What to do with myself after admitting I was through with my thru was a wide open question. But since we had the car in Maine we decided, for starters to explore a bit as we slowly returned homeward. We visited parks and lighthouses and Steven King's home. From there we wandered home. We visited an art museum, rode a carousel and explored some gardens. Visited one place that had become a Wildlife Refuge with a place called Salt Meadow House two women lived in, and Eleanor Roosevelt visited. There is still an old stone picnic table there where she is photographed sitting. Of course the refuge is named after a man. We briefly stopped over in Baltimore to see the city park there, and then went home.
By then we still hadn't figured out what we were doing with the rest of our lives. Not only was our house rented until the end of summer 2023, but we were also both FIRE retired now. We could go back to work, but we didn't have to. Not having anywhere to be and no plans, we bought tickets to Portutal for 2 months. We would go live and travel there, and try to stay on our "retirement" budget, with a small boost to monthly housing thanks to what we cleared from renting our house. But before leaving we made a list of the things we wanted to while at home.
This involved driving by the house a million times to check on it, and wandering bookstores and world market. We saw a few friends, family. Got our hiking stuff packed away and realized we both felt like we needed next to nothing to travel now. after 6 months of depending on a single change of clothes and little else, We can fit all the necessities in a single schoolbag. and a smaller day hiking pack we threw kindles for reading and other nonessentials.
We found out last minute it was the last days of a nearby county fair, so we went. We even rode rides which I haven't done in a long time. It was a real boon because we thought we'd miss our local county fair being on trail. Then when we went to Maine we thought we'd finish Katadhin in time to do to a fair up there. Then when we quit early and came home, we found ourself missing that one, and much to early for my old hometown fair. So stumbling upon one we could go to felt like such luck!
After all was said and done, I felt ready for our flight. Although I was definitely feeling the common post trail depression, I planned to get in lots of walking and exercise, in Europe, and we were going to get rooms with kitchens so we could get back to cooking for ourselves. I hadn't really lost weight on trail. Only about 5lbs in the end though plenty of muscle gained. So I had quickly gained that back plus a little. Not feeling the best. The exntended heat in the US and the costliness of hotels really drove us to Europe. There were better short term housing options for less money, much more walkable. So at the begining of August, off we went. First to Lisbon.
It's been nearly two months now and it's near time to head home. It's been wonderful here and we've seen so much and rested a lot. I will share more about that soon. Probably once I am back stateside.
Still, we only have a tenative plan to get us to New Years and then I still don't know what we are doing. I am open to suggestions from practical life goals to more irresponsible travel and decision making avoidance. Please send.
