The Final Push

 "I'm goin' home to the place where I belong." - Chris Daughtry 🎵

Leaving Texas and family behind, we drove to Louisiana where we spent one night, then on to the Florida Panhandle and Falling Waters State Park for two nights. Along the way we cruised over a bridge spanning Louisiana's Atchalafaya Basin and its accompanying river. We cruised and cruised, and it occurred to me we had been cruising on this bridge seemingly forever. It turns out that at 18.2 miles this is the 3rd longest bridge in the US, and 2nd longest on the interstate highway system. I don't care to know which bridges are longer.

Our last evening campfire.

What will we miss the most once we return to Ocala? Our top things:

• Togetherness 24/7 in our "tiny house on wheels." We truly enjoy being alone together.
• The camping lifestyle - being out in nature, leaving behind city life, meeting new people, seeing new places.
• Adventures that get the adrenaline going (narrow trails with drop-offs, a rattlesnake warning us to get off his bridge, seeing a bear, deer jumping in front of the truck, storms)
• God's great big beautiful creation - stars, the Milky Way, mountains, lakes, canyons, draws, washes, run-offs, gullies, dips, pour-offs, arroyos...

What will we NOT miss?

• Desert, sand, rocks and scrub (although the pay-off is low humidity and gorgeous night skies).
• Storms
• Flat tires - three on the trailer (all due to valve stem issues), and one on the truck due to a nail.

What were the hardest parts about being gone for 13 weeks?

• Being away from friends and family was difficult. We missed seeing our St. Augustine grandchildren, two daughters, neighbors on Trooper walks, my Bible Study prayer partners, bookclub buds, the other woodworker in the neighborhood, and Trooper's doggo dudes. It helped that the California Kids joined us twice on the journey, allowing some fun time with them and Coen. And we worked in visits with my cousin, Linda, Dave's family in Texas, my family in Colorado, and a week with Kristi.
• It was very hard being away during son-in-law Nick's health crisis. At least we could pray.
• Planning every destination, each stop to get us there, and preparing for as many contingencies as possible. Flexibility was key when things didn't work as expected. Wildfires, government shutdown, etc. 
• Being gone. Coming home.