Southern Charms: Home Sweet Home

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Qhouse, Questa, New Mexico

Made it home, safe and sound!

Drove the last 200 miles home from eastern New Mexico. Took US64 all the way to Eagles Nest and then up and around the Enchanted Circle to home. Stopped for a hamburger and a margarita at the St. James Hotel in Cimarron, always a good bet. Saw a bit more rain at lunch and on the way, but nothing like the night before.

Although I haven't checked out all the systems in detail yet, QHouse appears to have made it through Spring just fine. Batteries were fully charged when we got home, and the water system is working. No signs of any vandalism or any other damage from three months of neglect. There is a fresh crop of weeds in the front yard, but otherwise, everything appears just fine. I'll be checking the power system logs to see if we had any really bad things happen, but with the refrigerator being the only power drain, I'm thinking we should be OK. Oh, and the stuff in the freezer is all still frozen, so clearly that stayed on.

Was terrific sleeping in our king-size bed last night. Got to fully stretch out and the firmness is far better than what our RV-queen mattress in the trailer provides. We went to bed fairly early, and slept like logs. Girls wanted up at regular time, but weren't quite sure what to do when I let them out the front door without being on leashes - a little confusion set in before turning to delight at the freedom.

It was a long trip, longest one we've done yet. 84 days and 83 nights on the road. That is exactly 12 weeks, nearly an entire season. I'm kind of proud of that accomplishment, and that Joan and I are still married! That's a lot of time being together!

It was also one of our best trips yet. And we have lots to think about. I will be summarizing some of those thoughts over the next few days with additional blogs. One I hope to put together soon will look at all the numbers, like miles driven and bucket list items accomplished. Others will try - wish me luck - to put together what we learned from this experience about the South and about ourselves.

Lots to do today, unloading the vehicles, cleaning stuff, and beginning re-entry into real life. Going down to get 12 weeks of mail this afternoon. Not looking forward to the bills and such. But that's part of re-entry.

For now, Bon Voyage. I'll be writing again soon. (17.1.84)

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Comments

[David Williams]

Glad you are home safe and sound
What a lot of wonderful memories you and Joan will have from this trip. Congratulations on a trip that I am sure was both difficult and fun.