Back Home Again!

And today we drove 155 miles and arrived at our favorite place of all, the place we call home!

 And here is why we sped home:

Music is a huge part of our lives.  We have enjoyed thinking of different tunes to the various scenes that we have seen before us.  One tune, however, rises above all others.  With each new bend of the road, with each new individual met and heart touched, with each new scene played out before us, through the forests, the rivers, the lakes, the streams, the oceans, the mountains and most of all the people, the hymn, “How Great Thou Art” rings in our ears.

 

O, Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder,

Consider all the world thy hands have made. 

I see the stars.  I hear the rolling thunder. 

Thy power throughout the universe displayed. 

Every pebble, every speck of dust, every mountain grandeur and glaciers upon which we walked are gifts of our Almighty God.  Every conversation with every human being with whom we have conversed while on this trip, were gifts from our Almighty God.  Every individual from every different country who looked in upon our adventure were gifts from our Almighty God.

We have planned for quite a while to do this trip. We met others along the trip that were doing far more miles than us. But I assure you, no one has done a trip exactly the way in which we did it.

I remember well an event that changed my life forever.  I was in 8^th grade in an English class taught by Miss Nowak, and I believe that her first name was Emma.  I was a typical 8^th grade male, misbehaving, sitting at the back of the class.  One day she pulled me out into the hallway and wanted to let me know that every class has a leader and as goes the leader so goes the class.  She told me that I was her leader and as I misbehave, so does the class.  When I got back into the classroom, all my other misbehaved buddies asked me what she wanted.  And I made fun of the teacher and told them, “She told me that I was her leeeeeder” and we all enjoyed a good laugh.  A couple of weeks later, I missed a day due to illness.  I returned the following day to learn that the class had been given an assignment and they were a day ahead of me.  The assignment was to select a poem, memorize the poem to share with the class and write a brief paper about the poem.  Being that everyone else had a day’s head start on me, I grabbed a book of poetry and found the shortest one that I could find indicative of my laziness and lackadaisical spirit.  The poem had 4 stanzas.  I memorized it line and verse and never knew until later how that poem and Miss Nowak changed my life forever.  I have tried looking up and contacting my former school to find where Miss Nowak might be.  I believe that she left teaching after her first year feeling that she was a failure.  She has no idea to this day how she changed my life for the good.  And that poem, I still remember it to this day.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood

And sorrow I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth

Then took the other as just as fair

And having perhaps the better claim

Because it was grassy and wanted wear

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black

Oh I kept the first for another day

Yet knowing how way leads on to way

I doubted if I should ever come back

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere, ages and ages hence

Two roads diverged in a wood

And I, I took the one less traveled by

And that has made all the difference

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost.  Thank you, Miss Emma Nowak, for changing my life.  And thank you, Robert Frost, for a very short poem to memorize.  I stand proud of the accomplishments in my life.  We stand proud of our accomplishments on this trip. 

Miss Emma Nowak,

I heard that you may be moved to Hawaii.  I just want you to know what a difference you made in my life.  I indeed was blessed to become a leader.  And I know that people are still following.  Two roads diverged in a wood.  And I, I took the one less traveled by.  And that has made all the difference.

Everyone can take a different path and find a road upon which you have not yet trod. Everyone can affect the outcome of a day; a kind word, a gentle touch. You, too, can be an agent of change; reach out and touch somebody’s hand, say hello to a stranger, compliment an adversary, share the good news with someone who is aching to hear it. We are blessed to get to do what we have done. You, too, are blessed and can impact a stranger wherever you go.

This trip of a lifetime took 69 calendar days but its impact upon our lives will last the rest of our lives. Countless people have impacted our lives on this trip that we will never forget. Our trip consisted of our home State and 14 additional States, 3 Provinces and Yukon Territory. We will play out the beautiful and unique scenery from each location in our minds and cling to those special memories forever.

Our Road not taken consisted of:

Bike mileage:                          12,592

Truck/towing mileage:                 732              

Air mileage:                               2,124

Rental car:                                    129

Total Miles Traveled:              15,577

If you'd like to contact us for any reason, please do so by sending an email to route66toalaska@gmail.com.

Thank you for following.  It has been an honor to share our experiences with you all over the world. 

Till Next Time!