Monday, September 14, 2009

Aunt Susan and Uncle Joe...

Couldn't have done it without you guys!

The girls were happy to see us too! Where's mom?

Our very generous neighbor pledged $.10/mile which I was unaware of...what a way to end the trip and so very appreciated! Thanks Pam!

James made many folks proud...

Especially Grandpa Jim

Thes kids that followed along all summer are so precious!

Loved seeing all of them!

So happy to see family and friends!

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Day 99- Sept 5

After the homecoming, we came home to our house for the first time in
over 100 days. It was quite overwelming. Our house never looked so
good though with everything in it's place, dusted and vacuumed,
carpets shampooed, flowers everywhere all thanks to the Pomers and
Aunt Susan! They also took such wonderful care of our dog Pilot,
taking turns over the summer. When we walked into the house, folks
were glued to the tv watching our blog put into slideshow format and
choreographed to music courtesy of Uncle Joe! It was amazing! The
music is awesome and it was fun to see the pictures that we haven't
seen in awhile and even more fun for Mike and the kids as they hadn't
seen much of the blog! Thanks Uncle Joe! What a gift!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

More friends before the finish line

Ed and Molly Dillon with Auntie Barb


Monday, September 7, 2009

Last Day :-(

Grandpa Jim O'Donnell had some things to say that left us all touched
but very teary. Our family was so proud of us and thankful to have us
home. It is the 4 of us that are so proud and thankful to have the
families we have. We thank all our parents for giving us the
experiences that we had growing up that helped to shape our worlds and
our appreciation for nature, exercise, camping, and good old family
adventures! We think we have passed that on and hope that we can
continue to have many more adventures with these wonderful kids that
we are so proud of! There are so many people to thank and I intend to
do so over the next couple weeks. We will continue to report info to
this blog as long as we can and continue to accept donations for some
time as folks continue to hear about the journey. We want to thank
everyone who has been so helpful on this project. You have made a
difference and we appreciate it so much!

Day 99

Media and Rebecca doing a beautiful job talking about the trip,
dealing with her diabetes, and how she successfully combined the two.

Family and friends and...

MY DOG! Oh Pilot! As my friend Moe explained to the crowd, "she kind
of missed us, but she REALLY missed Pilot!" We all did! He was in such
good hands I was actually just worried he wouldn't care about us any
more!

Family and friends...

...who held down the fort we left behind so we could enjoy a whole new
world of adventures!

Friends and family...

...always sending positive vibes and believing we could do it!

Friends and family...

Got us through the tough times!

Friends and family

We can never thank you enough for all your love and support!

Day 99- last day and...

The official dipping of the front tires in our most favorite spot on
the island!

Then Mike!

Then James...

Then me!

Rebecca crossing the finish line!

Day 99-Last Day-Ready or not, here we come!

Day 99- Sept 5

Yahoo!

Day 99- Sept 5

So great to see all of the people at the end...we were so welcomed home!

Day 99- Sept 5

VICTORY!!! It was for James in so many ways!

Day 99- Sept. 5

I think it went something like this..."Mom, no more pictures...let's
just get there!" I really didn't want it to end!

Day 99 -sept. 5

First glimpse of the cove!

Day 99- Sept 5

Probably should have left earlier from this stop. We forgot how long
and hilly the rest of the way was!

Day 99- Sept 5

Co workers and friends at Town Hill. Realized after that my friend
Jane and Tricia thought we were headed to Somesville, not Indian Point
road! Sorry to miss you but loved seeing you pass us on the road! I
was in a bit of a fog seeing so many folks! Forgot that we even had to
back track from market to IP Road! The Burdzel family helped so much
at the beginning of our journey and here they were at the end. We also
saw Ed and Molly Dillon and Ed's sister Barb at the market and the
end! Fun!

Day 99- Sept 5

Meeting friends at Town Hill Market! Gillian and Mary!

Day 99 - Sept 5

Folks we know saw us coming onto the island and our return started to
register and get really exciting!

Day 99- Sept 5

The tide was high and the head of the island never looked or smelled
so good!

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Day 99- Sept 5

Coming onto the island!

Day 99- Sept 5

Seeing the island for the first time after 101 days! Last day and it's
bittersweet!

Day 99- Sept 5

Thanks to Rick also for his generous donation! Great meeting you and
please take care of yourself!

Day 99- Sept 5

A little procrastination today but Mike got us back on track!

Day 99- Sept 5

Chip Smart brought me a cup of coffee this morning! Thanks again for
your hospitality and generosity!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Day 99 Sept 5

Last day and one last snuggle in the tent before we go!

Day 98- Sept 4

Moe and Charlie Boyden taking their vagabond friends out for a
celebration dinner at Pat's Pizza in Ellsworth. They picked us up at
Timberland RV Park where we set up our tents for the last night of our
journey. We met 2 nice guys Chip and Rick, who made sure we were set
on our campsite and were very hospitable. They both made very generous
donations to the cause too. We got showered and Moe and Charlie
brought snacks for us and beverages! Great way to spend our last night!

Day 98- Sept 4

Charlie and Moe who were at the beginning of our journey bringing us
to the airport from their house in New Hampshire now here at the end
screaming and honking from their car!

Day 98- Sept 4

James and his adorable little cousins, Maria and George! They all
missed each other'

Day 98- Sept 4

Peppers became a family establishment for a little stint on Friday
afternoon! Great people!

Day 98- Sept 4

Grandpa, Grandma, George and Maria and little Moxie! Kids were so cute!

Day 98- Sept 4

Grandpa found us! We pulled into Ellsworth and found Peppers Pub on
the corner and lined up our bikes there and waited for friends and
relatives traveling from the south to catch up to us! Peppers was
great to let us have our reunion in and around their place!

Day 98- Sept 4

Forgot this one. Going over the bridge.

Day 98- Sept 4

Lunch

Day 98 - Sept 5

Going over the bridge. I think Rebecca is saying "mom, stop taking
pictures!" as you can see, no one was coming!

Day 98- Sept 4

Rebecca headed for the bridge.

Day 98- Sept 4

Beautiful warm sunny day. We were all pretty quiet today thinking
about the trip, anxious about the return, and excited about seeing
some folks tonight including our dog! Here we were about to cross the
Bucksport bridge!

Day 99- Sept 4

Seeing friends along the road home! Joyce Martin, former co-worker
stopped to say hi.

Day 98- Sept 4

Stopped to visit LAST bike shop on our journey. This visit was the
cheapest on the trip...we just stopped to say hi.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Day 97- Sept 3

Now I get to enjoy the view!

Where in the U.S. are the O'Donnells?


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