32,000 miles
35 states
10,491photographs
52 national park units
34 new friends
275 S'mores (approximate collective total)
On the morning of January 10 we pulled out of Bill Frederick Park at Turkey Lake in Orlando and headed north. Yesterday at about 2:30 we pulled back into the same campground, putting the unofficial end on our trip. The question everyone is asking is, "What's next?"
That question has several answers. Logistically, we will return to Tampa after Christmas and begin the search for a rental home, juggling the possibilities of locations, timing and what to do with Bob. Practically, we have a car to fetch, a storage unit to empty (just shoot me now), and some math to catch up on. And so many necks to hug! That's got to be the best.
We're looking forward to Mekenita tacos and road bike rides and heads boomps from Harley.
All the Junior Ranger badges beg to be displayed nicely. All those photos need to be bound in a book. All those memories have to be archived.
All the thoughts and emotions need to be sorted and processed. We could probably blog for two months just on that.
When we last hung out with the Boyinks we talked about a gaping void in the family travel blog world. You never get to read "the Epilogue." What happens when the wheels stop turning on that road trip, when you set the parking brake for good? I'm sure many families stop blogging because there are no more stories to tell and they assume the readers will move on. A few probably intend to write that epilogue, but the busyness of re-entry into a normal life overtakes them. Or maybe it's just all too painful. Based on all the raw emotions that took me by surprise at 2:30 yesterday, I'd lay my money on door number three.
Despite whatever tears we have to fight back, we intend to keep blogging for now. We know we have picked up more than a few followers who are reading because they are planning their own epic adventure, and if we quit now we would be doing them a disservice. Because the reality is that most families who do this will stop for good one day, whether they choose to do so or have it forced upon them. And how do you deal with the loss of something so amazing?
I, for one, would continue this blog even if I were absolutely certain no one would ever read it. I have learned that when I have to craft my thoughts into a decent story it helps me process the experience so much more clearly. Blogging takes the hot mess in my head and molds it into something I can actually use.
You may be one of our readers who came along for the awesome hikes and funny stories and you're thinking, "This is about to get depressing. Peace out." That's okay, and THANK YOU for following! Knowing you were here made it more fun. And if you're one of those readers who is in the planning phase, now is the time to ask questions about "re-entry" so we can be sure to share whatever will help you best.
We are going to spend a few days organizing our thoughts into something that does not read like a pack of baboons sniffed glue then hacked our site. Right now it is all a jumble of random and nonsensical notes on my iPad, stuff like "Worst injury: my tailbone" and "ended up being a blessing; bread; grocery stores, should have snickered the rig sooner." Really. I think so much faster than I can type.
Speaking of hacking our site, we gave it a facelift, but we are having trouble with the banner photo so please bear with us until we fix it. I assure you we did not suddenly lose our aesthetic sensibility.
Merry Christmas! We'll catch up in a few days.
-Jenni