After leaving Corpus Christi we really were like "horses headed to the barn". We wanted to be home by December 19th as our daughter Elizabeth and her finance Tyler were arriving on the 21st. I kept telling Bob I just wanted to beat them there by 2 days. So the rest of the trip was fairly uneventful. Just overnights near the interstate listening to the sounds of trucks and trains going by during the night. We seemed to have a knack for finding RV parks right next to train tracks!
We did fit in a stop to Amite, LA where my mom grew up. I still have a lot of relatives in the area and we were able to have dinner with my cousin Dina (in the photo below) and a short visit with another cousin, Kim. Dina and her family had us for dinner and we really enjoyed catching up with them.
After leaving Amite, we stopped overnight in Alabama at Chewacla State Park. A great park just off the interstate and very quiet! No trains! You can tell by our dress that it was getting a lot colder! The photo on the bottom was taken the first day of our trip and the top photo was taken the day before we arrived back home! If not for the excitement of seeing Elizabeth, I think we would have turned and headed south!
The next morning before we left the campground, Bob had to winterize the RV as we were headed home to temperatures below freezing! After a long day of driving we arrived home! We had been gone for 2 1/2 months, drove over 6,000 miles, visited 15 different states, and got great use out of our America the Beautiful pass by visiting 10 national parks and monuments. In addition to the 6000 miles of RV driving we put over 2500 miles on the jeep exploring the various areas. We saw so much of this amazing country. Spent amazing time with my family in California and met people from all over and enjoyed hearing about their adventures. So many families on the road right now due to Covid. Many homeschooling for the first time, and they were all amazed that we homeschooled our girls from start to finish! We started nicknaming them all the "Covid Campers"!
When we finally arrived home, this is what greeted us when we walked in the door! A friend had been collecting our mail! God bless him for his hard work!! So many Christmas packages as on the road we had to do all online shopping.
To say Scooby was happy to be home is an understatement! I wish I had a video but he just ran and ran (while barking) around the house and then finally settled into his favorite chair!
The next few days flew by with unpacking the RV and getting ready for Christmas which was only one week away.
Thankfully, Elizabeth and Tyler arrived to help with the decorating! We had a great week with them and a wonderful WHITE Christmas! It started snowing Christmas Eve and we woke up to the most beautiful, cold, snowy morning. Hard to believe just a week prior we were wearing shorts and flip flops!
We really missed having Mary and Ty with us, but so grateful for technology that allowed us to open presents together on Christmas morning.
Cousin Eddy just got a super deep clean inside and out. He's headed into the shop next week to get new tires and an oil change. You see, we are already planning our next trip......we are leaving mid-January to go visit Bob's mom in Florida. We need some warmer temps! Stay tuned......the retirement adventure continues! We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and wish you a Happy New Year!
