Home, sweet, sweet home

Five thousand five hundred miles and six and a half weeks later, we made it safely home.  We drove all day for three days, first through Arizona, then through California, and Oregon, and as soon as we crossed over to Washington, it started to rain.  Welcome home!
This photo was taken on the border of Arizona and California.

Here is a RV park at the AZ/CA border, where we spent the night.  There was a a huge tower for a zip line (which was closed for winter) and white sandy beaches.  Weird, huh?

Steve looks a little bit scary in this picture, doesn't he?  Like a Viking or something.  He was probably frustrated with Eva, who didn't want to walk back to the RV for dinner, but rather wanted to play in the beautiful white sand.

Here is me enjoying the last rays of sunshine, and modeling a new cowl I knit.  Wild camping hair!

Blasting through Oregon on Interstate 5 felt bittersweet.  We were heading North, which meant our wonderful road trip would be over soon.  We only stopped once, to stretch our legs at Shasta Lake.  Here is Mount Shasta, keeping us company on the road for a while.

On the way North, we visited our friends Erin and Terri and their two kids, since they only live an hour away from Portland.  They used to be a huge part of our lives, and our oldest kids grew up together.  Erin attended Kai's birth, so it goes to show how important they were to us.  It was wonderful to visit them on the scenic 80 acre farm where they live now!

All five kids enjoyed running around and getting their yayas out.

I miss these beautiful ladies!

That same day, we stopped for dinner and spent the night at Brian and Margaret's with their little baby.  Brian is Steve's best friend, and Brian and Margaret got married on our property.  I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of them!  What a beautiful day filled with old friends... Bittersweet visits, because we realize how much we love these people, and how hard it is to live so far away from all of them...

The closer we got to our home, the more I felt like a horse smelling her oats in the barn.  I just wanted to get home!  The first thing I did when the RV finally stopped in front of our house was to run to the barn.  My goat Gracie has been walking on her knees for two weeks, so I knew something was wrong.  I hope it was just the fact that her hooves were improperly trimmed and put stress on her legs.  After calling the vet, I hope that my suspicions are confirmed, and that she will start walking normally again after getting used to having perfectly trimmed hooves.
The second thing I did was enter the house.  I hardly recognized it!  It felt so BIG!  And it was so CLEAN!  Our house sitter Terri cleaned the whole house (including the refrigerator, which was not clean when we left....).  Thank you, thank you, thank you, Terri!
Our friend Andrea stopped by on her bicycle before I even walked into the house, and then was joined by our friend Sharon, and later by neighbors Rich and Anne.  We feel loved and welcomed and are happy to be home.  The kids are blissfully playing with their toys they had forgotten about, and Eva must have gone up and down the stairs fifty times already.

Steve and I are catching up on laundry, mail and bills.  Soon, we will bring out the home schooling books.  Then they are more goat hooves to trim, seeds to start, the RV to clean... But not yet.  We will try to take it easy-ish for a day to acclimate.  Plus, the SUN is SHINING, so I bet there is a walk in our immediate future.

Oregon coast and California redwoods

We made it to the Californian Redwoods!  And wouldn't you believe it - it has been sunny pretty much every day!  There is something to be said about fleeing the Pacific Northwest in winter!
So far, our epic road trip has been a blast.  Apart from the fact that I have a terrible sore throat, cough, and ear ache, I have been enjoying my exuberant family and our adventure.
We left Marblemount, WA, three days ago, on January 1.  Doesn't it look like Eva is fighting me, screaming, "Don't get me into the RV with these people! What are they thinking? Six weeks traveling in this box together???"

On to Oregon, where we spent our first night at the beautiful Champoeg State Park with its enchanted oak trees.  You don't see these kinds of trees where we are from!

And on to the Oregon coast, where much wave chasing and wet-getting was to be had.

We found Humbug State Park, which felt very isolated and magical, tucked away between a mountain and a rugged beach.  We had a lovely sunset walk, and in Steve's case, a sunset head stand.

The next day, which is today, found us exploring the coast, sneaking up on seals, chasing sea gulls, eating lunch in the RV with the most scenic view ever, and embracing redwood trees.

That's a root wad.

And tonight?  We found an RV camp ground with hook ups, which we need because I'm kinda sick, and I want to be warm.  We thought about camping in Jedediah Smith State Park, but there is no electricity there.  I guess the redwood tree roots are too tough, the park people can't put electricity in, which is fine with me, but really?  I want to be nice and cozy tonight, so there.  Plus this place has Wifi, so I can catch up on e-mail and this blog, recharge our cameras, and have this view from our window:

I'm signing off for today, cause I have to make tuna and egg casserole in our little oven.  All is well!