Goin' Back to Wolfville

As we faced our final days of driving, we were sad that this portion of the Big Year was coming to an end. Even though we had our longest car day (11 hours!), we savored the audiobooks and movie time. Johannes even got in the back seat to watch his birthday gift movie, (Rogue One - the "best" star wars movie in the canon). We played trivia rounds and had conversations about the state of the world. We ate Timbits, drank lots of coffee, and compared the merits of our favorite road snacks.  

After a lovely night in St John, NB, Johannes drove ever more slowly on the final miles. It was a bittersweet return as we were going back to Wolfville for the first time without our beloved Linda there to welcome us. We were sad to end our wonderful (and challenging) road trip, but good to come full circle: back to the Bay of Fundy. We played this song over and over. Goin' Back to Wolfville: the Wolfville Song.

However, it was wonderful to meet the newest member of the family, little Ellis, and reconnect with our cousins over chocolate bunnies and egg hunts. 

To their delight, the kids got to spend a day with their classes at the Booker School, visiting with friends and enjoying the comfort of being back in a classroom with teachers who are not their parents. Ahem!

It was a busy week. Not only were we unpacking and getting ready for Europe, but we were also getting ready for (drumroll, please...) our move to Nova Scotia in August! As we have traveled and reflected this year, we have recognized the importance of being near family, deep community roots, and the ocean. While we have loved our friends and time in Vermont, we want to be north of the border for the next 10 years or so. After that, who knows?

As a result we spent the week in job interviews, looking at houses, meeting with mortgage brokers, and imagining our future. Not the most relaxing week, but we left with our backpacks and our hearts full. Our passports were ready for some new stamps as we embarked on our 6- week journey across Europe. 

Thank you all for reading these posts. They have been a way to reflect on our journey and stay in touch with family and friends. Experiencing something, writing about it, and then posting a week or more later is difficult, but knowing a few of you are reading our exploits and sharing in our adventures has made the extra effort well worth it.