We're home.

As those of you who follow us on facebook, twitter, or Instagram already know, we are home.

We've visited all 50 states.  Every single one.  (Full disclosure: Vermont is the only state we didn't visit during the course of the trip - we've been there before, and since it's a short drive away, we will be going soon to add it to the trip tally.)

We lingered over sunsets and sunrises, got giddy at the sight of every rainbow, stared at white, puffy clouds while trying to make out shapes, and searched star-filled night skies for constellations -- but we did none of these as much as we should have. We saw the farm fields of the Midwest, snorkeled in the perfectly blue waters of Hawaii, witnessed how great the Great Lakes actually are, listened to a glacier in Alaska, and drove through a summer storm in the middle of the desert.  We walked the shorelines of California, were slayed by the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, and visited our country's National Parks. We hiked through forests and up mountains, swam in oceans and lakes, and drove past more cows than we could ever try to count. We ate BBQ from Texas, Kansas City, Tennessee, the Carolinas, and Georgia. We enjoyed southern hospitality, listened to live soul music in Memphis, and drank sazeracs on Bourbon Street.  We shared the roads with tractors, road-trippers, and truckers.

We missed some spots we wanted to see, felt rushed at times, were often inspired, but sometimes not. We reconnected with old friends and made new ones.  We took a gazillion (seriously!) pictures, even knowing said photos may never give justice to the sights we saw.

We feel fortunate - blessed. We haven't taken for granted, not even once, this amazing opportunity to see our country.

We can honestly attest that America is beautiful. She's stunning, actually.

-----------

And now we're home....

We've been home for short of two weeks. I've been doing everything I can to not write this post.  I know once I write it - that's it.  The trip is really over. Yesterday we unpacked the final bits of the car - rightfully so, the final bits ended up being our little trip keepsakes, which, right now, are a little bitter/sweet to even look at.

We've adjusted well to staying in one place.  I think it helped that we had a finish date and a plan of what life would be like for us when we returned. Dare I even admit that near the end of the trip we were ready to get home... to see our families... to get back to life. For now, we're staying with Taras's parents in Portsmouth, NH, an hour north of Boston.  Time will tell if we move back to Boston, or stay in these parts - closer to family - for the next phase of our life. For right now, though, we're enjoying the holidays, processing the past six months, going through photos, and planning for our future - a future that has new inspiration and that might not include a traditional desk job (gasp!).

So now that I've gone and told the ending, we'll be going back to where we left off.  We're excited to share our journey with you!

-Amanda