We spent our last week in America mostly in and around the water, as it was getting unbearably hot! Luckily Grandma and Grandpa’s house is right by a lovely creek and the perfect spot to cool down. 
One day we spent down by the Applegate River with some friends of Don’s. The only way to access their own private beach (set up with BBQ, kayaks, tubes etc), is to zip line across the river! I got quite a surprise when we got there and the other kids were already zipping from one high platform to the next – well, how was I supposed to stop Finley from hopping on himself… All I could do was to tell him to hold tight and to not let go no matter what happened!
Our last Saturday we enjoyed a fun day rafting down the Rogue River with Tom and Lindsay. 
And before we knew it, it was time to pack up our bags one last time… It was quite the emotional experience going through ten months of memories from so many, very different places… Also our luggage had grown considerably since we first left for Asia and we had to buy another bag or two to fit all our new belongings in!
Our “last night in America” (yes, I did “compose” a song with these words ten years ago), we were spoiled by staying at Jan and Phil’s and enjoyed a last visit with our dear friend John. 
And suddenly it was time to say our good-byes to Grandma and Grandpa at the airport and we were on our way… Thank you so much for all the special memories and times!
The flight(s) back to Austria are almost a blur to me already… Mixed emotions filled with anticipation, anxiety, happiness, fulfillment and fear… Feelings going up and down like a roller coaster. It helped and helps a lot that Finley was looking forward to coming home so much and couldn’t wait!
And then… We were home… And it felt… So normal! Almost as if no time had passed and we hadn’t even left! 
After four days at home, we have still not completely adjusted to the time change and haven’t even unpacked everything yet! I look at our photos, souvenirs and journals and some things seem like a dream already… People keep asking what our favorite country or place was, and we can’t really give an answer to that question… Yes, of course we have seen amazing places, temples, beaches and mountains… And I am so thankful we got to see so many beautiful spots in the world… But for us it was never entirely about that… We had both already seen a lot of the world and it wasn’t really about “seeing the sights”… We set off with the longing to have time, time for ourselves, time away from reality and the everyday worries… Time to explore who we really are and what we really need… When I think back of our time, I see the three of us in our own little bubble, our own little world that only belonged to us. I see us sweating on sticky, smelly old buses on bumpy, slow roads. I see us wandering the streets in the middle of the nights with our backpacks on our backs… I think of us not needing anything except the few things we could carry. I remember exotic smells, different tastes, and vivid, bright colors. I see us sleeping in tiny little shacks, learning about the smiling and friendly people of Asia, people who often live in so much more basic conditions without electricity or running water… I see us laughing huddled together in a tuk-tuk or holding onto each other in the cold nights of the Himalayas. I think of meeting and laughing with beautiful people along the way, locals and other travelers who made our experience so much richer… I think about being outside of our comfort zone, feeling adventurous and courageous… I remember not having any schedule or pressures and living from day to day, moment to moment, not knowing what tomorrow would bring or where we would go… All the little things that made up our day to days… Like sitting in little restaurants ordering yet another rice dish, playing a game of cards while we were waiting. Our trip taught us so much about life itself, the world, important values, and us… We never talk about our trip as a vacation or holiday… It was a way of life.
So as we embark on our next adventure here in Austria – finding a new place that we will be happy to call our home, as well as all three of us heading to the same school to teach and/or to learn in September (Chris 5th grade, Finley 1st grade and Sam “Early Learning Center”) – one of my biggest goals is to keep within me the strength and hopes and dreams and love for life that I have lived in the last year… Thanks for being part of our journey, for following us some of you so faithfully! – and wish us luck!
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A few digits have been updated on the original list we created, when we left Asia in April:
Sept. 11, 2013 – July 15, 2014 (308 days)
Count of rooms we slept in (including overnight buses, trains, beds, mattresses, floors, tents etc.): 91 (Asia) + 31 (USA and in between) = 122
Number of countries we visited: 10
Number of US States we visited: 11
Total clicks on our blog: 10,094
Amount of nights we spent apart from Finley: 2
Amount of nights Chris and Sam spent apart: 0
Journals filled: Finley 4, Chris 4
Books Sam read: 35
Time spent on Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo: 0
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Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the things you did. So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch a triad wind in your sail. Explore. Dream. Discover.
Mark Twain
three lykes on the road again 