Home...

Well, that 5 months went pretty quick.  ;-)

We left home in May.  It was getting pretty warm in the Tropical Tip.  Here we are in October... and it is pretty warm in the Tropical Tip.

We hooked up the "circus train" and hit the road this morning.  We've been two-laning it most of the way (well, since we left the Black Hills), but this was I-37 to Corpus Christi, then I-69/Expressway 77 (they're making the Expressway into an Interstate - that's been going on for several years now).

Leaving the San Antonio area...

Before getting to Corpus, we saw some signs that we are approaching sub-tropical latitudes...

There must have been plenty of moisture while we were gone - plenty of greenery along the way...

The sky was blue all the way to Corpus, then we started to see some clouds...

The weather was supposed to be sunny, with a tailwind.  Yeah, it was a crosswind to go with those clouds.  We got a few raindrops... enough to run the windshield wipers about 6 sweeps total.  Certainly not enough to wash off any bugs...

About 70 miles from home, we get into...

Yeah, the palm trees make it feel like home.  I started to get that little twinge of excitement in my stomach... you know the one: when you're getting close to home after being away for a while.

We decided to stop at our local Walmart on the way in, to top off the fuel tank in the coach and unhook the car and cargo trailer.  The coach felt like a sports car as I pulled away with no weight on the back.

Coming across the bridge on the way to our island...

Looking down the ICW...

We stopped at our Welcome Center to get an owner's sticker for the coach (didn't do that before we left).  Unhooked...

And rolling down the street towards home...

It should have gone easy: we made arrangements to park on an RV lot (owned by friends) across from our house.  The folks next door to that lot had their truck and boat on it... "Can't you wait until tomorrow?" he asked; he didn't want to have to back the truck and boat down the street to put it on his own lot.  "You can use my RV lot, and then move here in the morning when I'll be gone."  Sometimes, in the name of being neighborly, it is easier to just not fuss.  We unloaded a few things, then moved the coach down a few lots.  We'll finish unloading tomorrow.

Time to start opening up the house: hurricane shutters raised, air conditioning turned down, water turned on, reverse osmosis water system flushed, fridge turned on, clocks reset.  The exterior of the house looks decent - must have been enough rain to keep it clean.  The house seals up pretty tight, so no dust to deal with, but the patio furniture (which gets moved inside) has to get moved back out.

Little Izzy is reacquainting herself with the place... "Oh, this closet is bigger than that moving house.  I like my tower by the big window.  We brought most of her stuff in right away to make her transition smooth.  She checked right away to make sure the food dishes and the potty box are in their proper places.

Home, sweet home.  It's a lot of work moving out and back in.  Yeah, my itchy feet say it's worth it.  :-)