A Huge Thanks To All

    We would like to thank all of you for all your support, well wishes, love sent our way, and most of all, your prayers.  Without your prayers, things would've undoubtedly gone worse than it did.  We are so beyond grateful that we had so many people praying for us!  Every prayer counted and meant so much to us!  Thank you all!  We appreciate it!

    To all the warm shower hosts, and Trans Am volunteers.  We can't imagine how different our journey would've been without your generosity and attentiveness to what we needed.  We enjoyed getting to know all of you and hearing your stories of wild adventures and problems that rivaled our own.  Your hospitality and generosity helped us get a different perspective of how deep hospitality goes, and seeing that has changed us and our way of thinking about hosting others in the future.  

    To all of the people we've never met but we know have followed along with the blogs and videos, thank you so much!   Thank you for the messages that have been passed along through mutual connections; it's helped us through tough sections of the ride. 

    To my Swift Fam, thank you so much for following along, even though, I don't know all of you by name.  Thanks especially to Seth who I know for sure was following along, and every once and a while, would encourage or comment on the YouTube channel.

To YAM who constantly encouraged my family to stay strong and keep pushing through.  You guys may be young, but you are strong.

To the F3 group.  Thank you so much for following along.  Your kudos on Strava and comments on the blogs and YouTube channel have helped us along the journey.  

    To our friends, thank you for all the continuous messages you all have sent during the journey, for checking up on us, and for your continuous encouragement.  Thank you for laughing and crying at our funny and sad moments, even if you were a couple thousand miles away.

    To the crew that took over the business for the summer.  Thank you over and over again for allowing us to take the summer off and go on this journey.  You all are so capable and handled the business super well.  You all were on top of things, and if a controversy came up, all of you made sure to talk to the customer and the boss.

    To our relatives,  thank you for all the support, the comments about our ice cream diet, and our choice of dinner.  You all made us laugh at your thought of our meals, and how we ate peanut something with everything we ate.  And your comments on our mistakes, like leaving wallets and clothes behind.

To Matt and Mark, our fellow bikers.  You guys set the example for us, about ten to twenty years older than my dad, and you still cranked up those hills with a good attitude, and did many hundred milers while going up and down the hills.  You generously helped us out, and we are so grateful for your help when Henry had his crash.  You taught us so much and things that make us smile at the memories.  One thing you guys taught us, is how to do such.  

    To Henry's and my grandparents.  Thank you so much for the visits along the way, and the wonderful time to share stories, laughs, and just time to hang out together.   Thank you for the help at home, the involvement with the kids' camps, and for making it a lighter load.  Thank you for the hotel we got to stay in, which was a huge luxury for us!  Thank you for all your diligent prayers, hugs, and kisses sent our way.  

    To our family who were at home holding down the fort.  Words can't express how thankful we are for your support every day, the phone calls, and the empathy you had for us.  You heard it all, our struggling moments, happy moments, and the in-between moments.  You listened to it all with patience and understanding.  And of course, there were the times when we got teased mercilessly by you but we loved and missed it!  Thank you for the girl time phone calls, and listening about how sometimes I feel the weight of being the only girl for days on end.  Thank you to my younger brothers who always had something funny to say, and told excitedly us a deal they had made with Mom that if they went to a church they could dress up however fancy they wanted.  And to Adria who had to step up and be the oldest kid around the house, while we were gone.

    Most importantly to the Lord God Almighty.  Without You, and Your Hand guiding us along the way, we would've never survived.  You kept us from dog bites and Henry largely unhurt from falling off a cliff.  You kept us safe when we went to retrieve my stolen bike in a ghetto that was full of illegal drugs, cigarettes, and crime.  You kept us unharmed from the belligerent policeman in Springfield.  And the next night, You kept the mischievous two teenage boys at bay when they were standing over me, shining a flashlight in my eyes, while I was asleep.  Thank you for orchestrating us to be right where we needed to be to meet wonderful people we ran into, who turned out to be the nicest and wanted to support us in any way they could.  

Love to all!