Going to the big house...

Often indicted, never convicted... but, I digress.

The title of this post comes from young Rufus.  We were up and out early today; Rufus likes to sit on his tower between our front seats... or, on my lap.  There is no question that this boy continues to grow.  He is a great traveler: no fuss and he just seems genuinely happy to be with us, wherever we are.

Today, he asked me, "So, where are we going?"  (Yes, he and I communicate; quite well, actually.)

"Home," I said.

"Home?  That is what you say to me when we're out walking and you want to go back."

"Well, that's true.  Since we travel a lot, 'home' is where the three of us are.  But, do you remember the house in Texas?  On the water, with the boat?"

He said, "Yeah!  The BIG house!  And, it doesn't move."

I guess that is perspective: when Rufus came to live with us, we were in the motorhome.  For the first couple months, that is what he knew as "home."  When we went back to Texas and introduced him to our little island casita, he said, "This is BIG!  And, it's just the three of us that live here?"

Yeah, perspective.
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It was a long driving day, but uneventful... I like uneventful when we're just making miles.  Well, there was one situation: a mass suicide of butterflies...

It is all lush and green out there, but you can see from the splats on the windshield - at times, these bugs were coming at us 20 at a time!

This was south of San Antonio - we made it through the big city around 9:30 to 10:00 with no slowdowns.  Then, the bugs.  Then, to add to the smeary windshield: about 30 seconds of rain...

Not enough to wash off the bugs - it took a lot of windshield wiper fluid to be able to see through the smears.  I stopped for a bit to give Rufus some lunch and start the car.  The rig...

Just north of Corpus Christi...

It is now starting to feel "like home".  Rufus spends a lot of time on my lap, including nap time...

North of Raymondville, it used to be 20 miles of palm trees lining the Expressway, leading you to the Tropical Tip...

As the Expressway is changing to Interstate 69, the road crews are removing the palm trees in the median as they change the road to make it "limited access"... it is looking like this in the process...

Not at pretty, huh?

Rufus spreads the love around...

Yep, he continues to grow.  Not a problem, but we have been surprised how much he has changed and grown since we've had him.

We turned off the Expressway and onto Highway 100, heading east; eventually rolling into our home town.  We stopped at Walmart to unhook the car and cargo trailer from the coach...

It is easier to maneuver around at the house with everything separated.  Joan drove the CR-V with the trailer.  The motorhome felt like a sportscar without that load and length behind it.  ;-)

Coming across the bridge to our island...

We've missed the water.  Welcome home...

It was a long day, but now the real work begins: the unloading process.  And, getting re-accustomed to the heat and humidity.