Summer 2013 - Southwest
Take Two
Santa Fe To Home
August 21 - August 24, 2013
Route Map
Photographs and Commentary
Trip Summary
Other than the last 75 miles and a weather issue west of Indianapolis, the trip home was an easy one. About 50 miles west of our destination for the day on Thursday, August 22nd, we hit a series of thunderstorms. The rain was coming down so hard and fast that we slowed to a crawl for about 20 minutes. After that it was smooth sailing until we got into our hotel in Greenfield, IN. The last 75 miles to home were not so easy. As we approached the last toll plaza in Pennsylvania, the traffic was backed up for quite a distance. As we inched (and it did feel like we were moving an inch at a time) our way forward, I noticed the truck traffic moving to the right lane, so I followed. The problem was all the people without easy pass blocking the empty E-Z Pass lanes. Once past the plaza the the traffic opened up and I felt we were home free. Then we go on the NJ Turnpike... construction from exit 6 to exit 8 and extremely slow traffic. It didn't get any better when we got to Staten Island and it got worse when we got on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway (a misnomer). At any rate we got home safe and sound.
So much for the negatives of the 26 day trip. This was probably one of the best road trips we have made in the last eight years. We had no mechanical problems, minimal weather issues and got to do everything we had hoped to do. The highlights of the trip were commented on in our daily pages and I won't bore you with anymore details.
This trip is causing us to consider how we want to travel in the future. Do we continue to tow the trailer as we have done since 2005 or do we keep the trailer in Florida and make it our second home for the winter and just travel like we did this trip. Both towing and going without the trailer have their pluses and minuses. We are going to have to weigh the pros and cons of both travel methods and come up with a decision in the next few months. I'm pretty sure that Susie has already made up her mind to go without the trailer and I have not yet committed to a travel method.