A Final Note

This blog started out as a little tiny idea with little tiny aspirations. It was meant to be a way to keep our families up to date on where we were and what we were doing. We were glad when we realized that if we really kept up with it the whole trip, then we'd have a fantastic record of everything we had done -- something we could show our kids one day -- complete with pictures and all the fresh emotions, thoughts, revelations.

It wound up being kind of a bigger thing than we thought it would be.

Almost a hundred people visited and read about our adventures everyday. When I would post a new one, and put a link on Facebook, that number rose and once it almost doubled.

The folks reading this blog are friends from high school we haven't seen in 10 years, college friends who we rarely get a chance to catch up with, and -- believe it or not -- a whole bunch of folks we don't even know. Some of you passed our link around to everyone on your email list, friends from work, and your family members -- thank you. Thanks pretty damn cool.

Some of you read this blog at work when you were bored (Jenny Giles). Some of you sat and read the whole thing in a couple of sittings (Mel). Some of you only read the short ones (Braden Metcalf).

Many of you commented on the blog or on facebook, or called us to tell us how much you loved reading our adventures.

Can you imagine how loved we felt? How insanely cool we felt?

No really, we really feel like we are the cool, popular kids. We kind of like it.

I wrote blog posts from hotel rooms, friends' sofas, and campsites. (I tried to write on Mike's iPhone, but that was a fail.) I wrote them at 7:00 am and 2:00 am. Sometimes I wrote 3 and 4 at a time to catch up.

And now I kind of miss it.

And a few dozen of you, faithful readers, have told me I should keep writing.

So I might do it. I haven't worked it all out yet, but another blog is likely to be forthcoming.

Until then, this is Beth and Mike Across America, saying "thanks" and signing off...

FAQs, Statistics and Superlatives

Since we've been back, we've been asked some interesting questions about our trip, and since we are more than willing to turn any topic of conversation back to how much fun we had on the trip, we are more than happy to oblige. However, since some of you do not live close by and will not have the opportunity to listen to us ramble on excitedly about the minutae of our journey, we thought we'd provide you with some (what we belive to be) fascinating factoids:

Longest Distance Traveled In One Day:
937 miles. It took us 16 hours and we drove from the coast of CA to Sandy, UT.

Total Number of States Visited (or at least Driven Through):
22
VA, NC, SC, GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, CO, UT, AZ, NM, CA, WY, SD, MN, Iowa (don't remember abbreviation), MO, NE, TN, AR

Number of Times My Parents Considered Enrolling Us in AA:
12

Number of National or State Parks Visited:
11 -- all of them mind-shatteringly beautiful.

Number of Breweries/Brewpubs Visited:
10

Final Burger Count: (for those of you who have money on this)
13

Best Part of the Trip:
White Rim Trail in Moab, UT

Prettiest State:
Colorado

Best Burger Mike Ate on the Trip:
Blue Cheese Burger from Mountain Sun Brewery in Boulder, CO

Best Explosion:
Watermelon. Roseville, CA

Best Morning Ever:
Sedona, AZ Bed and Breakfast provided killer bed and delicious breakfast. Totally lived up to the title.

Best Mullet:
At a grocery store in Somewhere Nebraska. We honestly had no idea where we were then, and still do not today. I apologize for not having a picture, but this was just a bathroom break, not a stop, so the camera was not on me, and you all know how I am about the phone...

Best Bar:
Sultana. Williams, AZ.

Clearest Night Sky:
Needles Outpost. Moab, UT.

Number of Times I Had to Hit the "Next" Button on Mike's iPod Because Some Scary Metal Song Came On:
1,237,459

Number of Times Mike Mistook a Piece of Tire in the Road for an Armadillo:
7

Number of Actual Armadillos Seen:
0

Number of Miles Traveled Total:
10,080

Number of Post-Lunch Naps Mike Took While Beth Drove Through the Desert:
11

Number of Fights Mike and Beth Had:
0. Really.

Number of Times We Left Stuff in Someone's Bathroom and Had To Re-Purchase It:
4. All Mike's fault.

Best Roadside Attraction:
Corn Palace, SD.

Number of Times Beth Checked the Blog to See if We Had New Followers:
50+. Then I put the hit counter/"Coolness Meter" on there and I got even worse.

Best Place in the USA:
Richmond, VA. Home.

Home and Hungover

Yes, faithful readers, I am going to finish the blog.



When last you read of our adventures, we were in Memphis, sweating and paying homage to Elvis.



From Memphis we went to Nashville.



I'm sorry to report that nothing exciting happened in Nashville. But that's actually the way we wanted it.



It was our last alone on the trip, so we got a sweet hotel, ate a delicious meal and hung out at a nearby dive bar. We ordered room service the next morning and headed out.



I know what you're thinking: Total letdown.



Well, before you get your panties in a twist, let me assure you that we did not lay up in Blacksburg. Oh no, my friends -- we went out with a bang. Or maybe more like a thump. Against a sidewalk. At least Mike did.




We ended the trip with a night in Blacksburg in great part because Mike has dear friends there, JR and Mel, who he knew from college. JR is his Delta Chi little brother and Mel is his girlfriend. And they were ready for us.

Meet JR and Mel:

Actually, some of you probably have met Mel and JR.


Actually, two of you are Mel and JR, and if you are, we would like to thank you for putting us up and getting crazy with us. And for all the stuff that's staying in the vault and not going into this blog -- well, thanks again.




Anyway, it was good that Mel and JR were ready for us because we were on a mission. Not for Rushmore Rubble or to see the great sights of Blacksburg, but to get pretty tanked and end this trip with a rockin good time.



We opened at Macado's (to JR's chagrin), because I was having a hankering for a Johnny Dee (if you went to Radford or Tech, you understand) and then moved to the Cellar.



Then the drinks started flowing.




So did The Cellar's plumbing.


No really. The bathroom downstairs was under at least 4 inches of water. Believe it or not, this did not phase us. It also did not phase some drunk who wandered into the men's room -- despite, like, five signs saying not to -- left the door open and peed while standing in four inches of (questionably clean) water.



I am proud to report that this drunk was not one of our party.



However, our behavior later may lead you to believe I'm lying.


Because we drank beer. We drank shots. We drank Irish Car Bombs. We drank even when the bartender told us that the kitchen was now flooded and we all had to leave.




Seriously, she came by to tell us and we asked for more drinks. Like the woman had just told us that they were only out of Bud Lite.




She kicked us out.





So we went to another bar. This bar will now be named "Beth Was So Drunk She Can No Longer Remember the Name of the Third Bar."




For brevity's sake, we'll just call it BWSDSCNLRTNOTTB.





At BWSDSCNLRTNOTTB we played darts. I would call it a small miracle that no one was maimed by one of our darts.




I would call it a large miracle that Mike actually played darts pretty well. Because this was Mike at this point:

We closed down BWSDSCNLRTNOTTB.

We passed out a Mel and JR's. Mel and JR actually passed out on our air mattress. Because Mike immediately passed out on JR's bed and remaind comatose until the next morning.

It was a rough morning. This rough morning led to a rough afternoon. Thank god there were Bojangles Chicken Biscuits in our future.

Yes, we started with Bojangles and ended with Bojangles. We came full circle. How poetic.

We got home in the afternoon. I cried. I'm serious. You have no idea how amazing it feels to be home after the best adventure of your life.

Even if you do feel like someone has run you over with an eighteen-wheeler.

Huge thank you's to Sharon and Katey and Sara Eastman for bringing us food, because a homecooked meal never tasted so good. You really made us feel missed and welcome.

Huge thanks also to Jenny and Giles for having everyone over at their house that night so we could see all our friends and to Ross for pulling it all together when she realized I was such a hot mess that there was no way I could do it myself.

And thanks to all of you, who read and commented and gave us a little piece of home just when we needed it.

It was the greatest adventure of our lives, but we are so glad to be back with all of you.