There's No Place Like Home....except maybe Florida!

We took a long drive starting Saturday morning at 7 a.m. and made it home in EXACTLY 9 hours. 385 miles, two gas tank fills and 3 potty breaks. We parked behind Jeff's old place of work for the night but after hooking up, headed directly to our "old" house to see Dane (and get the battery for the Jeep charging). After a quick dinner with Dane we went to Katie and Justin's house and completely surprised her and the kids! Mom had completely lied to her earlier in the day explaining that the BP repairs had not been completed and we would not be home until Wednesday. Katie was completely taken aback but Amilia, well, let the pictures tell the story...

I think once over the shock she was pretty happy to see Grandma. Lord knows, Grandma was happy to see her. And the Moosh who happily gave me kisses and hugs even though I am quite sure she didn't really know who I was! It was a great homecoming and a very special evening.
After spending the night in a parking lot, listening to the rain pour down and feeling the temperature fall to a cold 40 degrees or so, we retrieved the Jeep then proceeded up to Otsego to our new 'digs". We had found and rented a privately owned lot in an RV park that is basically a condominiumized campground. Setting up in the drizzle and cold was less than ideal but we did get everything set up that we needed and then worked a bit on the inside set up. Nice to get things really out and set knowing we will not be moving for 6 months. The site is very nice with a large patio, fire pit, and view of the Mississippi River from our patio. The owner, unfortunately, has left an overabundance of crap, pots, gardening stuff on the lot that she has promised to get moved. Once that is done (and that is going to be one big chore for her) , and once the weather improves...we will be able to clean up the lot and patio and make it quite homey for the summer.

Our "backyard".

Today we did some further sorting and cleaning, grocery shopping and then ran back to Danes to pick up a few things (like a box of mail). We then forced him to come for a bite back at the BP as I was making Jeff's favorite, Chicken Fried Steak, and had a family pack to prepare!

Missed my Dane Bear Hugs!

So we are home, set up for the next 6 months and now just have to figure out what to do with our lives. First on the agenda is seeing friends and family. Then jobs!!! Then....we will have to see. Ideally we would convince Dane, Katie and family, Julie, John and Paige to move south with us to either Aransas Pass,TX  or Palm Harbor,FL or Palm Springs, Ca or maybe Breaux Bridge, La. Any would do but only if I never have to spend another holiday away from my loved ones again.

This concludes Jeff and Lisa's Big Adventure. And it truly was an adventure. A learning experience. And a gift. But....

                                                     THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME !!!!