Trip Wrap-Up... Part One

Does this seem like the trip that never ends? In some ways our Maryland adventure is like a year-long vacation- lots of sights to see and things to do, new cuisines and restaurants to try, having a rental car, etc. But it's time to wrap up some details from the "Arizona to Maryland" portion of our journey.

We kept a list of the best billboards we saw as we traversed the country. From west to east, here are the ones that made our list:

1. "Milk... a part of everything that's good!"  promoting Southwest Dairy (I-40 in NM)
2. "Retail Therapy... closer than you think!" promoting a mall (Santa Rosa, NM)
3. "Unplugged is the new off" promoting Texas Energy Commission (I-40 in TX)
4. "Relieves Gas Pains" promoting Hutches Phillips 66 station (I-44 in OK)
5. "Somehow nothing satisfies like beef..." promoting a cattle ranch (I-44 in MO)
6. "La Quinta... Spanish for "free high-speed internet"" promoting La Quinta Hotels (I-44 in MO)

Unfortunately, the billboards pretty much ended after we left Missouri. There were a few set way back in fields- we thought maybe they were prohibited along the roadsides. My personal favorite was #6... perhaps because it is so un-PC!

We first spotted Redbud trees (scientific name Cercis canadensis) in Oklahoma where it is the state tree and finally asked someone about them in Missouri. They are a member of the legume family and the vibrant rose-colored blossoms announce spring from Kansas to the east coast. They were beautiful to look at- a pleasant diversion from all the green!

This beautiful Redbud was in Missouri...

...and these are in West Virginia just before we got to Maryland. There are tons of them here in Maryland, too, but I was busy navigating- no time for photography!

Remember the 13 boxes that were being shipped by Fed Ex? They were scheduled for delivery yesterday and when I called in the morning to get a "time window" for delivery, I was told the best they could estimate was "between 9:00am and 8:00pm!"  Some estimate!! LOL! The boxes arrived at 5:30pm.

Hmm... they don't look quite the same as they did when they left our house in Arizona.

Yep... a whole corner (top to bottom) of many of the boxes was open. I guess they aren't very gentle with your stuff...

And now the unpacking begins!! Amazingly, nothing was damaged in the boxes I've unpacked so far... which I attribute to Richard being a fabulous packer and the power of prayer!