Greylock Grad Completes Nine-Month, Cross-Country Journey

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — With more than 31,500 miles accrued on his car and almost $5,000 of his life savings spent, Dylan Dethier has made it home.

The 18-year-old played a round of golf at the Taconic Golf Club on Tuesday, capping a cross-country journey, which began on Sept. 1, to play 18 holes of golf in each of the 48 contiguous states. Dethier is a graduate of Mount Greylock Regional High School (Class of 2009) and he will attend Williams College this fall after deferring for a year to travel the U.S.

During the last nine months, Dethier has been documenting his travels on his Web blog, Eighteen in America.

Dylan Dethier, center, enjoys a round of golf Tuesday with his brother, Evan, left, and his friend, Taylor Foehl, right.

Dethier's stretch in the month of May was particularly busy as he played a round of golf in 30 of the 31 days. He completed his quest on Tuesday, playing 18 with his older brother, Evan, and his close friends, Taylor Foehl and Sam Garivaltis.

Dethier arrived back in town Monday, and to celebrate their son's return — and Memorial Day — David Dethier and Nancy Nylen hosted a barbeque and welcomed more than 100 guests. Dethier said there were lots of hugs and an abundance of questions about his trip.

"It's awesome to be home," he said. "[Monday night] was perfect. It's cool because everyone is coming back from college [for the summer], so it's nice timing."

Dethier said he plans to relax for a week, then he'll start working on a book about his trip. Some might assume that he'd be sick of golf, but quite the contrary; he said he'll be on the course a lot this summer because he's going to try out for the Williams College golf team.

He admitted that going back to school this fall is "a little daunting," considering he hasn't taken a class since the spring of 2009. His brother, Evan, who will be a senior at Williams, said it's a relief to have his brother back in Williamstown.

"I was the most nervous when he got into New England," Evan said. "Anytime you can see the finish line, you tend to lose a little focus. To travel 30,000 miles and for nothing [bad] to happen, it's kind of miraculous.

Dethier eyes his putt on the 11th hole at the Taconic Golf Club on Tuesday afternoon.

"It's been a long year. You could never really rest easily. There are so many factors out of your control."

Evan won't be the only familiar face on the Williams campus for Dethier. Foehl, who is graduating from Mount Greylock this month, will attend the college in the fall. Foehl expects there will be no lull in conversation between him and Dethier, not after the cross-country adventure he just undertook.

"I'm looking forward to hearing stories about the trip for the rest of our lives," Foehl said. "There will be a lot of 'oh, this one time,' for years to come."