My Least Favourite State So Far

For starters, I apologize for the lack of updates over the past week. There’s really no excuse. Well, there is an excuse but it’s not a particularly good one. Most excuses are like that. Anyway, a week has passed since I disembarked the Carnival Glory in Miami and I now find myself in an entirely uncharted state. Denial. And it’s a pretty serious state. While here, I’ve seen things I’ve not seen in a long time. A long time. Namely, Ontario license plates and my breath. Neither of which was I particularly eager to see.

As you may have heard (or figured out), after being on the road for 165 days and pedalling approximately 9,170 km (5,698 miles) I now find myself back in Toronto. Actually, I found myself back in Toronto Monday night. To say that I’m going through a bit of an adjustment period would be a gross understatement. I was going to announce my return earlier but I just couldn’t bring myself to do so as it would mean officially announcing the end of this segment of my midlife crisis. And I really didn’t want it to end. I still don’t.

Since my return, I’ve reunited with some friends and family – all of whom have welcomed me home, often over a beer or two. The funny thing is, I think I felt more at “home” on the road. Actually, I know I did. The other funny thing is, now that I’m back in Toronto, I kind of feel like I’m having a REAL midlife crisis. I think I need to take another trip!

My official plan is somewhat up in the air – and not in a hang gliding kind of way. As I mentioned, I arrived in Toronto on Monday night. On Tuesday morning I was back at the office working on a video, almost like I never left. I definitely need another trip. However, I also need to generate some income to pay for the journey that just ended so, for now, I’m in a temporary holding pattern.

I still have to post my update covering my final three days in the Miami area but I wanted to provide a status update for those of you that have been following my journey on a regular (or even not-so-regular) basis. Side note, thanks for reading and leaving comments along the way. The short version of my final weekend in Miami update would be “Panthers game, Dolphins game, sunny skies, warm weather, and hanging out with great friends”. Hmmmm … when I put it that way, it sounds like a pretty good way to end a long journey.

For now, the big question is, “To shave, or not to shave?”.