Adding Up the Recession Roadtrip

Having just passed the 100-day mark of the Recession Roadtrip, I decided it's time for a little statistical accounting of my journey thus far. So click through if you'd like to learn factoids such as how many miles driven and states visited, mileage the rental Prius has been getting, or the number of senior citizens I've seen riding a bike in nothing more than Speedos (picture included!).

States visited: 27 (21 more to go)

Words written: 43,080

Miles driven: 12,738 (so much for that 10,000 mile estimate for total trip!)

Number of rental Priuses: Now driving number 5, nicknamed Pericles.

Average mileage: 40 to 42 mpg

Nights spent sleeping in the Prius: 6

Number of speeding tickets: 2 (Only one justified, I swear.)

Number of parking tickets: 3

Pounds of beef jerky consumed: 3

Pounds of granola consumed: 9

Gallons of coffee consumed: About a million

Number of fast food burgers consumed: Don't recall, but after 3 days of violent illness resulting from--I suspect--an unfortunate visit to Jack-in-the-Box, I've pledged to eat no more fast food.

Number of times Prius got stuck: Twice

Ran out of gas: Once

Yelled at: Once (By an Elvis impersonator in Vegas)

Number of times I experienced fear: Once (I wasn't kidding about having an irrationally bizarre aversion to wind turbines.)

Interviews conducted: More than 200

False leads followed to disappointment: More than two dozen

Number of senior citizens seen riding a bike in nothing more than a Speedo: 1 (Such a ridiculously glorious sight.)

Number of times collision with animal narrowly avoided: 4 (squirrel, dog, crow, elk)

Number of showers taken in a waterfall: 1

Number of visits to an urgent care center after seriously injuring myself: 1 (In Salt Lake City, after nearly ripping my toe off on the front door of my hotel.)

Average hours of sleep per night: 4 to 5

Average hours spent driving per day: 3 to 4

Twitter followers @RecessionRoadie: Over 2,000

Number of times babysitting for crackhead who said she needed to go apply for jobs: Once was enough

Longest span of time I've gone without changing clothes: 8 days

Longest span of time gone without showering: 4 days (When camping with homeless in Sacramento last week.)

Length this "4-month/48 state" trip will probably last: 5 months, give or take a couple weeks.

Number of times an interview subject moved me to tears: 5 (Rachel Polston in South Carolina, Rita Baldwin in Biloxi, Mississippi, Rosa Jurado in Rogers, Arkansas, "Jimmy" in Las Vegas, Nevada, Charles Zimmerman in Sacramento, California)

Number of laughs shared: Countless

Number of days I've considered how fortunate I am to be having this experience: This is day 102 of the trip.