[MrConfettiMan]

Oh, never mind. I'm an idiot. I foolishly thought their destination was the Grey Havens. *sigh*

Chalk it up to lack of sleep and poor reading comprehension.

[MrConfettiMan]

To clarify my above reply even more, I thought the ships leaving Middle Earth were destined for the Grey Havens hence the nature of my original question. Boy, I really am tired.

[tom h]

If you just finished reading the book itself, here are a few more details that you will find in the appendix:

1) Sam, Merry, and Pippin return to the Shire and lead prominent lives. They are also frequenters (to a degree) with the men of Gondor.

2) Sam becomes Mayor for a number of consecutive terms -- in the end, the most prominent man in the Shire. He and Rosie raise many children and name them after those they met while on the Quest.

3) Sam's children grow up. Sam becomes old and lives longer than most hobbits. It is the lingering effect of having been a ringbearer for even a short while. He feels "thin and stretched," like Frodo and Bilbo did.

4) Ultimately, Sam too does not die but leaves for Valinor (the Undying Lands) via the ship at the Grey Havens. Many, many years have passed since the others left.