BRUNSWICK – After six months and 15,000 miles, former Gov. Angus King and his family have completed their trip around the country in a recreational vehicle.

“It was just a trip of a lifetime,” King told WCSH-TV 6 on Saturday. He said he might write a book about his adventures.

Accompanied by his wife, Mary Herman, and their children, Ben, 13, and Molly, 9, King traveled around the nation’s perimeter in a 40-foot RV. The couple home-schooled the kids along the way.

“I gained a lot of respect for two professions on this trip: teaching and truck driving,” King said.

King, who set off on the trip as a way to bond with his family after eight years in office, grew a beard during the journey.

“I didn’t expect it to come in white,” he said. “There was quite a bit of healthy discussion on the trip about whether it was the kids or the job that had done that to me.”

Herman said that after living highly structured lives in which their calendars were broken down into 15-minute increments, it was a welcome relief to be able to decide day-to-day whether to stay where they were or move on.

“That was such a luxury,” she said.