Notes

I had a bunch of little bullets, but forgot most of them by now.

We had pretty crappy, but not totally miserable weather when we were in hustle mode both down and back, thank you Harvey and Irma, but pretty much exceptional weather in between when it counted.  Crazy to be wearing a sweater under a leather jacket in Alabama not 2 weeks after Labor Day, but whatever.  We'll take it.

We missed out on a ton of stuff, as always, including Vicksburg MS, the very bottom of the River Road where the Mississippi fragments into oblivion, and the deepest bayous of Lousiana.  Donna wanted to get me on an airboat, too, and I'd have totally dug that.  We did not do any actual disaster tourism, did not get to walk on the beach, and saw neither Fort Worth nor Wichita Falls.  But we did get to explore Memphis and New Orleans, and get good and drunk in both.  We got to see plenty of cotton, hear plenty of blues, and see more of Texas than we ever had.  I saw cacti.  Witnessed the spectacle of a Cowboys home game and shipped home boxes of souvenirs.  Saw the kid and the grand dog.  We overcame adversity, flew by the seat of our pants when we needed to, kept to a schedule when we needed to, and did what we do like nobody else.

We both reached milestones, Donna now having been in all the states east of the Mississippi to go along with a big chunk of the ones on the other side.  And we accidentally previewed a bit of next year's plan, trying to avoid weather.

Which brings me to my last point.  Now that I've seen them all from over my handlebars, which state is my favorite?

It's a tough question, and I'd like a mulligan.  Arizona, with Route 66, the Painted Desert, the Grand Canyon, and the whole Old West vibe, might be it, but man, you have to come to grips with hot, desolate, and boring.  Vermont has always had me wrapped around her finger, and nothing has changed that.  But surprisingly, West Virgina, Wild and Wonderful, is more of that than I'd ever believe.  We don't much care for interstate highways, although we certainly use them often to efficiently connect points, and the most enchanting interstates I've ever been on are all in West Virginia.  And the backroads?  Spectacular and fun.  It's not aloof, not in a hurry, and not at all flat and featureless.  I can't say it's my absolute favorite, partly I guess because it doesn't seem exotic and is not far away.  But I do love it.

Also, Pennsylvania.  Roaming is great, but friends and family welcoming you home is maybe the best high of all.