"Somebody told me don't stare at horizons, unless you are ready to run..."

I know this is a week late, but better late than never.  Our 28 day, 30 state cross country road trip is officially over.  We got back last Monday around 10:30 pm.  From my notes of things I wanted to mention, Washington DC was awesome.  We saw almost all the main memorials and statues and got to see three of the Smithsonian Museums: the American History Museum, the Air & Space Museum, and the Natural History Museum.  We also took pictures by Capitol Hill and the White House (which was a lot smaller than I expected it to be).  I really enjoyed Washington DC.  And with that, we began our "long ride home."  It's fitting that I write this last post tonight because after downloading the license plate game app and seeing plates for all the states plus Washington DC we were only missing Rhode Island by the time we got back... and today, during my bike ride to the gym, here in Astoria was Rhode Island.  39 days after we started, I had finally seen all of them.    

So here are my final thoughts...

I don't have the best memory (my boyfriend can attest to that), but I will never ever forget this trip.  I never want to forget how I felt on that car ride home... knowing that I have a home to come back to, only I now have all these amazing experiences and memories.  Seriously, I know I will be a different (hopefully better) person because of this.  This trip has given me such a unique perspective on this country that I've lived my whole life in, and never really experienced.  It was a completely humbling and eye opening experience.  And to have gotten to do it with someone who I love, only makes it all the more special.  

It's so easy to get sucked into the big moments in life and not always in a good way.  It's easy to say, I would be happy if I just had 'this,'  but life is not about just the big moments.  Life is about the little experiences that we have day to day and the choices that we make.  It's easy to get sucked into all the negative (believe me, I do it a lot)... the real challenge to living is being grateful for everything that you do have and continuously growing and learning and striving to be better today than you were yesterday.  

I am so blessed and so lucky to have had this experience and nothing (not even my horrible memory) will ever take it away from me.  I *am* a different person than I was four weeks ago.  Only time will tell what comes from this whole experience, but I absolutely wouldn't trade it for the world <3  

It's been a long ride home, indeed... <3