exciting trip that you made and we are thankful you took us along for the ride. Thanks for the Memories.
ReplyDeleteBe Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
What an awesome adventure you two had this winter. A wonderful wrap up of what will be lifetime memories. Thank you taking us along.
ReplyDeleteTake care and enjoy your time this summer.
Wow! What a trip!
ReplyDelete