Florida South Coast

Our reasonable motel has a reason that is a reasonable motel.  After enduring a night in what felt like a steam room, we were treated to packaged breakfast sweet rolls in the tiny lobby.  We were happy to get on the road and the promise of warmer temperatures.  Our first stop was the exclusive Jupiter Island with its mansions and manicured landscaping.  A beach stop revealed that we were still in transitional weather,  a brisk wind that took the chill off the last couple of days, but still not time to pull out the shorts.  Next, it was down to Palm Beach and a crowded Saturday market where we picked up some street food for lunch.  In West Palm Beach we walked the grounds of the Episcopal church where the rich and famous like to tie the knot.  Driving by Mar a Lago we caught a glimpse of the Trump residence between secret service cars.  We capped our Beach town day with a stop at Lauderdale by the Sea before heading inland to Coral Springs and our La Quinta motel which was quite an improvement over the previous night.

Sunday was our Miami day.  The morning greeted us with mid-seventies temperature which we were totally ready for.  We had decided to use the Hop on Hop off Big bus to see the major sights.  Unfortunately, our gps directions gave us a bum steer for the bus start, but we had a scenic drive through Miami Beach neighborhoods.  After identifying the real bus hub back in Miami, we went back across the causeway to Miami Marketplace and caught the double decker bus.  We passed by cruise ship row, and were back in South Beach where we got off and enjoyed a stroll on the promenade between a lively beach crowd and the deco art of the hotels.  We walked a couple of miles and experienced a confusing scramble to find the next bus stop; then boarded the bus to enjoy a drive through the various areas of Miami, getting off the bus again in Little Havana.  We ate at an authentic cafe, complete with cramped quarters, dark walls and blaring live music, topped off with Cuban coffee which we payed for later that night.  The open air bus ride back downtown added fuel to our day's sunburn.  We slipped out of the city and found a Best Western in Florida City, spending the night watching the Eagles and Chiefs secure their spots in the Super Bowl.

Frigid Florida

In an attempt to enjoy a little warmer weather in January, we decided to spend a few weeks in Florida.  My sister Ellen is accompanying us on this adventure.  We took a red eye flight that started with a misunderstanding with Alaska Airlines which resulted in paying for some check in luggage.  We arrived in Tampa sleep deprived and freezing.  It was colder in Tampa than when we left Seattle.  After securing our car rental, we jolt started our day with a trip to McDonalds, finalizing our plans for the next day or two days. Our original plan was to visit the panhandle, but reports of snow in Pensacola quickly changed our plans.  We decided to head to the Space Coast and enjoy the Kennedy Space Center while the weather was bad.

We drove across the state in the morning and explored Cocoa Beach with a stop at Ron Jon's.  Lunch was at Big Daddy 5 where Esther tried the Frito pie.  A late afternoon nap at the motel gave us enough energy to go eat at Cracker Barrel.  Thursday was a long day at the Kennedy Space Center where we stayed warm and entertained, browsing the many museums and a warm bus ride through the complex.  We thoroughly enjoyed the experience of 70 years of US space history.  The museum of the Apollo program was our highlight.  That evening we started north toward St. Augustine, stopping to give Ellen a Buc-ee's experience before finding a motel for the evening.

We woke up Friday to another chilly but sunny day.  Though it looked more like Florida in the sun, it still did not feel like Florida.  We toured the Fort Castillo de San Marcus, the historic St. George Street and the lighthouse, passing on the Alligator Farm.  Making St. Augustine just a short stop, we turned south along the coastal route A1A through beach towns, resorts, condos and exclusive mansions and the beach of course.  No one was on the beaches, not even in Daytona Beach-too cold!  We made our down to Fort Pierce and found a reasonably priced motel near the interstate and enjoyed a sunset over the next door truck stop.

Homeward Bound

 We said good bye to Mike and Marti Friday evening and headed west, driving all the way through Oklahoma in the dark, sleeping in a rest area near the Texas border.  We woke up to pouring rain which continued through our morning drive through northern Texas.  Entering New Mexico, we took an unimpressive walk in Santa Rosa, then decided to take a detour and enjoy Santa Fe, rather than Albuquerque.  An early check in to the reasonable Sage Hotel gave us time to walk the plaza with its Day of the Dead festival and our favorite Canyon Road stroll.  We also enjoyed a long walk on a city trail.  Dinner was and expensive disappointing Mexican grill.  Saturday found us driving south through New Mexico to Las Cruces and then west towards Tucson.  It was a stormy drive through southeastern Arizona before we arrived in Tucson and Jim and Diana’s condo.  We enjoyed the evening catching up and having pizza.  The next day we took a walk in Sabina Canyon, drove up to Mt Lemon, stalled through Agra Caliente Park.  Dinner at a good Mexican grill topped off a great day with friends. The next morning, we stopped at a Jiffy Lube for yet another oil change, and headed for California on I-8, through Yuma, then north to Indio where we booked a two bedroom condo in a gated country club.  It ended up being a little trashy, but all we needed to enjoy an evening watching election returns. We took a long walk through the gated country club and ate frozen dinners from the grocery store.  On Wednesday we drove to Lindsay, a small town near Fresno as a launching point to the national parks.  We checked into a motel and walked the town which appeared to almost exclusively Hispanic.  We ate at a Chinese restaurant.  In the morning, we headed for Kings Canyon.  The maps app took us through a long drive through remote windy roads (sometimes one lane) through some beautiful country.  Unfortunately, Esther got really car sick and suffered for a couple of hours.  We finally made it to the visitors center and found out that the canyon proper was closed for the season.  We did enjoy a hike on a ridge looking up to the canyon and some short walks to see the giant sequoia trees.  Leaving mid-afternoon, we made a bee line north, driving until 10pm and sleeping at a rest area near Lake Shasta.  In the morning, we crossed the Siskiyou’s and stopped in Ashland to walk at Emigrant Lake before making Corvallis mid-afternoon to start our grandparents adventure for the weekend.

Back to Fayetteville

 Before leaving New Orleans, we decided to experience a little of the city.  Since we were off of the ship by 9 am, we walked to the French Quarter and bought tickets for the Hop on Hop off city tour bus.  The city was overrun by Swiftys, creating long lines everywhere.  We hopped off the bus in the Garden District and enjoyed a quiet walk through the historic mansions.  Back in town, we walked through the French Quarter and Market before retrieving our car from the parkade and heading back to the Motel 6 we had stayed at before the cruise.  In the morning, it was back to the city for a visit to the WWII Museum for five hours.  We really enjoyed the museum and learned a lot.  We ate at a local hot chicken joint for an early dinner and hit the road, sleeping at a rest stop in northwest Louisiana.  The next day, we drove to Hot Springs, Arkansas and checked into a Baymont Hotel on a lake.  The National Park is downtown, and is composed of the old spas and hotels that accommodated the rich and famous in their day.  Dinner was at the old diner, McClard’s BBQ, Bill Clinton’s favorite.  On Wednesday, we drove the windy highway through the Ozark’s, back to Fayetteville.  On Thursday, we got to experience the Spero Clinic and watch as Marti went through some of her therapies.  The staff and patients were very friendly and we got to hear some more stories of amazing healing.  Lunch was at a delicious Khana dish at an Indian restaurant, and dinner at a popular taco bar, topped with frozen custard at Andy’s.  On Friday, we drove to Bentonville with Mike and Marti to check out Mars Mercantile and then a meal at Bentonville Brewery.  

Caribbean Cruise

 As we began our cruise Sunday evening, we tried to get familiar with navigating our way around the ship.  We got plenty of exercise just trying to find our room each time we left it.  We also started the challenge that Angela Fenton gave us to only use the stairs and never the elevator.  The top decks were very crowded and festive as we snaked our way down the Mississippi to the open ocean.  Our first full day on the ship was spent at sea.  It was a sudden change of pace to read and relax with no internet.  We also enjoyed experiencing the complementary dining options.  We got in a routine of eating breakfast in the cafeteria and lunch and dinner in one of the restaurants.  Our first stop was Costa Maya where it was pouring down rain.  We had booked an excursion, so we had to go for it. By the time we found and boarded our bus we were drenched.  The excursion took up our entire shore time.  We drove over an hour to the Mayan ruins, had a great local tour guide and experienced a local village complete with a lunch at a home.  Our second stop was Harvest Caye in Belize, which was basically just a resort island beach. We walked as much as we could, but also relaxed after at least getting in the water.  Our third day we were in Roatan Island, Honduras.  This was a much better cultural experience as was we able to walk the streets and observe a lot of local life. We did go to an animal exhibit where we were able to hold monkeys and a sloth.   Our last stop was Cozumel, Mexico.  It rained off and on, but we were able put in a five mile walk, ducking into a church and a Starbucks to avoid rain showers. Our final day was another day at sea with lots of sleeping and reading.  Disembarking the ship was pretty crazy, very congested and confusing.  But it was the only time on the entire cruise that we had to wait in line.  We carried our luggage down the stairs from the twelfth deck, sealing the challenge to never use the elevator for the entire trip.  With our room on the 12th deck, dining on 7,8, 15 and 16, and disembarking on the 4th deck.  We climbed a lot of stairs, but I don’t think that it made up for our calorie intake!

Natchez trace Trail

 On Thursday we headed for the Natchez Trace Parkway.  This roadway which stretches 450 miles through mostly Mississippi is like no other highway we have ever been on.  It is like a green belt that stretches across the state, a double lane highway with very limited access and light traffic, lined with wide mowed shoulders. The roadway commemorates the historical route traveled for centuries on foot and horseback from the Lower Mississippi to Nashville.  We stopped at several sites, most notably Meriwether Lewis’ tragic death and burial site.  We snuck in late one night into a park campground next to Davis Lake.  We got off the parkway a few times to see the real Mississippi.  Enjoyed the town of Tupelo,   Elvis’ birthplace and childhood home.  Another highlight was the southern terminus of Natchez.  The historic town with hundreds of old houses was buzzing as it was the annual hot air balloon festival.  We ate dinner at a local brewery and drove to the Louisiana border and slept in a rest area, making it two consecutive nights in our SUV RV.  Saturday we walked Baton Rouge with its impressive capital building and grounds.  A short afternoon brought us to a Motel 6 near New Orleans and a local laundry mat to get ready for the cruise.  The next morning we thought we gave ourselves plenty of time to get to the cruise, but the crowded and confusing port area took us an hour to drop off baggage and find our reserved parking lot.  Boarding was organized and we heaved a big sigh of relief once on board.