Day 84: Being at Beth's in Bridgton, Preparing for the Final Day

Day 84:  Thursday August 28th, 2014.

Bridgton, ME.  0 miles.

A day of rest, writing, laundry, and most importantly, mental preparation for the final ride tomorrow.

I headed to Beth's Kitchen Cafe on Main Street in Bridgton for breakfast, recommended by Greg.

The small coffee-shop cafe atmosphere was fun, and it seemed to be a local's place.

The food options included an incredible array of delectables baked today like muffins, croissants, cookies, cinnamon rolls, quiche, pies, turnovers, etc, as well as freshly-made breakfast treats and sandwiches for lunch.  I ordered the special - Coconut-Crusted French Toast. There's no question that Beth uses real maple syrup at her place.

I sat for a long time in this place, thinking mostly.  Eventually, it was time for lunch and I was hungry again.  I ate my lunch at the corner of a big table and a family joined me.  I spoke with them for a while, and told them about my experience trying to cross over the state line from New Hampshire into Maine.  I said, "I was really struggling with the enormity of what it meant to finally reach the last state, that I had pedaled all the way across, through so many different states, and here I was - there wasn't any more after Maine - it was the last one."  The mother, with a demeanor of seriousness, waited until I was done and replied, "No, it's not the "last" state, you crossed over into the best state".

The rest of the day, and into the evening, I continued to finish up writing, and thought a lot about how I would go about ending this trip.  I came to the conclusion that I don't have to figure it out in advance.  Why change things now.  It's another day of riding, another set of adventures that awaits me.  Just like I have done for the past 83 days, for the past 3,949 miles.  I wake up, get on my bike, and pedal.  Tomorrow, Day 85, would be no different.  At least, until I arrive on the beach in Portland Maine.

If all goes well, I will ride my bicycle onto the beach in Portland Maine and conclude my trip with a dip of my front tire in the Atlantic Ocean at 6:00 PM Eastern Time (3:00 PM  Pacific, 11:00 PM GMT) on Friday August 29th, 2014.  The last and final post, "Day 85" will follow, posting within a day or two.