Home Again Home Again Jiggity Jig

Lumberman's Monument, Tawas, Michigan

I'm back from my travels and reviewing my fun, adventurous, kick ass trip:

• 58 days on the road
• 4,747 miles traveled
• 1 time almost ran out of gas
• 4 nights tent camping
• 1 night staying in a KOA "log cabin"
• 6 nights in different low budget to high budget hotels
• 2 nights back at home to regroup
• 25 nights at friends' homes
• 15 nights at family member's homes
• 4 nights at watercolor camp
• 10 places played Pickleball

I ended up taking the following route both by land and air:

I drove (my Subaru Crosstrek) from:

Reno to Winnemucca, NV to Boise, ID to LaGrande, OR to Portland, OR to Seattle, WA to Portland, OR to Ashland, OR to Trinidad, CA to Ft. Bragg, CA to Willits, CA to Reno, NV to Elko, NV to Holladay, UT to Rawlins, WY to Ft. Collins, CO

My wonderful friends Hans and Cindi Coester were super generous to me while I stayed with them and also let me store my car in their garage for three weeks while I continued my trip by air.

Cindi & Hans Coester and their son Jake and doggies Moosie and Zee

I flew from:

Denver, CO to Minneapolis, MN to Chicago, IL

Drove (my dad's uber cushy, huge Ford Explorer - thanks Jer!) from:

Glenview, IL to Ann Arbor, MI to Tawas City, MI to Ann Arbor, MI to Cement City, MI to Chicago, IL

I flew from:

Chicago, IL to Denver, CO

I drove from:

Ft. Collins, CO to Green River, WY to Salt Lake City, UT to Elko, NV to Reno!

I played Pickleball in:

Portland OR, Ashland OR, Eureka CA, Cottonwood Heights & Holladay UT, Chicago suburbs and Ann Arbor, MI (at the same recreation center I used to swim in when I was in college - that was a real TRIP going back there 30 years later!)

Pickleball at Washtenaw County Rec Center, Ann Arbor, MI

Some things I learned on this trip:

• I would definitely do a trip like this again, but maybe for a month instead of two months.
• I would like to camp more next time and see some state and national parks, but only if I have a friend camping with me.
• Anyone with a reliable car and a phone with a map app can do a trip like this, even solo!
• I gained a lot of confidence venturing out and being on the road by myself.
• I learned to be comfortable in a constant state of transition.
• The Pickleball community is almost always very welcoming to a stranger just walking on the court.  
• My organizational skills came in super handy in my car and in all the different places I slept.
• It paid off sending all those Christmas cards for all those years and keeping in contact with friends and family members.

I felt a tremendous sense of gratitude coming home to my familiar, comfortable, beautiful home and space.  And being home, I truly believe that the Reno/Tahoe area is among the most gorgeous places in this vast country filled with such diverse landscapes and scenery.  Now it's my turn to host.  Come visit me, friends and family, in Reno!