Finally: HOME!

Saturday April 8, after 9 days on the road we finally made it home! 

(only cellphone photos today)

The last four and a half hours are always the longest. It was -5 C (23F) when we started out from the Service Plaza but the sun was shining. A brisk wind pushed from the side, which was not so good, but as soon as we turned onto Hwy 1 it pushed us faster and faster. If the road hadn't been so bad. Frost damage made it a very rough ride until after Machias, ME. Like riding a bucking horse!

Dixie was silently suffering and probably thinking "Aren't we there yet?" 

Around 1pm (13:00) we finally rolled into Lubec, ME,

we saw a glimpse of the International Bridge in the distance.

Border crossing was no problem either. 

Welcome back to Campobello!

Neighbours were waving at us.

Dixie was perking up!

Our house was waiting for us in bright sunshine. 

Dixie running in circles (zoomies) and then rolled on the brown grass. Finally! The driving took an end! 

It was of course very cold inside, but with the wood stove we got the temperature up within a couple of hours. Meanwhile we had our lunch in the camper. 

Peter checked. There is always a problem, right?

Power came on at once. Good! Fridge worked, microwave, range, light all worked fine.

But - no water running. Reason: the pressure tank had finally died on us - faulty membrane. It did not keep any pressure over 20 PSI. Not so good. 

It will be no big deal, though. We have our camper with water and drinking water, we have a well where we can pull out water the  by the bucket old fashioned way. 

Supper was served and very well appreciate at our dear neighbour. Thank you very much!

The beds were warmed up with hot water bottles and added thick down-filled comforters.

We slept like a rock!

It thought they had already bloomed off, 

but here they still are!

My crocus.

Around New York and into New England

After a quiet night we got up early and started out at 7am (07:00) to get around the "Big Apple". 

Again we managed to mist the turnout to I-287 N, but after a quick detour through a neighbourhood we made it on to the right track. 

I-287, light  morning traffic

Traffic was light and the wind favourable from the back. It blew us along to Newburgh, NY where we switched onto the I-84.

Spring is coming to NY

Hudson River Bridge along I-84 N

Soon we crossed the Hudson River and moved into Connecticut where we had a short coffee break.

Clock Tower, Waterbury, CT

Known landmarks all along the way

Hartford, CT skyline

I- 90 to I-290, then I- 495 through Massachusetts into New Hampshire until we hit the I-95 North. 

We definitely left the warm temperatures of summer and spring behind in New Jersey. Freezing cold was greeting us.

Traffic was more and more busy. 

Busy interstate through Massachusetts

"Everybody and their Aunt" seemed to be on the highway.

Our original plan was to stay overnight 

somewhere around Portsmouth NH, but the day was still young 

and the wind pushed us on through Massachusetts 

and across the border to Maine. When the wind got too gusty, 

at 4pm (16:00), we pulled the plug in Kennebunk, MA. 

Kennebunk Service Plaza "Moose"

Here, on the Service Plaza we will park for the night.

Parked for the night

After sunset

Tomorrow we will be on the homestretch. 

Virginia to Delaware

 After reaching the Northern Shore of the Chesapeak Bay

we decided to stay overnight at the local Cape Charles Welcome Centre. (It actually was more like a huge truck stop over night.)

There was no time to go on a birding trip the next morning.

There was only time for a short stroll to stretch the legs after a days long trip.

Marsh overlook

The path was overgrown with wild Wisteria vine.

Wisteria

Dixie loved the walk around the green shrubbery.

Walking the trail in the cool sea air

We stumbled over a relic from WWII

An old piece of a canon and amunition

A bit somber 

The back of a canon from WWII

After the short walk we went to bed early because Peter found out 

that there was hardly any space available on the ferries to Cape May. 

Easter traffic, off course.

We only managed to get a spot on the earliest departure. 

So, the alarm went off at 3:30 AM!

Sunrise at Lewes Ferry Terminal, DE

After two and a half hours driving through the dark night the sun rose when we reached the terminal.

A screenshot off the live camera shows as we are pulling in on the ferry's parking lot.

Visible in the lower left corner is our trailer roof.

Lining up for boarding the ferry over to Cape May, DE

While crossing the Delaware delta I took a nap.

Off we go, someone had Easter Bunny Ears on their car.

Dixie was tired too, and while Peter was catching up on sleep after we had arrived at Cape May... 

After a walk Dixie was napping on her bed in the van.

While Peter caught up on sleep there was time for a walk along the edge of the parking lot, 

and was lucky to find a Carolina Wren. They never sit still for long. 

Carolina Wren (a quick photo before he disappeared)

Tomorrow is the big day. 

Getting around New Your!

Traffic - Georgia to Virginia

Early start from our stop near Columbia, SC

Sunrise in South Caroline

Morning mist over a river along the way

 My oh my!

Where do all these people come from. 

Dense traffic everywhere

After month of desert silence and wide open highways in the West it is mind-boggling how much traffic there is on the roads in the East at any time of the day. 

Spring in Virginia

By late afternoon we reached Norfolk, VA

Norfork, VA

No matter of weekend or week day traffic is dense.

But it is draining our mental batteries.

Toll to pay to get over the Chesapeak Bay

Today we made it all the way into Virginia. The temperatures soared into the 80ies (29C) and it was very humid.

People enjoying the summerly temperatures at the beach

 Across again over the Chesapeake Bay to Cape Charles.

Entrance to the second tunnel underneath the Bay

underneath the water of the bay, not so scary anymore.

Luckily the weather was favourable, no storms or rain.

The bridge over to Cape Charles, VA

For a short while we will rest at the Cape Charles Visitor's Centre before hitting the road again to catch the ferry from Lewes to Cape May early tomorrow morning.

Pelican flying alongside the van while driving over the bridge.

Parched land, tornado watch, and flooded rivers

Update 

On our first three days of travelling home 

the landscape changed dramatically.

Saguaro Cactus along the road in Arizona

From the dry cactus desert of Arizona.....

The Scrap Metal Roadrunner of Las Cruses, NM

 .... to parched ranch land in New Mexico, 

Cattle on ranch land

Flowering Agave

... and western Texas.

Oil pump 

As soon as we crossed Dallas, TX, and rolled into the eastern part of Texas.....

spring green in eastern Texas

.... everything began to look much greener.

Then bad weather caught up with us.

That night we stayed in a rest area near Shreveport, AL and got through

Radar screen shot with tornado fields marked on the way

 hours of tornado watch, torrential rainfall, 

severe thunderstorms, some hail. 

The whole time we sat in the dark because we cut out the power,

 just in case.

thunder, lightning, torrential rain and high wind

In the end all went well, but it was nerve-racking while it went on!

Lots of flooding in Alabama after the storms

This morning we saw a lot of flooding during our drive through Louisiana, ....

flooded rivers and fields everywhere

 

 ... into Mississippi ....

Bridge over the Mississippi River

Flooded Mississippi 

... and in to Alabama.

The days of endless open roads were definitely over. 

Dense traffic everywhere now.

The bad weather has moved on, for now,

 and we will have a quiet night tonight near Tuscaloosa, AL.

I am looking forward to it!

Tomorrow we will be driving through Georgia and into South Caroline.

Stay tuned!