August 30
End: "The Real World"
Miles: 0.0
Total: 5469.4
Our night out in St. John’s lasted on into the early hours of the next morning. Dave and I headed back to the hostel as it started to rain. When we arrived we found the front door locked. There was some code for the door which we were unaware of, and so we stood outside the door for a few minutes before I found the window to Rob and Dave’s room open. After climbing in and opening the front door for Dave, I got my things from their room and started walking to the airport. The rain stopped soon after I started walking, which was fantastic. I had been attempting to protect my cardboard box with little luck.
Walking to the airport after a night at George Street didn’t feel too great, but I made it with plenty of time to spare. Half asleep for an hour, I woke up enough to check in and go through security. I slept for most of the flight to Ottawa, where I had to retrieve my baggage and go through the U.S. Customs rigmarole. Though the whole experience was a long, drawn out affair, I had plenty of patience after walking the Eastern Continental Trail. Before I knew it, I was getting off a plane at Washington Dulles, where my father picked me up.
Off the trail for good and back in “the real world”, my beard was destined to go. It had passed its prime long ago and had proceeded to hinder me from receiving aid from those who suspected me to be a lazy vagrant looking for cash. It survived for almost a week before I shaved it all off. It felt wonderful, yet sad and weird to shave for the first time in over eight months.