Home

We drove fo Houston to see our daughter and son in law and pick up our dog.  While in Houston we attended an Astros baseball game where we witnessed history being made as Mike Fiers pitched his first career no hitter that was also the first no hitter at Minute Maid Park. Awesome game!

Today we drove home. On the way we saw two people touring on their bicycles. As we passed we honked and waved, it made us miss being on the bike! 

Khaki napping 

Awww sunshine!

This seemed fitting for today:

Upon the hearth the fire is red,

Beneath the roof there is a bed;
But not yet weary are our feet,
Still around the corner we may meet
A sudden tree or standing stone
That none have seen but we alone.
Tree and flower and leaf and grass,
Let them pass! Let them pass!
Hill and water under sky,
Pass them by! Pass them by!

Still around the corner there may wait
A new road or a secret gate,
And though we pass them by today,
Tomorrow we may come this way
And take the hidden paths that run,
Towards the Moon or to the Sun.
Apple, thorn and nut and sloe
Let them go! Let them go!
Sand and stone and pool and dell,
Fare you well! Fare you well!

Home is behind, the world ahead,
And there are many paths to tread
Through shadows to the edge of night,
Until the stars are all alight.
Then world behind and home ahead,
We'll wander back to home and bed.
Mist and twilight, cloud and shade,
Away shall fade! Away shall fade!
Fire and lamp, and meat and bread,
And to bed! And then to bed!

JR Tolkien

Feels good to be home....

Day Ninety Two - driving

Driving home!  

On our way we stopped in New York to see the Statue of Liberty. First of all, driving in the New York area, WOW!  We have never seen so many bridges and interchanges. The exciting part was crossing the Hudson River since we had crossed it at its origin on our bicycle a few weeks ago - the size difference and setting of city vs mountains and forest were completely opposite.  

Neither of us expected the emotions we experienced when seeing Lady Liberty in person.  Growing up learning about the statue, knowing what it stands for, and seeing photos of it is nothing compared to seeing it in person. The audio tour is well done with interesting facts. We were very glad we took time to stop in New York and go to liberty island.  

National Park Ferry Terminal

Ellis Island

Manhattan Skyline 

Day Ninety One - A day in Acadia National Park

Saturday

August 15th

Before leaving we visited Acadia National Park. Acadia is a magnificent park combining ocean, rock ledges, sandy beaches, forest, lakes, hiking trails, biking on carriage roads and mountains. Cadillac Mountain in Acadia is the highest point on the Eastern coast.  It was a hazy day so visibility was not very good, but we enjoyed the beautiful scenery. On a clear day you must be able to see forever. So much to do and see at Acadia, would love to spend more time exploring!

This blooms into this....

Bar Harbor from Cadillac Mountain 

Day Ninety - time to celebrate in Bar Harbor, Maine

Thirty three years ago today we were married so we have much to celebrate, our anniversary and completing our journey on the Northern Tier.  Our journey of 89 days consisted of 4,301 miles coast to coast across 11 states in the U.S. and the southern most part of Canada. When starting, we dipped our back wheel in the Pacific Ocean and as we finished we dipped the front wheel in the Atlantic Ocean. Since we are in Maine we decided the best way to celebrate would be a lobster dinner.

Now the time has come to pack up and head home.  We decided rental of a mini van would be the easiest and most economical way home. After folding the seats down, removing the front wheel on the bike and disassembly of the trailer everything including our gear packed nicely in the back.  Another 'road trip', driving home.

Dipping the front wheel in the Atlantic 

Together, we did it!

Mel, this picture is for you! ( Mel, with Tandems East built our wheels.  Before leaving on our trip Ronnie asked Mel for extra spokes in case we broke one. Mel told Ronnie he wanted a picture of him holding up the spare spokes when we finished because the wheels he made for us would hold up and Ronnie would not need the spokes). We should have had him build wheels for our trailer!!

Best wheels ever, they stood up to rough roads and never broke a spoke!

When in Maine, eat lobster!

The sun sets on our journey

This trip was an amazing journey that would not have been possible without the love and support from our family and friends!

Day Eighty Nine - North Conway, New Hampshire to Portland, Maine Our last day on the bike!

Day 89

August 13th

Thursday 

Miles 58

North Conway, New Hampshire to Portland, Maine  

Last night we did not sleep well, possibly in anticipation of this being our last day.

 It was a beautiful day, perfect weather for riding. The temperature was 54 degrees as we left North Conway early hoping to get through the remaining road construction before morning traffic increased. We rode on wet, packed dirt for almost two miles before reaching the Maine state line entering the town of Fryeburg.  After Fryeburg traffic picked up and the road became very rough with no shoulder. When it had a shoulder it was too broken up to ride on so this part of the ride was slow and stressful. We decided to stop in the next town, Bridgeton, to enjoy breakfast on the patio of a local cafe serving fresh baked goods and quiche. After discussing the route, and at the recommendation of locals we decided to take highway 302 to Naples then on to Portland.  We had a lot of hills, traffic was heavy, but on this road we had a good, wide shoulder. Between towns we rode through forested areas and past several lakes.

We knew we were getting close to the coast as we started seeing restaurants serving lobster, even McDonalds had a sign that advertised lobster rolls. We arrived in Portland and enjoyed  having bike lanes as we made our way to a hotel close to the airport. 

Our last day on the bike!  Wow, it is hard to believe what we set out to accomplish has been done and we won't be getting up tomorrow morning to ride to the next destination. It is great to finish riding 4300 miles coast to coast. It feels exciting and sad at the same time.

The road shimmering in the sun, there is a lot mica in the gravel used.

Perfect place to live summer and winter

Beautiful lakes

Yachts being built in Windham, Maine