Epic Journey

Our journey was a fantastic experience.   We manage to deliver my friend’s car on time and with no difficulties whatsoever.  The unexpected benefits of this journey were many.  John and I saw beautiful regions of the United States; we enjoyed the unique experience of father/son togetherness.   Finally, it taught us that country is big indeed!   The total number of miles that include the flight from Ohio to Florida, the drive from Florida to San Francisco, the train ride from San Francisco to Chicago and the bus ride back to Ohio our base camp was a staggering total 7,435 miles or 11,896 km.   If we add the miles in the metro and the walking around we did the equivalent distance like driving from Athens, Greece north thru Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova to Kiev, Ukraine and on to Moscow, Russia.  From there by turning east and crossing Russia at its length and/or taking a slight alternate path, Kazakhstan and Mongolia can be visited, before reaching Vladivostok on the Pacific coast of Siberia for a total of 7,517 miles or 12,028 kilometers.  If I find a companion, I will make this journey in the future.

The picture was taken while landing at night.  Traveling by plane allows for fast passage.  The distance from Columbus to Orlando was 950 miles or 1,520 kilometers.

We drove 4,000 miles or 6,400 kilometers by car, which was approximately half of our trip.  It allowed us to drive at will and deviate of the intended route to see beautiful sites such as the Monument Valley which straddles the border between Utah and Arizona or the Grand Canyon which is in northern Arizona.  It allowed us the freedom to stay in a site as long as we liked or time permitted.  Also, if there was inclement weather to our north or south it allowed us to bypass it by taking and alternate route.  In this picture my son John and a jeep which is an ideal car for off road driving in Arizona.

The train trip was 2,132 miles or 3,411 kilometers.  Riding a train was a relaxing and enjoyable experience.   It allowed us to see parts of the country like Sierra Nevada Mountains and its alpine lakes of and the Canyons of Colorado that are inaccessible with other modes of transportation.  

The bus ride was 353 miles or 565 kilometers.  It was much more enjoyable than people think and it made its journey while most of the flights in the Northeast and Midwest parts of the country were grounded because of arctic cold and heavy snow falls.