200 miles. As best as I can tell, that’s how close I came to the Atlantic Ocean. Sitting down to dinner in Roanoke, I thought long and hard about those last 200 miles, looking east as if I could see it. If I wanted an excuse, I could say that the roads were still packed with Memorial Day tourists, which they were, or that I wanted to save the east coast for its own proper trip someday, which I do. But really, after a long bit of soul searching, the truth was that it would have added another day or two to my trip, and I was ready to head home. I wondered if I’d regret the decision, and granted it’s only been a few days since then, but I’m happy with the call I made. It was something of a moment for me as well, I lack the words right now to describe what exactly I mean, but I think I’ll remember that decision for a long while to come. Like finally getting the first bit of slack in a knot you’ve been worrying at for some time.
Anyway! I didn’t just turn back the way I’d come of course, some of you might be familiar with my fondness for circles. After Roanoke, I made my way north through Shenandoah, along Skyline Drive, which runs right through the middle. Another beautiful park, but really, I can’t say there are any I’ve visited this trip that HAVEN’T been.
Took a short hike or two along the way, but mostly just passed through. It was a lovely drive though, and once again, while the roads outside the park were pretty packed, the park itself was fairly sparse, so I was able to take my time winding along the road.
Ended up just outside of Pittsburgh for the evening, and since I’d mostly been traveling north that day, I looked one last time to the east, said my goodbyes, and officially turned toward home. There was, and still is, lots that I wanted to see on the way back, but it felt good to know that each mile from this point on would bring me closer to home. It’s the longest I’ve ever been away by far, and while I’ve handled it better than I feared I might, I didn’t realize quite how much I’d been missing it until then.
“True voyage is return” – Ursula Le Guin
Where’s George? 