Family log: From Cleveland to New York City (Day 7)
People at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened it up early for us, and it was very cool. We stayed for about an hour and a half and barely scratched the surface. There were five floors but we only saw one floor. Our favorite exhibit was the area that focused solely on The Who's "Tommy" album.
We kind of got off-course and ended up in a different part of Pennsylvania than we had planned on being in. I had taken the wrong highway and didn't realize it for a couple of hours. We were close but a little off and it started to look a little rural. We asked the locals where the Amish live and they told us how to get there, so we went to Spartansburg to see them. It's known as the Gateway to Amish Country.
They all drive buggies and wear similar clothing. All the men have beards, everyone was so friendly and nice. My husband Brian decided he wanted to eat Amish food, so we went to an Amish diner. One of the things on the menu was traditional Amish Wedding Cake — it was like a date pudding with bananas and whipped cream on top inside a parfait glass.
The whole family is worried that we will become Amish because I'm so fascinated and interested by the culture.
We only had to stop once for gas today and ended up spending less than 200 dollars on gas for the whole trip. We are pretty excited about that. —Andy Pletcher
Most expensive gas between Los Angeles and New York
Ludlow, Calif.: $2.96/gallon
Cheapest gas between Los Angeles and New York
Howe, Ind.: $1.91/gallon
Total amount spent on gas
Rileys (SUV): $459.27Fowlers (Midsize): $277.98 Pletchers (Hybrid): $172.67
Gas Mileage
Riley Family (SUV): 17 mpg (estimate was 15 mpg) Fowler Family (Midsize): 26 mpg (estimate was 25 mpg) Pletcher Family (Hybrid): 42 mpg (estimate was 40 mpg)
Family log: From Chicago to Cleveland (Day 6)
We got to the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Chicago around midnight after making a reservation, and the front desk guy said we could get an upgrade to a suite with an extra table and couch and two extra rollaway beds for the kids. We got into the suite and there were no beds in the room. By the time we went back to try to get one of the regular rooms, they were already sold out, so we had to leave and go get a room at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place. Because of all that we got only 4 hours sleep before getting up for Wednesday morning's live shot.
The live shot was a lot of fun; we went down to Lake Shore Drive during the live shot, and Matt and Katie started asking me questions about the Honda Civic Hybrid. I thought I did outstanding on the air. I mentioned the fact that a bus was driving by so people knew I was actually in the car.
We didn't get to see much of Chicago at all because we wanted to get going and see some family in the South Bend area in Indiana.
We stopped at an art display at the Indiana Visitor Center called Trashed Treasure — art made from landfill materials — and did a whirlwind tour to match our eco-friendly theme.
We stopped at my parents' house in Stevensville, Mich., and got interviewed by the South Bend television station. We got a very good home-cooked meal from my parents — chicken and fruit salad and shrimp and a homemade no-fat lemon pie. It was just great to eat home-cooked food again after six days on the road. It was one of those meals where it was intoxicatingly pleasurable, especially after escaping from the big city and getting out to home in the woods.
We've been doing Weight Watchers for 15 weeks and we were trying to keep the same kind of diet on the road and have been successful almost every step of the way. It has gotten harder the farther east we go. Mostly it's cost us time and planning to find the right kinds of food. We've had to stop at markets along the way even though the kids might be having fast food.
Once we hit the Midwest, our comfortable California-style dress (shorts, flip-flops and T-shirts) was very apparent, and it affects the way we are being treated in the big cities in the Midwest; bellhops look at us like we aren't going to tip and customer service people treat us like second-class citizens.
People in Kansas were the nicest, friendliest people you'd ever meet. We were very impressed with the beauty of the state and the nice people.
We only had to buy gas once all day and it was the cheapest we've seen yet — $1.91 a gallon in Howe, Ind. The grand total to fill up our tank was $18.99. We arrived in Cleveland at 8:30 p.m. —Brian Pletcher
Total amount spent on gas
Rileys (SUV): $410.20Fowlers (Midsize): $251.98Pletchers (Hybrid): $154.27
Gas Mileage
Riley Family (SUV): 17 mpg (estimate was 15 mpg) Fowler Family (Midsize): 26 mpg (estimate was 25 mpg) Pletcher Family (Hybrid): 39 mpg (estimate was 40 mpg)
Family log: Kansas City to Chicago (Day 5)
The live shot from the Kansas Speedway was great. There was a beautiful sunrise, but it was a little chilly. It went very smooth with Matt and Katie.
We got a behind-the-scenes tour of the Speedway and got to follow a pace car around the track. We took a bunch of pictures and videos of the car on the winner's circle.
Sunday is Savannah's 13th birthday, so Andy arranged a surprise for Savannah to drive the Hybrid in the pit area as her first driving experience. Then the PR guy asked if we'd be interested in taking a couple of laps around the track in a pace car; Spencer and I went first and the driver took us around the track very fast. We stopped on one bank of the track and looked at a rail where a car had crashed in the last race, and he explained how the rails cushion the blows; he also showed us a lot about racing from a pit crew's perspective.
The kids swam at the hotel, then we packed up and headed to Chicago.
We paid $1.93 a gallon in Green Valley, Mo., which is a new low for us on this trip.
We went to the Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Mo. It's very new, and just opened about four months ago. As we circled the parking lot, I noticed security was tightening. I recognized that people were watching me pretty closely. A bunch of people dressed in black attire were heading for the library and there were also lookouts and snipers on nearby roofs. We found out the Emir of Qatar was there and that's why there was so much security. I videotaped the motorcade. —Brian Pletcher
Days 1 - 5: Los Angeles to Chicago
Total amount spent on gas
Rileys (SUV): $388.80 Fowlers (Midsize): $211.98 Pletchers (Hybrid): $135.28
Gas MileageRiley Family (SUV): 17 mpg (estimate was 15 mpg) Fowler Family (Midsize): 26 mpg (estimate was 25 mpg) Pletcher Family (Hybrid): 39 mpg (estimate was 40 mpg)
Family log: Denver to Kansas City The live shot was fun. We were all really tired and thought it was really bad, but it looked better on TV than it felt. The folks at the Museum of Nature and Science let us wander around before and after the live shot — they were very nice. Normally I can handle multiple inputs at the same time and multitask, but I was not coping well because of all the lack of sleep.
We had breakfast and felt much better. I dropped the rest of the family off at the Denver Mint and there was intense security — men with guns and very serious attitudes.
We stopped at Old Town Museum in Burlington, Colo. It's an amazing place and really cool. The things you can walk up and touch are 100 years old; normally you would see these things behind glass or something, but you could actually walk up and touch them. We played piano in the saloon and danced. We had the whole place to ourselves.
We have to get out of the car a lot to stretch. We bought some karaoke discs and have been singing in the car today. We interviewed our son Spencer on tape, just to see if he understood what we are doing on this trip.
An accident happened right before us on a Kansas highway, so we helped the driver and calmed her down. We called 911 because the driver was shaking and traumatized; we stayed with the driver until help arrived.
Saw our first sub-$2 gas in Abilene, Kan. — it was $1.95 a gallon but we didn't need gas so we didn't stop. The cheapest gas we bought today was $2.09 a gallon in Wakeeney, Kan. — Brian Pletcher
Days 1 to 4: Los Angeles to Kansas City, Kan.
Total amount spent on gas
Rileys (SUV): $290.98Fowlers (Midsize): $151.72Pletchers (Hybrid): $99.84
Gas mileage
Rileys (SUV): 17 mpg (estimate was 15 mpg)Fowlers (Midsize): 28 mpg (estimate was 25 mpg)Pletchers (Hybrid): 39 mpg (estimate was 40 mpg)
The trip: Pletcher Family (Hybrid)
Days 1 to 3: Los Angeles to Grand Canyon to Denver
The Honda Civic Hybrid was a lot bigger than we thought it would be. I fully expected to have to leave a bag or two behind, but we fit everything in.
Los Angeles traffic was awful. It took us 4 or 5 hours just to get to Barstow; the first "Are We There Yet?" from the kids was logged in Covina, Calif.
We stopped in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., and got swarmed by stinkbugs — we got bit by one of them and named it Burt.
It was only $20 to fill up the tank in Lake Havasu City. We arrived at the Grand Canyon around 2 a.m.
Day 2We took a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon with Papillion Helicopter. Brian and the kids had never been on a helicopter ride. It was a 50-minute tour through the canyon — words can't describe how breathtaking it was.
We left the Grand Canyon in late afternoon, filled up the tank with another $20 and headed towards Denver. We stayed in Durango at an amazing Victorian-style hotel called the Hotel Palmer.
Day 3We spent some time in Durango in the morning. There were lots of steam engine trains blowing their horns — it was very quaint.
We stopped at the visitor’s center in Silverton. It snowed while we were driving through the Rocky Mountains — it was very exciting for the kids. My husband brought a John Denver CD with us and we played it while we went through the Rocky Mountains — it was very emotional for me.
We arrived in Denver around 8 p.m. and stayed at the Burnsley All-Suite Hotel. So far, we've been averaging about 40 miles per gallon, which is what Honda told us we would get. — Brian Pletcher
Total amount spent on gas
Riley Family (SUV): $194.13Fowler Family (Midsize) $114.22Pletcher Family (Hybrid) $60.41
Gas mileage
Riley Family (SUV): 17 mpgFowler Family (Midsize): 27 mpgPletcher Family (Hybrid): 40 mpg