We recently finished our big Summer vacation. Or, the "trip to everywhere" as the four year old termed it. It was a lot of fun and a lot of driving. Rather than try to write about it in story form, I'll do it as a list.

• Miles drive: 4,998 (Faith insisted I not drive the extra two miles just to round it up)
• Highest Interstate speed limit: 75 in NE, WY, SD
• Lowest Interstate speed limit: 50 in parts of IL, NY, PA - nobody drove even close to this, most 65+
• Avg MPG: 46.5
• Max MPG: 52 - driving Eastward in NE, 80 mph, with a tail wind, slight downhill
• Min MPG: 38 - driving Westward in MI, SD with a strong head wind, somewhat uphill
• Gallons gas: 95
• Avg gas price: 3.59
• Max gas price: 4.069 (Illinois tollway)
• Min gas price: 3.399 (Casper WY Safeway)
• Most expensive gas: $61 for 3 gallons w/service charge when car ran out of gas
• Cost for gas: ~ $350
• Cost for hotels: don't ask... (overall it was cheaper than flying w/car rental & hotels)
• Hotel nights: 5 on way out, 6 on way back (obtained Hilton Honors Gold status on way out, which helped on way back)
• Swimming: 5 hotel pools, one natural hot springs w/slides
• Playgrounds: 4 (biggestin Lander, Zane's favorite probably tubes at McDonald's in Newburgh)
• Longest day of driving: ~12 hours (w/stops) on last day, Cleveland to Lebanon
• Shortest day of driving: ~5.5 hours Gillette -> Lander Wy (counting stop for swimming), Wheaton, Il to Eau Claire, WI would have been shorter if I'd not taken a wrong turn

I've done this trip around ten times since moving out East, most of the time by myself. Shortest time to get from NH to WY was a little over two days with two of us alternating driving and sleeping in the car. This trip was easily the longest, taking a little over a week with lots of stops and days off. Still, it was great to see all of the family and friends and sights along the way. My one regret is not stopping at a McDonald's playspace for Zane on our the last day of driving. We looked for them on whole trip and rarely saw them (hey, iPhone app idea!). On the last day I saw three of them and Zane saw one just 50 miles from home when everyone's nerves were on edge and frazzled. We should have stopped, but if we would have it would have been after 10pm before we got home.