A husband-and-wife team from California reached the Pacific Ocean after a 4,900-mile cross-country  walk, becoming the first to backpack the American Discovery Trail in one continuous walk. Marcia and Ken Powers,of Pleasanton,started the travel across 13 states,through 14 national parks and 16 national forests on Feb.27 from Cape Henlopen in Delaware.Nearly eight months later,the excited couple walked through water into the Pacific Ocean at Point Reyes,a day ahead of time. "We are a little sad that a great adventure is over.It was a fantastic adventure.And now we go home and just de housework.It's really sad."Marcia,who said she's in her 50s,and her 60-year-old husband  _ cities,deserts,mountains and farmland before reaching the Pacific alone with arms around each other's backpacks. They overcame deep snow in the East,a quicksand in Utah,close lightning strikes in the Midwest and strong desert sandstorms in the West while averaging 22 miles a day and taking only four days off.But they enjoyed the French history of St Louis,the beauty of the Colorado Rockies and the kindness of strangers they met along the way. They particularly remember two brothers--a doctor and dentist--who put them up in their homes around Chester,Ill.,after terrible days,and a motorcyclist who gave them water after they failed to find any on Utah's lonely Wah Wah Desert. "Americans are truly warm-hearted and wonderful people."Marcia Powers said."We got to meet people that we would never meet in our daily living at home.We got to touch it with our feet and hands and smell all its scents  and hear its wildlife.It's an amazing country,"she added. After the long walk,Marcia and Ken Powers felt sad probably because_.
they had to do the heavy housework again they had no way to earn their living they couldn't go on enjoying their walk they had experienced too many difficulties