New York!

50 days, 11,000 miles and 21 states later I've made it back to where it began. Here are the stats: 0 speeding tickets, 0 accidents, 0 mechanical failures. I replaced 1 set of tires, 1 chain, 1 set of gloves. I spent 7 nights in hotels, stayed with 8 friends or family and camped the rest. I left Waynesville mid-morning on Monday and started making my way north. In the afternoon I hoped on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The cold air along the 3,000 foot high ridge reminded me that fall was coming. Around 5:30 I pulled off the Parkway just outside of Roanoke, VA and set up what would be the last campsite of the trip. In the morning I continued another 120 miles up the scenic Parkway, stopping to add warm layers as I went. I took a right on I64 then a left on RT29 and followed that up through Culpeper, where I stopped for lunch, and into the town of Vienna, VA where I stopped for the night at Merry-Go-Round, the home of my Aunt Anne, Uncle Brad and Cousin Steve. Also there to welcome me was an energetic Lab-Coon Hound puppy named Baily, and four honking geese. After a delicious dinner cooked by Aunt Anne, we chatted over a few glasses of Jack Daniel's before retiring for the evening. I spent a restful day in Vienna on Tuesday. In the afternoon I went down to my grandparents house and had a nice visit with them before meeting up with Anne, Brad and Steve at the steakhouse for dinner. After dinner Anne and Brad helped me pick a scenic route for my drive back to New York the next day. In the morning I hit the road around 10:30 for the final leg of the trip. The route took me up through Pennsylvania coal country where the towns had names like Carbon City, Carbonville and Jim Thorpe. The farther north I went, the colder it got. By 4:00 I had to dig out my long johns and glove liners, which I had carried across the country and back just for this occasion. Even with my grip heaters, my hands were half frozen when the sun started to set. I pulled into the driveway at 7:30, shivering and exhausted. I have made it back to New York just in time. Summer over, Fall has definitely arrived.