Vagabonding West, Again!

We've been back on the trek West again in order to spend the holiday season with Emily.

Day One: Cape Coral, Florida to White Springs, Florida, 336 miles

After saying our farewells to Jim and Billibob, we were off to CVS for our COVID test, then onward on our Western journey (well, Northern at this particular point). We received our results (negative, yay) electronically on the road. We were excited to celebrate by dining one last time at the Columbia (the Sarasota location). That turned out to be a total fiasco that cost us some drive time on day one, but I was still hopeful that we could make it to Tallahassee overnight. 

Around 2 p.m., as is typical, I started getting on the hotel websites to make an evening reservation. Tallahassee: $250-$400 for a night! What?! I figured there must be a FSU game. Supply and demand! The next logical place, not quite as far along on our route, was Lake City. Unfortunately, any rooms in a reasonable range had terms in their reviews like "bed bugs," "roaches," and "hairs." Ew! AirBnb? Nothing! 

Fortunately, our friends Roberta and John Lacefield live near Lake City in White Springs and happen to have a tiny guest house. So I reached out on the chance they were home on a Saturday and willing to host two weary travelers. Yay, they were, and said come on over! Boy, it was nice to pull up somewhere familiar to a warm welcome! We spent a couple of hours catching up, then off to the cozy guest house. It really was a respite to spend the night in the tiny guest house. 

Roberta and John built this tiny house themselves. I'm always in awe of their skills!

In the morning Roberta made us some coffee and printed out our COVID test results, then we all went over to the next small town and enjoyed a good breakfast. They even treated us to a nice big bag of citrus from their farm. Something I especially love about our friendship is that we can go a long time without chatting and then when we see each other, we all just pick right up as if we had last spent time together the day before. Great friends are a treasure!

Day Two: White Springs, Florida to New Orleans, Louisiana, 488 miles

This is always a rewarding day of driving because one goes through several states; it's a real feeling of accomplishment! Our drive was pretty uneventful and pleasant, with pretty scenery. Driving through Mobile is always interesting: drive a long stretch of I-10, mostly over water, then into a tunnel.

We arrived to Louisiana just as the sun was setting. It was quite pretty! The welcome center always has a nice decoration but, unfortunately, did not have the Community Coffee sample we are accustomed to receiving. 

Did you spot the alligator in the welcome center decoration?

Upon arrival, we were very pleased with our AirBnb. The host, Rick, was super nice and welcoming, and the room was lovely. He even had my favorite bath salts and a nice deep tub, so I treated myself to a relaxing soak. (Interestingly, I learned about these bath salts during our last AirBnb NOLA stay.) He also provided a nice breakfast, to which we contributed some of the Lacefield citrus. Chatting with Rick, we learned that he has a side gig as a drag queen performer. We asked him to send us a picture. 

Rick aka Shea Man

Days Three - Eight: Taking a Break on the Carnival Valor, 1735 nautical miles

I'll talk more about this cruise in the next installment of Pandemic Cruising. For now, a few photos:

Sunset on the Mississippi and at sea

Had our big excursion in Progreso. We love this town and the nearby capital, Mérida, which we had considered for retirement. The area and the people are lovely, and it is a very safe part of Mexico. Unfortunately, it is just too hot for us. Taking a swim in a cenote is a great way to cool off!

Cozumel sunset

Day Nine: New Orleans, Louisiana to Katy, Texas, 370 miles

Today was a tiring day. The traffic was so heavy (weekend before Thanksgiving?), and there were many aggressive drivers and construction obstacles. In this leg we crossed the Mississippi, which seems odd because we were just at the Mississippi!

We made a fun pit stop at Buc-ee's, for gas and snacks, before calling it a day in Katy around 4:30. After an early rise for debarkation, and the challenging drive, we were ready for some rest. I made a short trip out to Trader Joe's to pick up some specialty items to take to Emily, since there isn't one in Laredo. 

The Peppermint Joe Joe's have arrived! This Buc-ee's was even bigger than the last one we visited!

Day Ten: Katy, Texas to Laredo, Texas, 324 miles

Once we got out of greater Houston, this became a more rural drive. Much more relaxing. After passing through the city of Victoria, the last couple of hours are "big sky country."

Pretty scenery on Highway 59

We arrived at Emily's in the afternoon. Her place had cute Thanksgiving decorations to greet us, and she made us one of her fabulous stir-fries for dinner. 

"Home" for the holidays!

We are in the process of changing our residential address to Emily's. So, if you need to reach us by mail, please use her address. If you don't have her address, send us a message and we'll get you updated.