Day 77 - The end has come

I woke up to the sounds of the forest waking up.  The birds were calling and it was another great day.  I laid in bed for a bit and did my best to just soak it all in.  After nearly an hour of just enjoying nature (I should have done WAY more of this on the trip - maybe without kids to distract me someday, ha!), I decided it was time to pack up the camper and head home for the last time.

Because I had so much success avoiding the toll road yesterday, I decided to continue down the alternate path today.  It added a few minutes to my trip, but also added a lot of character and provided some nice photo opportunities.  It also slightly extended my vacation which I was all for.  Eventually though I was back on the interstate on a very familiar route home.


Because I was still on vacation, I made one last stop at one of the top rated donut shops in the state, Daily Donuts in Graham.  They didn’t fail me and soon I had something for myself and the boys as a nice treat (alas, Amy is just not a donut fan).  A few hours later, I backed the camper into the driveway to end the trip.  Dover made it and nearly in one piece.  

I was motivated to put the camper away so I didn’t waste any time setting it up in the driveway (it also allowed it to dry out) and began to empty it out from the journey.  Soon enough it was empty and within 3 hours of being home, Dover was put away in the garage until the next adventure.

At this point we started the long process to put the house back together since I had just moved everything in both Rover and Dover into the front.  We did what we could, but we would tackle the rest in future days.

For now, I’ll say that it was an amazing journey.  I’m so glad we did it, though I certainly wish we had more time to see everything.  I know we will continue to be campers.  I don’t know if we will ever embark on a trip of this magnitude though, but you never know.  

It’s hard to believe it’s over.  This trip has been loosely in the plans for almost 5 years with the last year being very intense planning before finally embarking.  I don’t know what the new norm of life, but thanks to this trip, I know that whatever it is, it will be okay.

Thanks to everybody who helped make this trip a reality and participated in it. You're all special to me. 

Total mileage - 13,652
# States/Provinces - 22 / 2
 

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