Minnesota to D.C. Carbon Free — Back Home (Our Final Post)
Well, we made it back home… and set a new record in the process. From Minnesota to Washington D.C. it took us a total of 23 hours and 20 minutes (19 hours and 20 minutes of driving and 4 hours of stops). For the return journey, we learned how to optimize the stops and drove at strategic times to avoid traffic in the main cities. We made it home in 21 hours (17 hours and 45 minutes of driving and 3 hours and 15 minutes of stops).
The girls picked up where they left off with the license plate game. The final tally is 42 license plates, meaning we missed just 8, including the elusive states of Hawaii and Alaska. We also had a few bonus license plates including Ontario and Manitoba from Canada and “Diplomat”.
We are all tired but happy to have embarked on this adventure. We can’t believe how much positive feedback and encouragement we received from friends and friends of friends. We also received a surprising amount of attention from the media, with 2 interviews from MPR, a TV segment on Fox 9 news, multiple posts on CleanTechnica and several local journalists who expressed interest in talking to us.
Here are our key takeaways:
ELENA: The road trip was very fun and long. In Washington D.C. I learned the importance of opinions and the way you express them. I also learned different ways to talk to our representatives.
ARYANNA: It was really fun and going with an electric car was not that different than going with a gas car. It would be cool if everyone had an electric car. The conference was an amazing experience, and I learned more about how to talk to leaders about making change. I would like to do it again.
FEDE: It was a tiring but great adventure for both dads and the girls. We learned a lot about solutions for climate change, like electric cars and the role of legislation. We also learned more about our political process. I hope our story will inspire others to get involved in helping to stop climate change.
LEO: Never say no to a road trip with a good cause. While I was reluctant to be so public with all the posts and the social media, I hope we inspired other everyday people - old and young - to feel empowered. Now I need a weekend to rest. Fede talked to me for 40 hours straight about anything and everything, and I can’t take it anymore.
THANKS: We want to thank all our friends and family and also the people we don’t personally know who followed our adventure and encouraged us. We want to thank in particular Nassim Rossi, who helped us edit our blog every night, and Anna Devine, who created an Instagram feed for us.
See you at the next adventure! Ciao. Aryanna, Elena, Fede, Leo.
