Mar 16

Day 4 – Home on the Range, Don’t Get Skunked in Texas

TJ at the FallsDay 4, 03/16/16  – Miles, and miles, and miles across Texas on US 271 and US 82 are the easiest most pleasant routes to travel. I can only wish that all roads would be this relaxing. However be mindful that the speed limits are set very high at 75 but most of the vehicles are going 90. It is zoom, zoom, zoom out there.
I witnessed everything that makes one think of Texas with antelope roaming, oil wells, cattle, ranches, miles of miles of land, large homes in the middle of the ranches and broken down trailers on the edge of towns.
The one sad and stinky oddity were the amount dead skunks along the highway. There was a lot of closing the nostrils to keep out the horrible smell.
Of course it made me relive the time in my teenage years when I was sprayed by a skunk.

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Mar 15

Day 3 – It’s Flooding in Louisiana

DSC_0479
Day 3 – Woke up early, met Han in the breakfast room, had some coffee and tried to find something to eat but it was quite literally the worst breakfast layout that I have ever seen. Oatmeal was the best choice. Many cups of coffee later, we were packed and out the door.
Weather alarm siren on my phone informed us that I-10 was closed due to flooding. We were happy to be fairly far away.
We made a stop at Natchez visitors center to gather info for our future bike trip. They are renovating it and looks to be exceptional when finished. The scenery and sights are in abundance here.

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Mar 14

Day 2 – Between Alabama and the Mississippi

Mississippi StatelineDay 2 – 03/14/16
Hotel Hint: if at all possible choose a room on the top floor, west side of the hotel with two beds.
Two beds may not be the most romantic of ideas, you can always snuggle when you want, then
climb in your own bed and try to get a great nights sleep. Traveling is difficult enough without being
sleep deprived, so give it a chance.
Also to drown out excessive noise of neighbors, elevators or anything disruptive to sleep, I got a sound machine for Christmas, it is amazing and really does the job. (worth every penny) You can find it at:

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Mar 13

Day 1 – Starting Our Way Up to Seattle, WA

Plantation housesDay 1  03/13/16, we set out on our trek across the US. I am seriously excited to be left to our own devices, timeline and open to enjoy any unexpected sights or adventures. It is freeing to roam while on our way to Washington State.
We are trying to stay off the interstates, as they bore us both to tears. Now if someone can give me a lesson using the GPS. lol
Our first stopover was Andalusia AL. On the way, traveling on 90, 17 and 84, we saw beautiful rolling hills, farm animals (from horses to rams), stunning plantations, quaint towns, historic districts with very little traffic to deal with.

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Feb 29

A Birthday Trip to Tampa

TJ at Sandwich InnFriday 02/26/16

Friday 02/26/16, we woke up to the delicious scent of breakfast. Scrambled eggs with mushrooms and cheese, toast and fruit. How we are spoiled by our dear friends Jack and Sharon. Thanks guys.

Drew picked us up before 11:00am, to drive down to Brandon FL to surprise Cody (5th child, almost 29 years old) for his birthday. We thankfully had an uneventful trip, and I found that exciting since Han was driving for the first time in six years, and I was a bit nervous. (Yes, he will see this. LOL It is what it is.)

We left our car at the shop to get a few things done. Continue reading

Feb 23

Back on Amelia Island

Late Bloomer wine

To Your Health Brian Clement

Monday 02/22/16

We will be back in Fernandina tomorrow. The thought after these almost 6 weeks of travel made me lay awake for a long time last night. Besides my wonderful friends and family, who I love dearly, there is nothing else pulling me back and nothing that I miss. 

Is that weird?

I just feel one with the world now, one with nature and home is truly where the deep recesses of my heart lie and that includes the cities where my children live, even if I have never been there before because part of my heart is with them. Continue reading

Feb 21

Completing the Florida Coastline

Eastern Panhandle coastlineSUNDAY 02/21/16

Everyone woke up kinda somber. We busied ourselves with breakfast and packing the vehicles.
Donna and I will always be friends, but the past few days was not what I had expected or overly enjoyed.
It was just one long awkward weekend.

Han and I decided taking 98 (the coastline road) would be a beautiful drive, however note it is quite a bit longer than going down I-10. We loved it though, with its very winding road, signs posted for bears (sadly never saw one), passed though adorable little villages like Seaside and Apalachicola (we will re-visit those in the near future) and continued on up to Tallahassee, then hit I-10 east. The change over from 98 to I-10 is quite unusual and difficult to find if you are not paying the utmost attention.
Also another little piece of advice: avoid the Burger King in Apalachicola like the plague. Horrible place. I posted this well-deserved review on TripAdvisor.

“Besides the food being barely edible, the staff was SO freaking loud with yelling, laughing, completely acting like idiots and simply illiterate. We left before we finished because I could not take the insanity that was going on between the employees.
They took forever to prepare the food because they were too busy farting around.
What the hell???????
We ate there mid-afternoon on Sunday Feb. 21st.
Whoever owns this piece of crap place should find new employees. >and that is just the beginning”

We drove quite a ways today. Ended up stopping over in Madison FL for the night and tried to get some shuteye.

Feb 20

Destin Florida: Meeting up with Donna

PelicansFRIDAY 02/19/16

FRIDAY – was a laze around sleep in morning, Han brought me coffee in bed, read for a little while, took a relaxing jacuzzi bath then had some breakfast. Donna arrived around 12:30 and we all took a walk on the beach. We were all hungry so we went to Harbor Docks for dinner. The food was okay but the place was entirely too loud for us and the service truly sucked. I will not be recommending it to anyone.
The rest of the night was spent relaxing.

Destin:sandestinSATURDAY 02/20/16

SATURDAY – we woke up to a beautiful day, ate breakfast and then we took a very long walk along the beach. So relaxing, even though it was a bit windy and the water was not its normal pretty clear blue.
Did a little shopping after we dropped Han off at Starbucks because the condo did not have any internet and he needed to catch up on some sites.
For dinner we ordered in Chinese food and we sat around quietly eating. I was looking forward to playing “Cards Against Humanity” with Donna because I knew it would be fun, but she was not in the mood. I ended up going to bed at 8:00 because I was simply tired from all the traveling.

Feb 18

Leaving Louisiana in the Rearview Mirror

Sunset in DestinTHURSDAY 02/18/16
Woke up this morning and once again began the chore of packing the car for another destination. Hugged the grand kids bye, gave the doggies some pats on the head then headed out for Destin FL.

Our lunch stop was at Piccadilly’s. Besides the fact that some of my foodie friends had been suggesting it to me, I remember dining at a Piccadilly in Gainesville with good memories. Both memories and friends were absolutely correct. I was quite surprised by the quality and taste of a cafeteria style restaurant. Han raved about the fish. Continue reading

Feb 17

A Short Week Near Baton Rouge

Three horses

Monday: 02/15/16 

Monday was so stormy. Phone alerts were going off, thunder and lightening, tornado watches and nervous dogs topped the chaos.

Yes, you may add me to the nervous bunch of animals. It did not let up for quite some time. Tripp and I bonded over today’s storm, since we were reliant on each other company while cowering.

The front and back yard is now a lake. Maranda came home from her job at a local electrical service company and cooked up shrimp chowder with garlic bread. My daughter is one excellent cook. Continue reading

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