It is raining the morning we pick up the RV – heavy dark clouds hovering overhead. Some days, it feels like my skin offers no barriers, for the damp weather seeps into my body and plays havoc.  And then, just as we ready ourselves for the road, the sun breaks through and a rainbow lights up the sky.

Not far along the highway, green, rolling hills announce that we are out of the desert.  Rows and rows of what Ric thinks are almond trees, have blossomed, and clumps of tall trees huddle along the side of mountains.  The landscape is changing.

We see a sign for San Jose and spontaneously break into song:  “Do you know the way…”

Our mood is light, and hopeful.  We are stopping at a fairly new RV park in Patterson, California, just off highway 5, and about an hour from San Francisco and Sacramento.  I am still worn out from lack of sleep, and having a flare up of symptoms, so quite happy that we don’t drive very far today.

We still haven’t grocery shopped, so look for a place to eat.  Just down the road from our site are a cluster of restaurants.  A quick google search tells me that the BBQ place is the best, so that’s where we go.  I ask my usual question about whether or not there are gluten-free options.

“All our sauces are gluten-free,” the server recites cheerfully, “and pretty much anything you want, we can accommodate.”

I love this place.

Ric orders salmon and a healthy salad and I opt for the ribs with a baked potato and side of Brussel sprouts.  We decide we’ll order salads to take home for later.   The portions are so large, I end up taking half of my meal home as well.

Ric drops me off and goes in search of groceries – just the essentials until we get reoriented to our home.  I stay back and clean, until I am exhausted and collapse into bed for the rest of the day.

It’s so good to be home, in our own space, and I can’t help but repeat it out loud several times.  Fully extended our motor home offers 450 square feet of living space, and since we moved in last May, it feels so comfortable – accommodating all our needs. Funny that after all the big homes we’ve owned over the years, including the “dream” one we built ourselves, this little tin box could make us happy.

Temperatures have dropped, and according to the weather forecast, we should have rain for the next few days, but nothing can dampen our spirits.  We’re on the road again, and although I have loved every aspect of our travels, heading north means getting closer to our roots, and I am excited to see the family and friends we’ve left behind.

Two more months and we are back where we started.

“We’ll have to have a big party, Mom,” my oldest daughter says.

It’s nice to be missed, too.  Can’t wait to be part of the pile up.  

(The Journey So Far, today’s poem at One Woman’s Quest, is inspired by today’s sentiment.

All images are from my own collection)