Look at the route of GFW ‘09

GFW ‘09, originally uploaded by Litandmore.

7,245.5 miles, 2 countries , 3 provinces, 15 states, 19 nights, 20 days, and 2 friends =  another priceless trip

Wind Chime (after “Dream”) (Minneapolis Sculpture Garden)

Wind Chime (after "Dream") (Minneapolis Sculpture Garden)

Originally uploaded by Litandmore

Spoonbridge and Cherry (Minneapolis Sculpture Garden)

Spoonbridge and Cherry (Minneapolis Sculpture Garden), originally uploaded by Litandmore.

Where I Read This Summer: Spoonbridge and Cherry (Minneapolis Sculpture Garden)

Where I Read This Summer: Spoonbridge and Cherry (Minneapolis Sculpture Garden), originally uploaded by Litandmore.

Mary Tyler Moore Table

The next time you’re in Minneapolis make a reservation at Basil’s and ask for the Mary Tyler Moore Table. We did!

Be Kind

Be Kind, originally uploaded by Litandmore.

Live from Minneapolis, It is Saturday Night

My creation, originally uploaded by Litandmore.

Writing a final post on the road proves a struggle. Do you feel like you drove beside us for over 7,000 miles? Anecdotes do not give justice to this experience of a lifetime. How many people can say that they drove over 7,000 miles in  just under three weeks, all while seeing site after site? We are the road trip truck drivers (Toot! Toot!).

Go Farther West ’09 consumed our brains for so many months. So much energy revolved around “not” planning the perfect road trip– although as June 9th or 10th approached, the desire to Go Farther West consumed nearly every thought. It is crazy to think that tomorrow we will be home and GFW ’09 will be relegated to a series of fond memories. Some of our favorite memories are…

Getting in the car at precisely 5:30 AM with no idea which direction the car was headed only to be asked 45 minutes later how Donna felt about having BBQ in Memphis that night and jambalaya in New Orleans the next

Watching John’s reaction at the Texas rest stop when he looked up to see a raccoon in a nearby garbage can

Taking a self-guided tour of The Orange Show in Houston when John and Donna arrived after hours and the nice lady from across the street let them in as long as they promised to lock up

Listening to the surf pound outside our window in Bandon, OR as we drifted off to sleep after a long day of driving

Learning that all of our favorite shows were not filmed on location

Singing “it’s a small world after all”

Playing road trip cards and learning things, such as, We ARE GOING TO SAN DIEGO

Staying at a 4 star hotel in the French Quarter for less than we paid for parking in San Francisco

Driving through Glacier National Park in Canada in the middle of a rainy night

Nightly rituals (None of your business)

Walking around Roswell, NM

Listening to Michael Jackson’s autopsy report while viewing a desolate marsh in Saskatchewan

Admiring the Seattle Public Library

Wondering what it would be like to live in San Francisco

Turning off our air conditioning in the middle of California

Wondering about Lou Grant

Enjoying a fantastic dinner sitting at Mary’s Table

Getting Diet Coke for $1.00

Celebrating a birthday in Seattle

Enjoying the 60 degree temperature in Carlsbad Caverns

Drifting to sleep thinking, “What a Day”

We Made it on humanclock.com

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We Made it on humanclock.com, originally uploaded by Litandmore.

www.humanclock.com

How could you visit Canada and not eat poutine?

How could you visit Canada and not eat poutine?, originally uploaded by Litandmore.

Will John Make it to the Top of the Hay Roll?

Where John Read This Summer: Lake Louise, Alberta

Where I Read This Summer: Lake Louise, Alberta, originally uploaded by Litandmore.

John takes time away from admiring beautiful Lake Louise to read his favorite Canadian travel book written by two authors he adores.

Where Donna Read This Summer: Lake Louise, Alberta

Where I Read This Summer: Lake Louise, Alberta, originally uploaded by Litandmore.

Donna took a moment out of her day to read the latest bestseller. Oh, yeah, that is Lake Louise behind her. Isn’t it just fantastic?

John’s view

John’s view, originally uploaded by Litandmore.

John developed an obsession for clouds during GFW ‘09. We have seen so many beautiful scenes, most of which included BIG clouds. Gorgeous!

Beautiful Lake Louise, Alberta

Beautiful Lake Louise, Alberta, originally uploaded by Litandmore.

As we got closer to the turn off for Lake Louise the rain abated a bit and we decided to give it a try. We drove to the lake hoping to see something through the clouds that had engulfed us throughout the morning. We arrived at the parking lot and looked at each other and said, “Where’s the lake?” What were we missing? We parked in the lot and took a short path through the woods. We spotted bluish green through the woods and realized we were on the right path (literally). After a very short walk we were greeted by beautiful Lake Louise. The sun was out fully and the spectacle in front of our eyes was nothing short of breathtaking.