The Epilogue

Our journey has ended… for now, anyway. It has taken me weeks to write this because we simply can’t fathom closing the book on our travels.  It has been one incredible ride, to say the least.

The holidays were a welcome reception and close of our trip.  We first made our way back to Omaha to spend a week with Sam’s aunt, uncle, and sister before making our way up to Minneapolis to celebrate Christmas.  Then, just before the new year, we hustled back to the Syracuse area to be with my family.

By the numbers:

• Number of states visited: 21
• Miles traveled: We lost track!  But somewhere in the 13k range!
• Oil Changes: 3
• Most expensive gas: $4.25 near Lake Tahoe
• Cheapest gas: $1.74 somewhere in Oklahoma
• Thankful we had: Firelighters Wood Starting Cubes  (thank you Missy!)
• Warmest day: the day we left Syracuse – it was 80 degrees! (go figure)
• Coldest night in the camper: 29 degrees in South Dakota (we woke up to frost on the windows)
• Favorite place: hard to choose just one, but the stops between southern California and Big Bend Texas were certainly the highlight
• What we listened to: World War Z audio book, the newest season of the Serial podcast, The Moth Radio Hour Podcast, Radiolab, This American Life, and plenty of Spotify playlists
• Best license plate spotted: OPE SRY (somewhere in the midwest, of course!)

What would we have done differently?  For starters, packed fewer “summer” clothes.  When we left New York, it was about 80 degrees and we thought we’d continue to see hot temps in the southwest.  But, we certainly underestimated how virtually everywhere in the US experiences some kind of winter.  On that point, I think we would have opted to leave a month earlier if possible.  Doing this would have allowed us to see more of the north before the fall weather began to roll in.

2018 was an outstanding year for the both of us, leaving our lives behind in Brooklyn to pursue our dreams of driving across the country, but also to see what else the world has to offer.  We are so incredibly grateful for the opportunity to take this trip and the time off to do so.

In 2019, we’ll be looking for new places to start over and establish roots again, and in search of a new purpose in life. But, we’re also thinking about the places we missed along the way and how we’ll continue to explore the United States in the future.  Our first goal is to spend time making updates to our camper: a “skylight” window, a better battery for better electrical output, and a means to hook up to the grid if we decide we need the extra boost.  We also want to make sure we can heat our camper in cooler weather but still be comfortable in warmer climates.

Most of all, we’re excited to be traveling these roads as a newly engaged couple and looking forward building a life together instead of parallel to each other.