WEEK 15: ACROSS AMERICA 2019- FINISH LINE!

Marshall Point Light by Paul VanDerWerf. Taken August 30, 2014. The description says it is "a stop on Forrest Gump's cross-country run." How appropriate!

RUN WALK-BIKE ACROSS AMERICA: WEEK 15,  THE END OF OUR VIRTUAL ROAD TRIP
Segment 39 North Conway NH to Portland MAINE

(Updated from 2018)
The LAST segment of travel on the entire route from Astoria OR, then Portland OR, to Portland ME will be completed this week, possibly on Monday by some of you, which is Labor Day in the USA.  The route courses in a southeastern direction from New Hampshire toward the coast of the Atlantic Ocean to the state of Maine.

The easternmost point of land in the contiguous 48 states is near Lubec, Maine. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s summer vacation home on Campobello Island, where it is thought he contracted the poliovirus infection that left his legs paralyzed, is not in the US but in the Canadian province of New Brunswick, east of Lubec off the state’s Atlantic coast.  The only highway access to Campobello is a United States road bridge from Lubec.

Maine has nearly 230 miles of famously rocky coastline! Scenes of Maine that are most familiar to Americans are likely to feature lighthouses, jagged cliffs, bays and inlets, beaches, offshore islands, and fishing villages. However, farther inland there are lakes, rivers, and mountains with “forested slopes sweeping down to the sea”.  Blueberry farming and lobster fishing are traditionally listed as mainstays of the state's economy but tourism, shipbuilding, and other industries are also strong. Maine is home to Acadia, near Bar Harbor, the only National Park in New England, which is about halfway up the coast from Portland, north and eastward.

​The city of Portland lies on a peninsula in Casco Bay on the Gulf of Maine. As a real tourist, you would probably wish to visit it's charming and historic Old Port District, with its views of the Atlantic Ocean along Portland Harbor.  If this endeavor wasn’t virtual, the next scheduled stop on your itinerary might be at one or several of the many restaurants and drinking establishments in the area that make Portland a foodie attraction. A relaxing dinner may be the perfect way to celebrate reaching the end of the ACROSS AMERICA route.  Regardless of actual location, perhaps a Maine-inspired dinner that included lobster in the main course and a blueberry dessert would be a fitting way to finish to this challenge.

YOU HAVE REACHED YOUR DESTINATION!
CONGRATULATIONS to all who completed this cross-country running, walking, or biking “trip” of 3730 virtual miles over the summer. My personal journey was accomplished while pushing a jogging stroller around my neighborhood course, which allowed stowing keys and an ID, water, an extra battery backup for my phone, and rain gear for unexpected showers. I pinned by Earned Runs bib to the sun visor.

Each year of this challenge I have discovered something new about the geography, history, and ways of the people in the lands traveled. There’s still a lot to learn, however, portions of the spaces in America previously unknown to me have become more familiar as a result of repeatedly researching and writing about the route. Often times the revelations have been AWE INSPIRING!  What about you? Were you sometimes surprised at what you read in the weekly blog postings?

Take some time to bask in the glow of accomplishment that comes with attaining a far-reaching goal.  You would have covered anywhere from 37-3730 total miles in 14+ weeks IN THE COURSE OF ASSUMING THIS EARNED RUNS SUMMER CHALLENGE. 
 
RUN & MOVE HAPPY!
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland,_Maine
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campobello_Island
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine