The End of This Road

Hello all!

As many of you have heard, we made it to the coast at Folly Beach, South Carolina on Wednesday.  Below are pictures from the last few days of our trip.

I have a bit of an announcement here at the end of the trip.  It looks as though I may not be coming back to California straight away.  Neale and I are in Chicago right now on a layover between Amtrak trains.  We are about to part ways; I've decided to stay here for a while.  We passed through here almost a month ago to visit my friend Georgia, and for a few weeks after leaving town I was having dreams about moving to Chicago.  I've decided to go with my intuition here; it's rarely plausible to move to a new place simply because of an inexplicable desire, and I feel fortunate that I have few enough commitments right now that I can go for a change like this.

The plan is to stay with Georgia while I look for work.  If I can find something that will support me, I'll start looking for a place to live and may not be back to California for a while.  If I can't find a way to make a living, then I'll be on a train back home a lot sooner.  The hardest thing for me about this is the fact that I won't be able to see all of my family and friends; I really miss you all and I promise I'll be back someday.  I'm really grateful to everyone I've talked to about this decision for all your support (especially Mom and Dad!).

Neale will be on his way home on the California Zephyr in a few hours.  We both really appreciate everyone's interest in the blog so far, and we may use it to keep you all updated on future adventures.  Thank you all so much for your words of encouragement along our journey!

-Dave

Out brewery hopping in Asheville with our cousin Paul.

Downtown Columbia, South Carolina

Left to right:  Neale, Dave, and our cycling buddy Taylor.  We met her much earlier in the trip, parted ways for about 2,500 miles, and found each other again in Virginia.  We rode the last week of the trip together.

Taylor, Dave's handlebars, and Neale heading for our campsite in Congaree National Park

Congaree National Park.  South Carolina's only Nat'l Park and the newest addition to the park system.  It's situated in a river floodplain that turns the forest into a swamp about 10 times a year and is home to some of the only remaining old growth forest in the Eastern U.S.

Cookie time!  We've been using our Grandma's "Cowboy" cookie recipe to make giant, hardy cookies at most anywhere we've had access to a kitchen.

Cotton fields

Last evening of the trip spent biking, near Ridgeville, S.C.

Dawn of the last day.

Dave's bike at the Atlantic

We made it!!!

Pizza Celebration!

Neale at the Charleston waterfront.  Fort Sumter is in the distance.