Nicholas Quirke was coming home on 18th March. He had reached the end of the road and now it was all goodbyes. The Odyssey was finished but not over as he recognised that he was going to be raking through the 4 month journey to reassess and understand just what his experiences had left him with. Without hesitation he understood that from the cast of characters he had encountered he had forged new and meaningful friendships and had been the recipient of much kindness and acceptance from strangers and old aquainteces. He was also so grateful to friends and strangers who had kept him company on the trip through his blog and Facebook. He really could look at life from new perspectives now. At LA airport, after his drive in the the sunshine with the roof off  the rented Ford Mustang, he reflected on his jouneys last gasp, particularly as he had 5 hours to kick his heels. His intention to visit the Griffith Observatory was curtailed as he could not get across Sunset Boulevard due to its closure for the LA Marathon. There was a complicated detour so instead he decided to end his visit and head homeward. After the closing day party in West Hollywood, and he had said goodbye to the wonderful company, he returned to the Hotel with Kim and JPS. He and Kim realised it was the last time for a while that they would be enjoying the deep talks and high jinks which had deleinated their time together over the recent months. It was hard to finaly say farewell, but in the early hours Kim sloped off for her flight, leaving Nicholas to mull over his transition from was to would be.  Nicholas Quirke would be back home by the 19th, seeing family and friends, and begining a new chapter.