Back to reality

So, the end of the journey has come... a bit earlier than I expected, due to having to get back to work the week before I had planned... but on the upside, Thanksgiving buffets were waiting for me.  I pretty much had to drive straight through to get back with enough time to pull work clothes out of storage and to unload some of my car.  Snowy Minnesota and boring Iowa.
Alright, playtime is over and back to life- gotta look for an apartment, pay the bills and work work work, just like everyone else :)  I had the experience of a lifetime and can also use this time to plan out future destinations or vacations.  It was a learning experience and an adventure, and I can't even believe I did it and that its over already. 
Just some fun points from along the way (I had a lot of time to think through these things the remaining 12 hrs):

Cheapest gas: $2.45- Salem
Most expensive gas: $4.91 Cali coast
Most scenic drive: Rte.1 Pacific Highway
Most boring drive: Width of Texas
Worst traffic: Washington DC
Best traffic: (Is there ever good traffic?)
Best meal: Mrs. Wilke's Boarding house
Worst meal: a cold Hot Pocket
Best hot chocolate: Dad's house
Worst hot chocolate: McDonald's, followed very closely by D.C.
Favorite city, east: Philadelphia
Favorite city, west: San Diego
Scariest neighborhood after dark: around Atlantic City
Worst roads: a tie between the dirt road in Vermont that gave me my bent rims, and Baltimore
Most polite: New England area
Dirtiest restrooms: Kimball, Nebraska
Cleanest restrooms: Lake Placid, NY (New England area in general)
Coolest restrooms: Mellow Mushroom in Denver, CO.
Hottest temp:95
Coldest temp:12
New found love: travel plazas and caffeine
New pet peeve: pick-up trucks
Favorite west coast beach: Santa Monica, CA
Favorite east coast beach: Ocracoke Island, NC
Favorite snack on the road, first month: chocolate-covered pretzels with marshmallow fluff
Favorite snack on the road, second month: huckleberry cake
Travel set back: Car repair (wheel bearing), and then the beautiful views of the Grand Canyon
Scariest weather: tornado in Alamogordo, NM
Cheapest parking: free
Most expensive parking: $27 first 6 hrs in NYC
Favorite Chinatown: LA
Least fav. Chinatown: Portland, OR
Most interesting Chinatown: San Francisco
Most beautiful sunset: La Jolla, CA
Weirdest people: Venice Beach, CA
Most expensive toll: $11- Staten Island Bridge, $7 Ohio reg toll
Best movie while on the road: SAW Final Chapter (restaurant theater)
Worst movie while on the road: Devil (drive-in)
Most snow: Montana
Favored public trans: Los Angeles
Most hated public trans: NYC
Favorite building: City Hall in Philadelphia
Weirdest building: Corn Palace in South Dakota
Wildlife sighted that I had never seen outside of a zoo before: buffalo, alligator, zebras, elephant seals
Wildlife tasted that I had never tried before: elk
Favorite National Park: ?? too difficult to choose
Greatest triumph while driving: reaching 15,000 miles without getting a ticket
Most unusual drive: 7-mile bridge in the FL Keys
Favorite trail: Hidden Canyon in Zion Nat. Park
Number of oil changes: 5th one due on my return
Total number of miles driven: 14,644
Number of pictures taken: Well over 3,000 (7 photo albums)

I would like to thank everyone for following along with at least the pictures on my blog and being so supportive along the way... I had such an incredible time and would strongly recommend doing something like this to anyone fortunate to have the opportunity.

Thanks again, and feel free to get in touch to thumb through the thousands of pics in my albums (I tried to put the best ones on this blog though).

See everyone soon, and Happy Holidays!!

Add of course, I couldn't have done this trip without
my overly reliable, favorite car :)