Wednesday, June 21: Conclusions

We slowed our pace a bit the last two days, and that felt good. 

Tuesday morning we left our last AirBNB. Over 16 nights we stayed in 7 different AirBNBs. Each had a very different personality, as each of our homes has a different personality, reflecting its residents. 

We drove to Cattaraugus, NY. If you can pronounce and spell the name of your school district - Cattaraugus-Little Valley, please jump ahead one grade! Chris told us Native American reservations are in that area. While Wisconsin kids are out of school and enjoying their summer, the children of New York are still in school. All schools in the entire state have the same schedule because New York requires state-wide regent exams, administered on the same schedule throughout the state. 

Chris visited his old high school and spent a few minutes with his former middle school band director, middle school choir director, and high school history teacher - all of whom had a positive impact on his life. 

His favorite teacher, and the man Chris gives credit to for motivating and inspiring him to become a music teacher himself, is Mike Trenchard. Mr. "T" retired from teaching choir seven years ago. We drove out to his house, and his wife directed us to find him at St. John's Church. As we were driving through Cattaraugus Kaylyn and I spotted a charming church and noted how pretty it was. That turned out to be Mr. T's church. 

Chris and Kaylyn last saw Mr. T when he directed his final choral concert before he retired. He may be retired from teaching, but he is now pastoring an independent church with a congregation he describes as "very generous people" who obviously care about the community and take excellent care of their building. The church dates back to 1887. Do note the beautiful chandelier that graces the sanctuary. Chris and Mr. T caught up a bit on teaching challenges. Just as Mr. T's faith-based life influenced Chris in a public school, Chris is now teaching in a faith-based school, influencing a next generation of students.

We drove to Cleveland to spend the evening and overnight with Uncle Bob and Aunt Martha. They are a wonderful bookend to our trip. Martha is a perfect hostess, offering good food, a warm welcome, and delightful accommodations. We treasure time with Bob and Martha. 

We arrived home in Cedarburg at 6:00 Wednesday evening. This map will give you a general idea of our route. From Cleveland we headed across Pennsylvania into New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, then up into New Hampshire, across New York State to Buffalo, a day trip up to Toronto, then back around to Cleveland in a loop. 

And now, for our Conclusions!

•  Chris started to keep an ice cream tally:
• Most or all of the group had ice cream - 8 days
• Greg had a milk shake - 8 times
• We will also note that Chris had fish and chips 4 times. He also tallied that his shoes were soaked twice, once at Fenway Park and once at Cave of the Winds. 
• The adults did not visit any new states, however the children did, including Lydia.
• We drove 3,436 miles in our truck - Greg piloting most of it. The odometer turned to 40,000 on this trip. We covered additional miles we could not tally by train, bus and boat.  
• We were in the truck driving for 80 hours. Either Lydia or I were sitting with Tobias to keep him amused, and he did very well for a 2-year-old. Etta Grace wisely slept most of the driving time. Kaylyn and Chris are getting their children used to traveling early. 
• Our average miles per gallon was 18.8. The egg only decreased our mileage by a bit. 
• I have not yet tallied what we spent on admissions and boat rides, but it was significant. Kaylyn and I noted this when we compared our New England trip with our Route 66 trip.  In the Northeast you drive many less miles from one place to another, but you end up paying more in admissions. 
• A great advantage of touring New England is the compact distance. We were able to stay at two locations for two nights, one for four nights and one for five nights. During longer stays we could unload the egg and remove it from the truck. Not having to reload it in the morning got us out of the house faster. 
• The AirBNBs were great in terms of providing kitchen space for us to make breakfasts and dinners, more room for Tobias to move around and all of us to spread out, and generally Kaylyn could find a quiet nook or room to set up Tobias' crib to accommodate his earlier bedtime. We probably averaged $250 a night for the AirBNBs, which is $125 for us and Lydia, $125 for Kaylyn & Chris and their kids. That is comparable to mid-range hotels. 
• My cousin David recommended to Kaylyn and I on our last trip that we get on the water as often as we could. We did a good job at that. On this trip we were on the water in Mystic, Boston, Niagara Falls, and Toronto - and Greg and I also took a boat trip in Buffalo. In each case, we saw aspects of the city we could not see on land. Most significant cities of the world are located on a waterway because that was the most efficient and effective method of transportation before trains and vehicles existed. 
• Massachusetts and New York do not have plastic bags in their supermarkets. They have paper bags, and you pay 5 cents for each one you use. That obviously encourages people to bring their own bags. However, we didn't know that and did not take shopping bags traveling. We ended up paying for several paper bags. 
• Kudos to all those businesses which provide changing tables in their restrooms. A special shout-out to the ones with changing tables in the men's room as well. When we stopped, ideal situation, Kaylyn and Chris could each grab a little one, diaper and pack of wipes and head into their respective restrooms. It is my delight to watch their parenting. They are working as a consistent team, and that shows in Tobias' behavior and pleasant personality. 
• The egg made our trip possible in so many ways. We packed everything in duffle bags which could expand and contract as the laundry bags expanded and contracted. I sewed colorful strips on the bags before the trip so we could tell one from another. One duffle was for shoes, another for coats. Then everyone had their own duffles. It worked out wonderfully. You can see how much we packed into the egg! And yes, we brought home half as many diapers and wipes as Kaylyn initially packed. 
• 
  Lydia did not take her crutches on the plane, you can see them in the photo. She did manage to exacerbate the sprain by doing a backbend the day after she got home, so she could have used them Monday morning at horse camp.... We certainly missed her after she left. We seemed incomplete without Lydia with us. She is a delightful young lady, and it was our pleasure to take her along. 
  
• We did not see one single living, breathing, fuzzy moose - to Kaylyn's extreme disappointment. We tried to encourage her by pointing out pictures, statues, stuffed animals and other depictions of moose, but to no avail. Nothing satisfied her. She wanted to see a REAL moose! 
• When Kaylyn and I took our trips, the most popular girl in our party was Miss Marshmallow. We can't say the egg attracted much attention, but Miss Etta Grace certainly did. Everywhere she went, she was admired. Of course, we think she is a little angel. And that she is. I have yet to hear her cry! When she wants fed, she gets restless and may fuss a little, but she is a pleasant as can be. Her smiles melt our hearts. 
• We may have been a bit crazy to go traveling for two and one-half weeks with our crew, but it worked out beautifully. We would do it again... but maybe after we catch our breath for a few days first! 
• Greg and I initially thought once this trip was over we would resell the egg - which we bought used. But we are convinced we need to keep it so we can use it again! Where will our next egg-venture take us?