ASTORIA, OR!!! END OF THE ROAD!!

"To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping." - Chinese Proverb

Today I officially completed the TransAm trail. It took me 2 months and 10 days to travel from Jersey City to Yorktown, VA and then westward to Astoria, OR. Approximately 4,600 miles. Since I'd put in such a long day yesterday I only had about 20 miles to travel today to reach the end of the route. So I was able to spend some time hanging out on the beach and meandering along the spectacularly scenic Oregon coast. Normally I wake up and hastily pack everything, scarf down a bit of food, and start cycling onward. Rubbing the previous nights' sleep from my groggy eyes. Today I slept in, grabbed a coffee and an apple fritter and enjoyed a civilized morning. It was bizarre and bittersweet to reach the end of the line. Bittersweet because it was over and bizarre because when I reached the end there were no fireworks, no one to greet me, and no great sense of accomplishment filling my chest with pride. It felt more like something was being taken from me. Something similar to the feeling you get when  you buy something in a store but walk out leaving the thing you just bought sitting on the counter and then realize you left it in the store when you've already walked a couple blocks. It was like that.
Well enough talking----
 I'll let the pictures do the talking. I haven't posted in a bit so some of these are recent and some are not so recent.