I'm writing this on Thursday, 13 December 2018 and after Christmas.

Monday, 10 December to Wednesday 18 December

We rented a U-Haul truck and car trailer primarily to take the piano but because of the piano we felt we could take other stuff and, rather than drive two vehicles, put the car on a trailer. By Wednesday we arrive in Lafayette and spent the weekend with Claire and family. We had left a desk, two glass enclosed display cases, a bookcase and bunch of boxes. We loaded this into the truck and took off Monday for Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania we retrieved the stuff stored in Hershey and put everything in a storage unit in York except for clothes and few personal items.

We're staying with Sara, Greg and Amy Jane until we find a house of our own.

The end.

Sunday, 2 December 2018 to Saturday, 8 December

The last day of our mission. We had talked to President Grayson about travel after our mission and he said, "Talk to your stake president." So we did and he said, "Call on December 2." So we did and he said, "Being released from a mission is just like being released from any call. You're released." and so we were.

The days before 2 December 2018 were more hectic, if that's possible, than the last couple of months. Getting ready for the new housing coordinators and then getting them started took all of our energy. That's not complaining about the Jacobson, John and Marsha, but there was so much to get done in so little time. In addition to bringing them up to speed, we moved missionaries in Waynesboro from and old trailer into a new apartment. The new apartment required new furniture so we had to purchase some items and then move everything from Macon to Hepzibah. Then when we thought we were going to have a day with Elder and Sister Jacobson, a sister returned from a trip home for a tonsillectomy and the Jacocbsons had to take a bed and desk for her to Albany. Oh, and we had to move the Jacobsons into their new apartment.

We also had to prepare our apartment to close. Most of the furniture when to the Jacobsons and the new apartment in Hepzibah. We sort of camped out for the last two weeks we were in Georgia.

A Piece of Route 1—3 December to 8 December

Dorothy has a goal of traveling all of US Route 1 from Key West to New Brunswick and we driven on many pieces over the 50+ years that we've lived on the East Coast but not the piece from Miami to Key West. The week after our mission we drove it.

We left Macon Monday evening, stayed in Valdosta then drove to Fort Myers Tuesday. Tuesday evening we went to Sanibel Island, known for it's great sea shell collecting:

West to East across Florida through the Everglades

Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea)	Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga)
White Peacock (Anartia jatrophae)
American alligator
Great Egret (Ardea alba)	White Ibis (Eudocimus albus)

At Key West we saw the beginning of US Route 1, wild chickens, the southern most point of the continental US, and a lovely sunset:

We had stone conch fritters, crab claws, local shrimp, and snow crab legs for supper under the watchful eyes of an egret standing on the deck of a boat next to the restaurant.

We had a hotel reservation in Marathon. Along the stretch of Route 1 from Key West the speed limit at night is 35 MPH to limit the likelihood of hitting a Key Deer. They're the size of a large dog. We saw two bucks feed in the median as we drove north.

The next day we went to the Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park established around the quarries that were the source of stone for the railroad built by Henry Flagler along the keys in the early part of the 20th century. The deposit is Pleistocene and fossils, primarily coral, are exposed in the quarry walls. Close inspection revealed clams, snails, and a barnacle. They park works to preserve and propagate endangered plants like the Key tree-cactus. Each cactus in the park has a tag with a number.

We stopped and had lunch with Sister Goff, the mission nurse for the first year we were in Georgia, and then stopped at the Okefenokee Swamp Visitors' Center late in the afternoon. We stayed for the train ride through the swamp and the Christmas lights set up along the way. The best part was the lights around the alligator pond. After dark, they park used projected light that looked like the stars had descended into the trees and Spanish moss.

The next day we stopped to see Colleen McKee, Tim's mother-in-law, and had lunch with her in Lancaster, SC. We went on to Charlotte, NC and stopped to see Greg and Goldie Payton and their three kids. Greg is a nephew. He's been very successful in Charlotte working for various banks and other financial institutions.