As we prepared to depart for this trip, we winnowed down many of our earthly possessions to that which could fit into the back of our station wagon and a small trailer. These are now being stored at my parents’ house in Newcastle, awaiting our return.

We’ve joked with people along our journey that when we return, we’ll simply hitch up the trailer and move to whatever state we liked best. Although it won’t likely be as simple as that, we are evaluating the places we travel through as potential candidates for our future home. The results:

So far, Wisconsin is leading the pack. Surprising, eh? But the friendly people, the bike-friendly culture, the quality of life, and the warm curds won us over.

Until recently, the Badger state’s dominance went unchecked. Rhode Island was very nice, as were Connecticut and Massachusetts, but they just didn’t have what it took to knock off Wisconsin. Then we hit Maine.

Our time in this state is not yet complete, so we cannot yet render a verdict, but so far Maine is fighting hard for a place in our hearts. In another week, we’ll be in New Hampshire and can pass on the judgment. Keep tuned. (We’ll also try and post more photos soon–the library here in Bar Harbor doesn’t play well with our camera.)

Little time to write, but we did want to let everyone know that we’re still alive and pedaling! We’ve been thoroughly enjoying New England for the past several weeks, and in spite of the stereotype of the Northeasterners as a bunch with a chilly disposition, we have found the people of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts to be incredibly friendly.

Today we’ll cross into Maine, where we’ll follow the coast up as far as Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. Next, we’ll head inland and cross through New Hampshire, Vermont, and upstate New York in October. This should provide us a great chance to experience fall in New England; according to reports we’ve read, this will be a banner year for foliage.

The temperatures lately have been much cooler: overnights dipping to near freezing, and daytime highs in the mid-sixties. Our parents have shipped our box of warm weather clothes to Bath, Maine, and we’re eagerly looking forward to getting our warm hats, gloves, and vests.

Just so you know: we have been keeping careful notes (handwritten) in our journal, and plan to fill out our online journal writing when we are in Hawaii this winter (November-March). So be patient with us, and keep an eye on our pictures at Flickr. You can also keep tabs on our progress day-by-day on our map.

Thanks for all of your encouragement! Knowing we have friends and family caring about us floats us through the inevitable hard days.