Done wandering, for now

I arrived home in Washington, DC, tonight just after 6. I'd been away 80 days - as someone pointed out a stop or two back, "around the U.S. in 80 days." By my rough count, I visited more than 80 people, quite a few of whom I'd never met before including Yolanda's cousins, Betsy and her family, Jamie's coast-to-almost-coast biking companions, my friend Dorothy's family in Wyoming and Nebraska, and my cousin Dorothy's neighbors. I won't even try to count the places I visited that gave me memories and photos that will let me relive the sightseeing over and over, though the people were the reason for the trip. I'll add the eastbound trip to the Picasa album in the next day or two; let me know if you don't receive an e-mail with the link by Wednesday or so.

Penny the Prius put on 11,178 miles and had two scheduled 5,000-mile service visits. I had one too, acquiring a new tooth (a crown for a molar that broke on the trip west). My laptop (formerly Rachel's) has a new life with 2G of RAM.

Thank you, thank you, everyone! If you took time to meet with me you made a place real to me, not just a postcard. If you gave me a place to sleep you helped me afford this trip - on the winter trip I think such generosity cut the cost of the trip about in half. As several of you know from experience, my home here is always open to visitors.

Yesterday I reached Dorothy's in Sellersville, PA, about noon. We went to lunch and promptly set out on a long walk up Perkiomen Creek (East Branch, my map says) through the neighboring town of Perkasie to a beautiful covered bridge beyond, and then back - without my camera, alas! Today I put together the fruit salad for the neighborhood potluck while Dorothy whipped up some tasty morsels that involved chocolate, peanut butter, crunchy seeds and other goodies. We sat with three neighbors and a former neighbor at the condo's patio table and had the liveliest conversation ever, much of which I can't repeat here.

Merle the cat is in great form thanks to Elisabeth's and Tiffany's wonderful care, though he is shedding great gobs of fur and has uneaten food, which only seems to happen when I'm away. The ersatz Furminator is doing a great job on the loose fur.

Sometime before the snow flies in northern Maine I'll be heading Down East to visit Rachel's Aunt Margie, who was originally to have been the first stop in May. I'll make other New England stops along the way, and who knows, maybe some unplanned detours. It happens.