After months of planning, we hit the road in our Prius on June 10th,
headed for New York to join the 1st Letterboxing Cruise to Bermuda.
We returned home on July 11th, having driven 7,100 miles and sailed
1,900 miles. We averaged 52 mpg, never ran out of gas nor had any
flat tires nor mechanical trouble as we traveled.

We drove through California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma,
Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa,
Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and California
again. And, of course, we got to go to Bermuda with the letterboxing
cruise group.

We found 11 hitchhikers, returned 14 to circulation, and launched one
new hitchhiker. We found around 235 boxes and placed 20 of our own.

We went so many places we never would have seen if it weren't for
letterboxing. We encountered mosquitoes, chiggers, deer flies and
ticks, but no poison ivy nor poison oak.

We noticed more hand-carved stamps and fewer store-bought ones than
on previous road trips. And the quality and intricacies of the
carvings seem to get better and better. We didn't meet any other
boxers on the trails, nor did we set up mini meet and greets along
the way since our arrival schedule in each town was so
unpredictable. We often found ourselves tarrying during the day and
getting in late in the evening. But we did meet a number of amazing
letterboxers and fun folks on the cruise. We look forward to seeing
many of them again in Oregon in September and/or in St. Louis next
July.

On our journey we visited 4 generations of relatives in several
states, as well as numerous ancestors at a cemetery in upstate New
York. We had a great time but are very, very happy to be home
again. We are already busy planning several more trips in the
upcoming months.

Grumpy Grinch