Holly's Summary

Ok, so an entire week has passed since we got home. I found I do not mind driving in the car as much as I thought I would, as long as it is for relatively short distances, but I hate getting gas. We stopped over 30 times in three and a half weeks and I just don't want to stop and get gas anymore. My light came on this week before I finally forced myself to fill up. Other side effects of being home: part of me misses the constant companionship, the roadside is just not as beautiful or exciting, and homemade food tastes absolutely amazing. I also am so appreciative of having cell phone reception 24/7, I missed not being able to pick up the phone and call people at any time.

I am happy to be home, and happy to be falling back into a schedule and regular routine that does not involve driving for 10 hours a day. At the same time, I am still living in the excitement of the trip. One of my first nights back, I went out and met up with some friends and just ranted about all our crazy traveling adventures. When it was time to leave and I got back into the car, I wanted to keep talking to people about the trip, I wasn't ready to be quiet and go to bed. Those are the times that I miss having the girls around, there was always somebody there to listen or sing along to the radio.

The trip really was amazing in the geographic aspect, but also in the personal. It helped me see a new side of Monica and Shannon, and despite living with them for basically four years, I learned about new aspects of their personalities and lives.

I have done my best to print out the pictures and put them into albums. I narrowed it down from over 1,300 photos to about 400. I'm trying to go back and fill in the captions so they are self-explanatory and I can actually remember all the silly details years and years from now. Because as everybody told me before the trip, it really is a once in a lifetime opportunity that I will always have with me. I love watching the news and being able to say, "wow, I was there..." when I hear about some distant city or national park.

There was something therapeutic in driving and watching the entire country side pass me by, knowing that what I saw would never look the same to anybody else ever again. Those scenes will fade and change as time and weather take their toll; people will continue to casually drive through those same roads, but they will never see or feel exactly what I did as I drove through there. That is a unifying and solitary thought for me and I like it that way. Sure, millions of people travel all over the world and sometimes traveling loses its excitement or hype, but despite it being a universal activity, this trip was distinctly mine. The memories and experiences are all mine for a lifetime.

...Looking forward to some more traveling, but until then, back to reality and routine.