View from brunch at the Castle Hill Inn in Newport.

We leave Maine on Monday and then very quickly pack up and get moved back to Maryland. By the end of next week we will back in our house in Baltimore, almost as if none of this had ever happened. I’ll be without internet next week, so I wanted to take a moment now to say goodbye to our  home of 14 months.

I’d never ever been to Rhode Island before I pulled up with our Budget truck last June. I’d spent exactly one night in the state, a few months prior as we looked for a place to live for the year. We lived in a small house we found on craigslist, sight unseen. I wouldn’t recommend doing this if you can help it. In general the house worked out OK, and was in a great location. But it was SMALL, and lacked certain amenities we are used to (dishwasher, central AC) that made day-to-day living a bit more difficult. We opted to live in Saunderstown, which is a neighboring town to Naragannsett, a popular beach destination. This gave Sara a decent commute up to Providence every day, but allowed us to live in a beach town for a year. Something we’ve always thought of doing, dating back to off-season trips we’d take to my parents’ house in Bethany Beach.

While we didn’t know how long we’d be in Rhode Island when we got here, I don’t think either of us really thought we’d be staying more than the 14 months we signed up for. That made the year a little strange. The last 20 months or so have been a little strange. When you know you are moving away, you can’t ever really get settled. That is how our last six months in Maryland were, and that’s sort of how our entire time in Rhode Island was. You’re waiting for the next thing, while trying to enjoy what you’re doing now.

That said, I really did enjoy our time in Rhode Island. I can say that as a whole, Rhode Islanders were about the nicest people I’ve ever lived around. The whole state is like a little town. Everyone knows everyone. Living near the beach was a nice, needed break from the hustle and bustle of the DC/Baltimore grind. A grind I’m hoping not to immediately rejoin when we get back. But of course the best part of our time here was the addition of Cameron.

We will always be reminded of the nice people of this state when we have to dig out his birth certificate to prove that this moose disguised as a child is really the age we claim he is. But we’re ready to come home. We’re excited to get back to our house, our city, our family and our friends. Cam is a super happy kid already, I think having more friends and family around will only help keep him that way. I know it will make his parents very happy.

As we make one final trip down I-95 about a week from now it won’t feel as stressful. New York City traffic won’t feel quite as crippling. The turnpike will only be really awful, instead of extremely awful. That double-r-bar burger and holster of fries at Roy’s will taste a little better. Because on that trip, we’re coming home. We won’t be making the same trip back 48 hours later. This one is for good.