If we had to describe July in one word, it would be travel, since we were away from home for almost a month. Thanks to retirement, we were able to spend time with family and enjoy our beautiful country and not worry about how long we were taking. Would you believe that in our 6,005 miles of driving, we saw license plates from 48 of the 50 states. (See below to see which two eluded us.)
The plans made last year came to fruition, and we were visiting family on my birthday. Thanks Mom for the delicious ice cream cake!
The main purpose of our trip was to have our first ever family reunion (with us as the "oldest" generation). We had a marvelous time; stay tuned for future posts showcasing all the fun we had. (Here's one; you could also check the archives for July 2021.)
The original plan (for last year) was to fly out just for the reunion. However, since it had to be postponed to 2021, there was also a baptism on the calendar, a week later. Rental cars were ridiculously expensive, and since we didn't have to worry about vacation days, we decided to drive. We thought our car was in great mechanical order (and, really, it was), but one day while in Utah, the interior door handle/lock broke. We didn't think it wise to have a unlocked car in hotel parking lots, so wanted to have it repaired before our return trip. Fortunately, thanks to Amazon and YouTube and our brother-in-law's garage tool supply, we were able to do it ourselves. Miraculously, it went as advertised and only took 20 minutes!
That left us plenty of time for
some visits. In the past, flying in for a weekend event hasn't allowed us to do so, but this year we had several days with nothing on the calendar. We took advantage of that and were able to see loved ones we haven't seen in decades. What a treat!
There will be more about the special baptism day later as well. (See
here.)
The trip home took several days, but I wasn't bored for a single minute of it, even though Wayne did all of the driving. Part of that was due to figuring out which ancestors' graves to look for as we drove through Illinois. (I also had a crochet project and puzzle books, along with map navigating and snack retriving, to keep me busy.)
Our planned sunrise at the beach was cancelled due to rain in the forecast, but we did manage to complete one of our "fun" activities this month - a trip to the middle of nowhere - otherwise known as visiting STA #6.
Earlier this year I received a jury summons. I actually don't mind doing my part to keep our justice system working properly, but it was kind of sad that after waiting ten years for my turn, I was assigned the same day as our long-awaited first post-Covid vacation. I postponed my date to the end of July, before we had actually decided to drive across the country. Fortunately, we made it home without incident, and I was able to report for service. Even though I was excused after just a few hours, it was still a great experience.
And that gets us to the end of July. Lots of terrific memories!
And in case you're still wondering, the two states we couldn't find license plates for on our long trip were Hawaii and North Dakota.
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