... there's no place like home. An old time song that was adapted from a poem.
Yes, we rolled onto our island today. Home. 103 days out... I asked Joan what she's taking away from this trip - her response: "It makes me really appreciate where we live. I can't imagine any place I'd rather live. It's nice to see all the places we visited, but I like where we live."
Of course, she wasn't thinking about all the work ahead of us, with moving back into the house. ;-)
We have covered the miles between San Antonio and the Tropical Tip many times - there is quite a change of terrain and climate in those 300 miles.
There are some signs that we are getting close to the Tropical Tip: first, the wind...
Wind out of the southeast at 15 to 20... more often than not. A few sprinkles on the windshield...
Not enough to wet the road - about 30 seconds of sprinkles to make sure the car is grubby...
Off the side of the road...
Border Patrol. There is a checkpoint as you go north; no checkpoint southbound, but they are out there keeping an eye on things.
This is new...
A major pipeline installation. May be for a natural gas pipeline into Mexico, may be for the LNG operation that is likely going to go in along the Brownsville Ship Channel. (Sigh)
Before coming to Raymondville, these start to line the road...
Yes, I've posted images like this in the past - the palm trees make me smile. After the thousands of miles we've traveled this trip, many of them in heavily forested areas, the palm trees invoke tropical yearnings. If that doesn't do it for you, roll down the window... it is hot and humid. Around 95º much of the way, with the humidity in the OMG range. I've mentioned that it is cooler right at the coast: the local weather checks for home are showing mid-80s... still going to feel hot and humid.
Checking Gas Buddy, we decide to fuel up at Sam's Club in Harlingen. Yep, it's hot when I step outside. And this view when I look in the coach...
For this whole trip, the dash air in the coach has kept it all comfortable while we're driving. For this last stretch, we turned on the generator and ran the house a/c to cool the back of the coach. It's about 45 minutes from our fuel stop to our island.
Approaching the swingbridge to our island, I get that "tingle" in my stomach, the anticipation of being home...
We didn't see any dolphins as we were crossing the ICW on the bridge, but this juvenile pelican got Joan's attention...
A few minutes later, we parked the coach...
We unlocked the house and did a walk around of the outside - all good! Well, there is a boat that isn't mine at our dock...
No, it hasn't been abandoned. I let our neighbor put the boat at our dock starting about 6 weeks ago, because the dredging operation had his canal blocked. Well, they have now had our canal blocked for the last month or so, meaning he can't get his boat out of here. It may be a while before we can get our boat in. Right now, our first concern is getting moved back in.
Other than some sand/dirt on the siding and the hurricane shutters, the house is in good shape. Everything inside is fine. After moving the kitty stuff inside, we brought Izzy in... it is always a hoot to watch her look around: "We live in a HUGE house!" Well, it is compact by most standards, but after being in the coach, it sure feels roomy. ;-)
One of the purchases we made yesterday in San Antonio: this rolling cart...
Every time we return, we promise we won't "get crazy" about getting moved back in. Our friend MJ calls it "the march of the penguins" with the repeated trips from the coach to the house (and vice versa when heading out) - Joan assured me that this cart will save us a LOT of trips. Three carts full, and I am convinced!
On the bright side, it is the hottest part of the day. So, the air conditioning feels especially good! Kidding aside, it feels good to be home. We'll take the next few days to get acclimated, moved back in, and get the coach cleaned. Put it back in storage, start getting other stuff (like the scoots and guitars) out. And, in time, the boat.
:-)
And, being home-bodies.
3 comments:
Glad you had a safe and memorable summer adventure. I enjoy following your posts because I see much of America that I will probably not see in person. A quick side note. I am supposed to tell you hello from Emily (hope I have her name right). I took one former and one present exchange students on the ferry out of Anacortes up to Friday Harbor for the day on saturday. From your past pictures we recognized the office and building for the whale watching tour company. Emily greeted me and we spoke for a few minutes. I mentioned I followed your travel blogs and she lit up. She spoke very highly of you and your wife, and it sounded as if they wished you would be back again in the future. It was a perfect day in the islands for late in the season. Mid 70's but a bit hazy from all the forest fire smoke. We did not have time for a Whale watching tour but hope to some day. We had a record warm summer and virtually no rainfall since early June. Happy "unpacking" !!
Greg
Hi Greg - thanks for the kind note. Emily is the manager, scheduler, and all-round go-to person at San Juan Safaris and San Juan Outfitters. Nice that you had the opportunity to visit with her; too bad you didn't have time for a whale watch tour - they have been having great sitings (yes, I still keep up with the happenings there). I have read about the record dry spell there. The Pacific Northwest is still one of our favorite places!
It was a fun summer! It has been a while since we took a summer off to travel, and it was interesting seeing new places. Glad you enjoyed following along.
Jim
The pipeline construction you saw was Enbridge's 168 mile, 48-inch diameter, 1/4 mile Blast Zone, natural/fracked gas Valley Crossing Pipeline. Enbridge started construction his April 2017 with no public notice and no public meetings. The pipeline path runs from the Aqua Dulce Hub near Corpus pretty much parallel to Hwy 77 to our local Port of Brownsville, where Enbridge plans to build a 120,000 hp compressor station on 40 acres leased from the Port. The pipeline is to connect with TransCanada's Sur de Texas-Tuxpan Pipeline which is to take it as far south as Veracruz, Mexico. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has jurisdiction over only the final 1,000 feet (called the Border Crossing Project) where the pipelines join together. FERC hasn't approved the Border Crossing Project yet.
FERC hasn't approved NextDecade's Rio Bravo pipeline yet, which is supposed to provide the natural/fracked gas for it's Rio Grande LNG operation (not yet FERC approved either). Annova LNG's supposed to get its natural/fracked gas from a still unnamed pipeline to be built by a still unnamed pipeline company. Texas LNG has said that it will get its natural/fracked gas from a so far unnamed pipeline.
Find out more, and join in the fight against these pipelines and LNG, at https://www.facebook.com/saveRGVfromLNG/
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