Day 6. Florida continued

11/29/13. Woke up to blue sky and warm weather! The high temp today was 78°. Needless to say, we were really enjoying it!

We spent the day with our friends Steve and Barbara. They have a beautiful home on one of the waterway canals down here in Port Charlotte. She made Thanksgiving dinner for us today and it was delicious. Steve took us out for a boat ride around the canals. It was a great day for a boat ride.

Pic. 1 is taken from their living room looking out to the canal they live on (you can see their pool right off the covered lanai). Pic. 2 is taken from the boat looking down one of the canals.

Unfortunately the day was over too soon and we had to get back to our hotel and get ready for the 12 hour drive back to New Orleans tomorrow.

Day 5: Florida

11/28/13. Happy Thanksgiving!

Staying in hotels and not having to get up and rush down the road is really great! We've been sleeping 8 and 9 hours a night! Definitely don't do that at home.

We didn't win the $60M Powerball from last night either. :-(   We never thought we would but a gal can dream can't she? :-)

It was 31° when we left Valdosta, Georgia this morning and crossed into Florida 16 miles down the road (pic. 1). But the sun was bright and it was blue sky! Just what the doctor ordered after four days of gray skies. The rest areas in Florida are plentiful but not as clean inside the bathrooms as Georgia's were. But the grounds were very pretty (pic. 2 and 3).

We stopped at Cracker Barrel in Ocala, Florida for a bite to eat. Wow, I think everyone in two counties was there. We were seated right away but when we left it was a 40 minute wait. Crazy! But I loved all the white rocking chairs outside on the covered porch/walkway.

The 69° in Port Charlotte when we got here was awesome. We were so tired of cold weather. And this is the view from our hotel room (pic. 4).

Day 4: Georgia

11/27/13. Another cold morning in Tennessee but we were heading south as soon as we ate and gassed up! We drove south thru Georgia and stopped for the night in Valdosta, a handful of miles from Florida. It was 32° when we left Tennessee and it was 45° when we stopped for the day but it was windy so it didn't feel very warm.

Several months ago I bought eBags for traveling purposes (it makes packing so nice and keeps the suitcases nice and tidy)! Anyway, Jim's clothes in our shared large suitcase are a mess while my eBags stay so nice and nothing gets wrinkled (pic. 1). Needless to say, he now wants some too!

We passed lots of cotton fields on our way south. Georgia also has it figured out that travelers need rest areas. They're clean and plentiful with beautiful Georgia pines (pic. 2).

I saw this truck at a rest area and just had to take a picture (pic. 3). I'd never seen a Pollywog truck before! I want to know if the Pollywog truck was going to the Piggly Wiggly! ;-)

We ate dinner tonight at Cheddar's. There are 2 in Georgia and 8 in Florida. I had fried catfish and it was very good!  Of course I had sweet tea too!

I'm definitely looking forward to getting to Port Charlotte, Florida tomorrow where it's going to be in the 70's and 80° by Saturday! Yay, warm weather again!

Days 2 & 3: Tennessee

11/25/13. After having breakfast with Billy and Donna (it was in the low 30's and I was not prepared clothes-wise for cold weather), we drove the backroads of Alabama (wow, that made me sound like Mike and Frank on American Pickers) for 60 miles before getting on the highway heading to Tennessee. Rural Alabama is beautiful and there was little traffic.

We went to Tennessee to visit with my cousin and his wife, Dean and Tami. We went out for fried chicken and lots of beer for the boys! Jim and Dean had a blast (pic. 1) (Tami took a great picture of the guys laughing hysterically but I couldn't pull it up) even though it was cold and rainy ... or maybe because it was cold and rainy.

11/26/13. After a lazy morning at our hotel, we hung out at the Shack (that's what Dean and Tami call their place) with Dean until Tami got off work. We went for Mexican food and margaritas with lots of margaritas for the girls tonight (pic. 2)!

Day 1 continued: Alabama

11/24/13. We stayed in Silas our first night on our road trip with Billy and Donna (my little step-brother/sister-in-law). We had such a good visit and just about ate ourselves sick thanks to Sharon and Donnie (Donna's parents). I am definitely going to have to try my hand at a Boston butt one of these days now that I know the secret!

I also learned how to keep the coyotes and bob cats from stealing the chickens and barn cats on the farm - hang the bodies of trapped coyotes and bob cats from the trees as a warning that that's what happens if you try to get the chickens or barn cats (pic. 1).

Can you imagine living with this every day, right on your property (pic. 2)? It's absolutely beautiful. I think I could live on a farm ... if I didn't have to do farm stuff! Just live on all that land with no neighbors!

Billy and Donna's "guest house" was their huge fifth wheel (pic. 3)! It had all the comforts of home and was so comfortable!

Donna, Billy and Jim (pic. 4). Donna, Billy and me (pic. 5).

Day 1: Mississippi

11/24/13. The first leg of this five state road trip had us leaving Louisiana on a cold, windy day and crossing up through Mississippi into Alabama. The drive through Mississippi (pic. 1) was beautiful - the magnolia trees are so big down in the gulf states. We were very impressed with I-59 (pic. 2). The road was in great condition, the median was nicely mowed and there was no garbage anywhere!