Thank You, Friends!

The best parts of this adventure were the family and friends who welcomed me, put me up, and helped out as I drove around the country. Thank you for making this the trip of a lifetime!
Gwen, Kayla and Buddy.

Elaine.

Stephen.

Peets.

Elizabeth, Greg, Max, Rob, and Paul.

Jennifer, Geoffrey and Joey.

Ann.

Marion.

Zanny and Skip.

Jenny and Rob.

Hillary and Liz.

Zanny, Craig and Hillary.

Jake and Martha.

Meg's mom, Matt, Katie, Meg, and Rich (who had the idea for this blog and helped get it started).

Laura.

Sarah and Maya.

Aunt Anne.

Christopher, Andrew, Tom and Soba.

William, Hamilton and Kevin.

Cam.

Kristin and Ned.

Warren & Micheline.

John and Chris.

Jennifer.

Norman.

Leslie.

My parents.

Walter and Amy.

Caroline, who helped take care of some pressing business in New York while I was on the road.

Aunt Esther, who made the introduction to Aunt Anne in L.A.

And Scottie, this blog's most attentive reader!

Statistics

Answer to the quiz at right: I traveled a grand total of 9,827 miles across 29 states, the District of Columbia and Ontario!

Here are a few more trip statistics. If there are any that I don’t include, feel free to comment or send me an e-mail identifying them and I’ll publish them.

Lodging and Visiting

Nights with family and friends: 25

Nights in motels: 14

Least expensive motel (incl. taxes): $39.38 (Grand Inn, Fargo, ND)

Most expensive motel (incl. taxes): $89.27 (El Oso Flojo Lodge, Balmorhea, TX)

Average motel price: probably $60 - $65

Most nights in one state: 6 (WA and CA)

Museums and Sights

Total visited: 40

Car/truck/motorcycle museums: 14

Aircraft museums: 12

Train museums: 2

Other sights: 12

Car Stats

The 2006 Mini Cooper S’s 1.6 litre, 168 h.p. supercharged engine requires premium gasoline. I used the highest octane available (93 or 91 in each instance, I think) on each of the 27 occasions I stopped for gas, and always filled up the tank.

Total gallons of gasoline purchased: 342

Average miles per gallon (my calculation): 28.7

Most expensive gallon of gas: $4.67 (Cambellville, Ontario)

Most expensive gallon (U.S.): $3.85 (Benicia, CA)

Least expensive gallon: $3.14 (Charlotte, NC)

Average price per gallon: $3.45

Longest distance between fill-ups: 453 mi.Average miles per gallon (the Mini computer’s calculation): 29.4

Shortest distance between fill-ups: 295 mi.

Average distance between fill-ups: 365 mi.

Over the Road

Most states in one day: 4 (AL, GA, SC, NC; MD, DE, NJ, NY)

Greatest distance driven in one day: approx. 748 mi. (Fargo – Bozeman)

Tastiest fast-food standard hamburger patty (McD’s, BK, In-n-Out, Hardees): Hardees

Best fries: McDonald’s

Best fast-food vibe: In-n-Out

Most visited roadside chain: Starbucks

Best road trip tool: TomTom GPS device (shown, to the right, at night)