Fast Forward

STATES VISITED: California / New York

Up at 5am. In the car by 5:30. At the airport by 6. On the Jet Blue aircraft by 7:30. And then a very uneventful (thank goodness) flight home, landing at 4:15 in the afternoon, after 4 hours or so in the air. Where did the day go?

So all the country we crossed in 18 days spooled back beneath us in just 4 hours. The marvels of modern technology. But it was a beautiful day in New York, and it was good to get home. Our dog Riley just about wagged his tail off his butt when we picked him up from the dog sitters'. The cat, Dudley, greeted us by pissing in the dog's bed to show his displeasure.

Sitting bleary-eyed this morning in the airport waiting room, we conducted a survey of our favorite things about the trip. A few highlights:

BEST HOTEL ROOM: The Marriott HomeSuites in Wheeling WV
BEST HOTEL BUFFET: The Grand Hyatt in Denver
BEST HOTEL SERVICE: The Grand Hyatt in Denver
BEST HOTEL RESTAURANT DINNER: Hampton Inn in Kayenta AZ
BEST STADIUM: Chase Field in Phoenix
BEST BALLPARK FOOD: Chase Field in Phoenix (but I voted for Cincinnati)
BEST BALLPARK CROWD: Coors Field in Denver
BEST BASEBALL GAME: Kansas City Royals Vs Chicago White Sox
BEST RESTAURANT: The one in Morgantown WV whose name we can't even remember
BEST RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE: Arthur Bryant's, Kansas City
BEST MALL: Country Club Plaza, Kansas City
BEST RESIDENTIAL AREAS: Indianapolis
BEST STORE: CD shop in Boulder
BEST SIDE TRIP: Hannibal MO
BEST HISTORIC HOME: Kolb Studio in the Grand Canyon
BEST DRIVE: Silverton to Durango CO
BEST NATIONAL PARK: Monument Valley
BEST NATURE EXPERIENCE: Bighorn sighting in the Grand Canyon

All in all, we did pretty well, I think. Still digesting it all, of course. But, like Dorothy, I think we all agree -- there's no place like home.