I finished my ninth trip north (TN9) on Sunday. This was my first trip with no travel companion of any kind – person or dog. Time for a wrapup.
By the numbers:
- 10 days, 9 nights, 6 hops, 1,724 route miles (287 miles per hop).
- Only 33 extra miles – I didn’t use the car much once I got to my destination.
- 59.3 gallons of fuel consumed in 1,757 miles (29.6 mpg).
- Total fuel cost: $211.37 ($3.56/gal).
- I mostly stayed with friends and family. Only 3 nights were in hotels. Total hotel cost: $344.11 ($114.70 per night).
The mileage was a bit disappointing. This was almost all on highways (though I did spend more time on back roads than usual). I expected to get at least 32 mph.
Highlights:
- Seeing Jett’s sons and grandson. I love these guys!
- Seeing the Appomattox Courthouse. It was a quick trip and a bit disappointing but it did remove one item from my Civil War Bucket List.
- Beating grandson Zachary at chess. I was rusty and probably should have checkmated him sooner, but I was very worried that I was going to be beaten by a 12-year-old. Didn’t happen.
- The Toyota ran well.
Lowlights:
- Rain in Charleston SC. I was hoping to get more sightseeing time, but not in a deluge.
Only one minor lowlight suggests that this was a pretty successful trip north overall.
Planned versus actual route:
The two diversions from the plan were the whimsical trip to the Appomattox Courthouse and the decision to approach CT via PA rather than up the NJ Turnpike (which I dislike).