Headed Home

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This trip was never designed to be a permanent change in our lives. It was always intended to be a temporary thing, where "temporary" was loosely defined. At the end of the trip, the goal has always been to end in Georgia to live closer to family.

By that metric, we're now headed home. Geographically, we just passed through Alaska, the part of the trip that is farthest away from our destination (for those wondering, Homer is the actual farthest location). From here on out, our route will take us roughly in the direction of Georgia rather than away from it.

Using time as a metric, we're well past halfway. We've been on the road for just over 18 months now, and we figure it will take another 4 months or so to make it back. We are going to visit some family along the way and be less rigid about scheduling than we have been in the past, so it's tough to pin down an exact number, but we're confident it will be much quicker than 18 months.

The reason we'll do the second half so much faster is because we have far fewer national parks to visit. We've visited 52 of the 63 national parks so far. Of the 11 remaining, four are not located within the continental US plus Alaska; we'd love to get to them someday, but it won't be as part of this trip. Two more are scheduled for next spring with my sister's family.

That leaves five parks to visit on our return trip. Compared to what we were facing when we set out on this trip, five seems downright doable!

So while it won't be a direct route back, we are headed in that direction. Georgia, here we come.


Comments

  1. Nana and GrampsSeptember 12, 2022 at 2:38 PM

    Alaska sounds like it was a bit of a grind, especially with the poor weather you encountered. We're looking forward to seeing you again come spring when you head for Dry Tortugas with Alaina's family. And of course we're also looking forward to spending time with you during our family vacation in Edisto Beach starting in late May 2023. Your closing remark "Georgia, here we come" is music to our ears! Dad/Gramps

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