Leaving Laredo, Vagabonding East

 

Day 1: Laredo, Texas to Lafayette, Louisiana, 537 miles

Phew, that was a long drive day! But, we made it out of Texas and almost halfway through Louisiana. The first four hours of our drive were pretty easy, on U.S. Route 59. Little traffic, wide open vistas. Reminded us of driving around south Georgia.

More border patrol! This time there was a sniffer dog. While it did its job, the agent asked if we were U.S. citizens, then sent us on our way. We kept seeing these signs for I-69, "future interstate corridor." Didn't really seem justified, with the small amount of traffic, and I began to wonder if that was someone's pipe dream. But ... when we got near Houston, there was I-69, merged with 59. I guess Houston and Laredo will eventually connect with an interstate? By the way, U.S. 59 is known as the Lloyd Bentsen Highway. Click here for Bentsen's famous mic drop moment. Classic. 

When we drove from California to Texas, several friends said we should stop at Buc-ee's. There weren't any in that part of Texas, but I found one for us to stop at on our route. This place is the mother of all convenience stores! It had grocery carts!

Isn't Buc-ee cute? And the other guy too? We tried their BBQ sandwiches for lunch. I had brisket and John the pulled pork. Both were quite yummy. Look at all the pumps! And this isn't even one of the big ones. The Buc-ee's in New Braunfels, Texas is the largest, but plans are in the works for an even bigger one, in Tennessee, not Texas! Uh-oh.

Mid-afternoon, we were happy to make it to Louisiana. Don't feed the alligators! 

I took a short break at the rest stop to do some Seeking, now that there's some different species. I think I Seeked (?sought?) everything on the West Coast!

Who knew that a hyacinth could grow in the water?! I learn so much from playing Seek.

COVID report: Lousiana is in the dark red zone for cases and risk. It is number 1 in ranking for the past week with the highest number of cases per 100,000 residents. It ranks 54th out of 59 listed U.S. states / territories for vaccination rates, with 37% fully vaccinated. We went inside three buildings (fully masked, of course), the welcome center, Chicken Salad Chick, to order and pick up dinner, and our hotel, all of which had signs saying Louisiana has a mask mandate; about 10% of people were wearing masks.

Day Two: Lafayette, Louisiana to Tallahassee, Florida, 512 miles

5:30 a.m.: Fire alarm! Evacuate the hotel. We were one of the smart few who grabbed our car keys. Better to sit in the car for the building clearing than on the curb in the humid Louisiana heat! Fun to observe what types of PJs people wear, as well as what they deem 'important' to bring with them!

Since we were already up, once the building was cleared, we got ready and hit the road! There was some pretty scenery in the first hour. 

Henderson Swamp and Pretty Sun Rising

Crossing the Mississippi in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

This is my favorite driving day of this I-10 journey. Even though it's not any more miles driven, one can make it through multiple states. It provides a sense of accomplishment!

We were in Mobile, Alabama by lunch!

Mobile's kind of fun because you get to go through a tunnel instead of over a bridge. Then, when emerging ... TA DA! ... my first view of ocean in over six weeks!

When we got to Florida, we stopped at the welcome center for our complimentary orange and grapefruit juice, very tasty and refreshing on a hot, humid day.

John stopped to take a photo of all the entry requirements: No animals, no smoking, no soliciting, shoes and shirt required ... but not a mask or a vaccination. 

Which brings me to today's...

COVID report: As with Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida are all in the dark red zone for cases and risk. In the ranking for the past week with the highest number of cases per 100,000 residents, Florida is second, Mississippi is fourth, and Alabama is fifth. Vaccination rates rank (out of 59 U.S. States and Territories): Mississippi, 57, Alabama, 52, Florida, 27. Went went indoors to the welcome center in Mississippi, Zoe's Kitchen to order food for lunch in Alabama, and our hotel, in addition to the visitor center, in Florida. As with Louisiana, I estimate about 10% of people were masked, despite mandates in certain places. 

Day 3: Tallahassee, Florida to Cape Coral, Florida. 399 miles

A shorter drive day, more than 100 miles less than the past two, but stressful. It started off fine in the morning. We drove the rest of I-10, crossing the Suwanee River and listening to music while enjoying the view. 

Pines, live oaks, and Spanish moss. That's Florgia!

Heading on I-75 towards Ocala, we passed a portion of Paynes Prairie, a huge wetland serving as habitat for over 1,000 species.

Too bad there wasn't time to stop and Seek here!

Once we got back on the road after lunch in Ocala, traffic got very heavy and aggressive. We had multiple stoppages due to accidents, and we had to twice dodge exploding tires! A quick stop at Publix for some groceries, and we arrived at cousin Jim's ... just in time for a thunderstorm!

Ready for this day to be over!

COVID report: In Florida, the businesses we stopped at, Panera and Publix, appear to be requiring masks for employees. So, mask usage was a bit better, maybe 20 - 25% of people encountered (mostly the employees). We're in and will be in a part of Florida where the population is older (Jim says Cape Coral is jokingly referred to as "God's waiting room."), so vaccination rates should be a bit higher. However, we will mostly be staying inside and, following full protocols when interacting. 

Fortunately, as summer thunderstorms do in Florida, it passed and we were in the pool by the time we unpacked and ate dinner. Ahhh....

We've now driven across the U.S. twice (in two years)!