Day after returning home – Ventura, CA

Well, here we are, back in our favorite place in all the world; home. There are a lot of reasons why we love this place, including the wonderful weather, closeness to Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, our beaches and hills, and a lot of other things. But most important is the fact that this is where our friends are. After a long, hard run from Las Vegas, we pulled into the Mall parking lot to unhook the truck, and Geri and I took off for the house. On our way, we saw Barb, with Alice and Cooper, pulling into the parking lot at the schoolyard where we get together every afternoon. She turned me over to Barb for a run with the Aussies; I was really happy to see them all again, and did some crazy dog runs to show how much I had missed them. Don came by the schoolyard field in the coach, and blew the big air horn at us. When Geri got to the house, Debbie and Destinee came right over to welcome her home; they had taped a big welcome home sign on the front door, which will go into our trip scrapbook. When I got to the house with Barb and the Aussies, Don had pulled the rig into the driveway and was starting to unload food. Bill and Nita, our friends next door, were getting ready to leave for their summer home in Maine the next morning, and we were all glad to see them and wish them a safe journey, like we’ve had. We were all pretty tired by then, and Geri and Don had a pizza and went to bed early.
As I promised, I’ve surveyed my fellow travelers as to the high and low points of our nearly three-month excursion. Here’s the results:

Favorite City/Town
Geri- Lexington, VA; lovely town, nice people, many interesting attractions
Don- Lexington, VA; gorgeous college town, loaded with history, lots of interesting places nearby
DeeBee- Lexington, VA; good RV Park with nice walking area, lots of really friendly people

Favorite RV Park
Geri- Two Rivers Landing, Sevierville, TN; beautiful location on river, very peaceful
Don- Two Rivers Landing, Sevierville, TN; gorgeous riverfront site, quiet and serene
DeeBee- Tuck in the Wood, Beaufort, SC; really great areas for walking, woodsy trails and lots of grass

Favorite State
Geri- Tennessee; beautiful and lots of fun
Don- Tennessee; great scenery, good roads, lots to do and see
DeeBee- Tennessee; we all had a great time there


Best Museum or Attraction
Geri- Historical Museum, Tucumcari, NM; two stories and more of wonderful memorabilia
Don- Tie between Mariners’ Museum in Newport News and Parthenon in Nashville, TN
DeeBee- Fountain of Youth, Saint Augustine, FL; I got to go everywhere and meet people!

Best Food
Geri- Big Texan, Amarillo, TX; great filet mignon
Don- Big Texan, Amarillo, TX; great prime rib
DeeBee- Big Texan, Amarillo, TX; great scraps

Funniest Place or Encounter
Geri- Mother-in-Law’s formerly elegant home turned into bawdy pink guest house in Galveston
Don- Guy in Alderson, WV, pulling relatives out of café to tell me what they knew about Muddy Creek settlement
DeeBee- Cavorting with not-so-friendly Emu in Oklahoma

Most Exciting Day
Geri- Watching F-18’s take off over our heads in Virginia Beach
Don- Discovering Yoakum Road and Yoakum Cemetery in Powell Valley, TN
DeeBee- Visiting with all the nice people at Ken and Cathey’s in Vicksburg

Worst Day
Geri- Night without power, heat or lights in Williamsburg
Don- Day of endless rain, Charleston
DeeBee- Days when my tummy was bad

Best Entertainment
Geri- Nashville Tonight, right next door to our RV Park
Don- Nashville Tonight, great performers, wonderful evening
DeeBee- Chasing Great Blue Herons in Florida

Most Spectacular Sight
Geri- Grand Canyon, what can compare?
Don- Saturn rocket at Kennedy Space Center, tie with Grand Canyon
DeeBee- Grand Canyon; beautiful and scary!

Place I most want to go back to
Geri- Lexington, VA; a warm and friendly place
Don- Lexington, VA; a lot more to see and do there
DeeBee- Lexington, VA; I really like it there

Place we didn’t go, but I’d like to
Geri- West Coast of Florida, there’s so much more to see and enjoy
Don- Yokum Vacationland, West Virginia; just like the name, and there’s a lot of scenic attractions
DeeBee- How would I know?

So, that’s the wrap up for this voyage. We experienced a lot of this wonderful country of ours, saw a lot of lovely sights, learned some history, ate some great food, visited with some of our favorite people, and enjoyed the closeness of being together as a family on the road. We love our roaming home, it is a shelter from the storms, a great perch to view the countryside from, and a comfortable ride from place to place. I’m sure that we’ll be doing it again before long, and I promise to do my best to keep you up to date with our wanderings when we do. Till then, this is your dutiful and faithful Golden Retriever, DeeBee, signing off for now. Thanks for your interest, and I’ll be back with you soon.