All good things must come to an end

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On Journeys through the States

On journeys through the States we start,
(Ay, through the world—urged by these songs,
Sailing henceforth to every land—to every sea😉
We, willing learners of all, teachers of all, and lovers of all.

We have watch’d the seasons dispensing themselves, and passing on,
We have said, Why should not a man or woman do as much as the seasons, and effuse as much?


We dwell a while in every city and town;
We pass through Kanada, the north-east, the vast valley of the Mississippi, and the
Southern
States;
We confer on equal terms with each of The States,
We make trial of ourselves, and invite men and women to hear;
We say to ourselves, Remember, fear not, be candid, promulge the body and the Soul;
Dwell a while and pass on—Be copious, temperate, chaste, magnetic,
And what you effuse may then return as the seasons return,
And may be just as much as the seasons.

-Walt Whitman


I don't think I could have put it any better using my own words so I borrowed a poem of Walt Whitman's to summarize my endeavor. This trip is something I have always wanted to do and now I can I say I have. Its important to have dreams and goals and things you aspire to achieve for if you don't have that then what do you really have?
I've seen a vast majority of this country. I have seen some of the wealthiest areas and some of the poorest. I've seen sunrise over mountain tops and sunsets over plains. I've seen people who are innately good and want to share their experience with others and those who wouldn't give you the time of day. Most of all I have learned that life is what you make it and its up to you to live the life you want to have.
Thanks so much to all of you for following along with my travels. I appreciate all your kind words and comments and messages that were left. This trip may seem silly to some people or not worthwhile but to me it meant I got to share some quality time with my parents and see some of the most amazing things this country has to offer and thats all I could ask for.
Now that I am back in Massachusetts I am officially done with the blog. Its been a great way to keep everyone updated and to share all of my experiences. I truly wish that everyone of you has the ability one day to take a trip like this. Maybe it won't be the U.S. and maybe it won't be the same spots we went to but it will be special because it will be your own experience.
Till the next trip.....
~Mary the travel bug

Mary's record keeping totals:

Total miles from Mass and back: 6808 (holy toledo!)

Number of postcards sent: 78 (give or take one or 2)

Number of states traveled through: 20 (not counting Mass...Connecticut, New York, New jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and back the Eastern route)

Number of prisons seen from the highway: 4

Number of snakes seen from the car or encountered (not in captivity): 1 (and I doubt that very much...Carol "Diane Fossi" Anderson claims she really saw it though so who knows)

Favorite state visited: Arizona with Utah being a close second

Least favorite state: Nevada (sorry!)

Favorite site: Bryce Canyon in Utah

Thanks for following along everyone and I will see you all very soon!

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