Total miles traveled: 14,750
Miles into the western loop: 4,569
Approximate number of miles remaining in the official itinerary: 3,382
Chances that will be the end of it, no more miles after that: 0
Hours spent in the van with the engine running: 376
Percentage of time we’ve enjoyed being in the van with the engine running: 97.3
Average miles per gallon: 15.7
Number of times we’ve had to stop and do an awkward three-point turn because the covered bridge we were about to enter in Vermont didn’t have high enough clearance to accept us, and we didn’t want to destroy our van and/or a national treasure: 1
States we’ve been in: 36
Number of people we’ve met: 497
Local beers we’ve tried: lots
Rank of Springfield, MO and the state of North Carolina in microbrew quality, from our experience: 2, 1
Sitting U.S. Senators we’ve met: 2
Number of U.S. Senators we met who seemed very concerned about divisiveness in our country: 1
Number of times Robert Mueller has named Betsy in an indictment (so far): 0
Percent confidence Brett has that Betsy did not collude with the Russians: 73
Packages of Red Vines we’ve consumed, after deciding they were superior to Twizzlers: too many
Hours Brett has busked in the subway: 3
Robberies we’ve witnessed in broad daylight: 1
Blowouts we’ve had on the van: 1
Hours after we met John Falwell (Jerry’s son) in Lynchburg, VA that the tire blew: 1
Chances these things are connected: 0
Percent disappointed we were that New England did not follow the fall foliage calendars we consulted: 100
Percent of time we got to wear the autumn wardrobe we prepared for New England and the Northeast: 20
Percent of likelihood we’ll forgive New England and visit again soon: 100
Ferry rides: 4
Ferry rides with the van: 2
College campuses we’ve visited: 27
College campuses on which we have spoken to students: 3
Days we missed freezing temperatures by heading south: 1
Days until we make it to a beach: 5
Tears we shed when we watched Josh Ritter play the song “Homecoming” live: a few
The amount of gratitude we have for the freedom to do what we’re doing and for the friends we have all over this country: immeasurable
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