When we returned from our 5,000 mile road trip through the Southeast, we told you that we’d be locking ourselves into our house in Nebraska so we could write all about it.
And this map doesn’t even include the driving we did at our various destinations!
And, with the exception of a seven course whole-hog Valentine’s Day dinner at The Pioneer Woman Mercantile in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, (read about that HERE) we’ve been pretty good about staying on task. After seeing that meal, can you blame us for getting a little off course?
PIN THIS FOR LATER
Anyway, we returned to Crete, and have since been barricaded in our home, mostly because it keeps snowing. But, after taking the snowblower for a walk every morning, we’ve been working away on stories for our blog. We can’t wait to share some of the highlights from our trip with you.
Our 5,000 mile road trip
The journey began when we left our Nebraska home and spent a few days in Oklahoma with our daughter, Meghan. A couple days after Christmas, we set out from Pawhuska (Handy’s pops in hand) and pointed the car southeast.
Because of Ann’s achy joints and our desire to stop and see some things along the way, we only drove 4-5 hours a day. With stops in places like Bentonville, Arkansas, and Greenville, Mississippi, we slowly worked our way into a warmer climate. By the time we arrived in Gulf Shores, Alabama, in time for a beautiful hosted dinner at Coast Restaurant, it was positively lovely. From there, we skirted along the Gulf Coast before turning south and driving the length of Florida. On this leg of the trip we even got to make an unexpected stop in Orlando when our car broke down. The nice folks at the dealership there were great and got us to our scheduled stop at the Downton Abbey Exhibition in West Palm Beach in plenty of time.
Next, we parked the car in Fort Lauderdale for a week while we boarded the new Celebrity Cruises Edge. We took a seven-night cruise to the Western Caribbean aboard the brand new ship and loved every minute of it. I mean, look at this rooftop garden!
After the cruise, we drove on south to visit my folks in Marathon, Florida. And because we were so close, we went on down to Mile Marker 0 in Key West. You guessed it. It was all north from there.
Heading north
We left the Keys, heading north via Orlando and a dinner at Universal CityWalk and went on to Atlanta the next day. We saw one of Ann’s former colleagues and then toured the magnificent Georgia Aquarium. Lamenting it was getting cold again, we headed back west towards Oklahoma and made some interesting stops along the way.
By the time we got back home, we’d gone more than 5,000 miles sitting next to each other in the car. Believe it or not, we still love each other! Really love each other. We honestly enjoy being together and the time in car gave us a chance to talk, sing, and just enjoy each other. We did discover, however, that we could go an hour or more at a time without talking because after five weeks of close togetherness, there really wasn’t much more to say. And that was OK.
As you might guess, we’ve got quite a bit to tell, and we can’t wait to share. We hope you’ll find some travel inspiration and a few tips along the way. If you have not subscribed to our email list, this would be a great time so that you don’t miss anything! Just put your email in the box below.
As always, thanks for following along on our journeys and travel well!
Yes!! It’s SO refreshing to hear about folks that love and enjoy each other enough to ‘survive’ a trip like this – and then still love and enjoy each other when they get back home!
We’ve had a few multi-thousand mile road trips, too. And when this husband, wife, daughter, and 2 dogs family got back home – we still liked each other! (That’s not to say that we didn’t equally enjoy spending a couple of days alone in our respective corners of the house upon return.) ?
But, we’re always ready to start planning our next trip – together! ?
It’s a joy to read and follow along with y’all’s journeys. Y’all are the feel-good kind of folks with the feel-good stories that make me always look forward to your next posts. Keep ‘em coming!
This is so nice of you to say. As you know, we’re having the time of our life and are just so touched by people like you who enjoy going on this journey with us. I’m so glad our paths crossed this year (and is there a better place for that to happen than The Boarding House?). Thanks for inspiring us, as well.
My wife and I drove cross country for our Honeymoon in 2013. We were out and about for approximately 2 weeks. We drove from the Southernmost tip of Texas (RGV – Rio Grande Valley)(home) across Texas, and Oklahoma to our first stop in Joplin Missouri. Spent the night there, got up the next morning, drove to St. Louis Missouri, visited several historic landmarks and did some sightseeing, then drove to Benton Harbor Michigan. We spent several days in Michigan with my in laws. We drove to South Bend Indiana, and surroundings areas, visited some Amish communities in the area, then drive to Chicago and did some more sightseeing there. We drove across Michigan, crossed into Canada (Port Huron port of Entry) on July 4th and drove to Niagara Falls. Spent the day sightseeing Niagra Falls for the day and drove towards New York City stopping for a nights rest in PA. The next morning we drove into New Jersey then onto Manhattan via the Holland Tunnel. Spent several days in Manhattan taking in the sights and sounds of the Big Apple. Did I mention that we did lots of walking and sightseeing for days. After several days in New York we drove down to Philadelphia and did some more sightseeing. We stayed there for a couple of days. After Philadelphia we drove down to the nation’s capital, Washington D.C. several days were spent there taking in the sights and sounds of the nation’s capital and its museums, and national monuments. After enjoying our time away we had to take the long dreaded home back. We drove down through Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, with a stop in Louisiana, New Orleans of course. We spent several nights at the Harrah’s Hotel & Casino playing our luck. We were comped several nights stays at the beautiful hotel. After we got our gambling itch taking care of, we drove home back in the Rio Grande Valley.
P.S. We had no prior hotel reservations, and specific plans to stop anywhere.
Love this!!! What a fantastic travel memory. Thanks so much for sharing it with us and our readers. Travel well …