Exploring the entrée of life...
Naples, FL – The Florida Everglades [1 hour 4 mins / 66.03 miles]
December 6, 2012
Leaving Naples the only thing we had on our mind was seeing Alligators! To get to the East Coast of Florida, we traveled the famous Alligator Alley where we found our way to the Cyprus National Preserve, an air boat ride at Cooperstown and finally at the Everglades National Park.
Tallahassee, FL – Clearwater, FL [4 hrs 43 mins / 295.86 miles]
Clearwater, FL – Naples, FL [2 hrs 54 mins / 170.49 miles]
We had a blast making our way down the West Coast of Florida. The beaches are extraordinary — flat sandy beaches perfect for running or even riding a bike. A few of our stops along the coast, Clearwater and Naples, including visiting some of Aaron’s family who winter down in the warm Florida sun.
Navarre Beach, FL – Panama City, FL [1 hour, 52 minutes]
Panama City, FL – Tallahassee, FL [2 hours]
November 30, 2011
Panama City is a very hoppin’ beach town in the warm weather – there are bars, restaurants and amazing white sand beaches everywhere you look. During our visit in November it was still a bit chilly for the beach, but we could easily imagine how much fun the area could be with a group of friends and nice, warm weather.
Pascagoula, MS – Pensacola, FL [1 hour, 38 minutes]
November 29, 2011
Leaving Mississippi we passed through Mobile, Alabama and drove along the Gulf Coast. During our drive we of course researched where we could stop along the way. We found the Naval Airforce Museum and the Gulf Island – Fort Pickens National Seashore. The Naval Airforce museum is a fantastic stop – with only a donation to enter, this was one of the best naval museums we had ever visited.
New Orleans, LA – Biloxi, MS [1 hour, 26 minutes]
Biloxi, MS – Pascagoula, MS [33 minutes]
November 28, 2011
After another day of sight-seeing in New Orleans, we began our drive through Mississippi in the afternoon. Our first stop was the Mississippi visitors center to figure out our next steps along the coast. They are extremely friendly and referred us to a few stops along our journey including Da Kitchen in Waveland, MS for authentic creole food, Biloxi to check out the beaches and casinos, Ocean Springs for some cute shops and also a stop by the Gulf Islands National Seashore.
Houston, Texas – New Orleans, Louisiana [6 hours 30 mins :: 350 miles]
November 25, 2011
The drive from Texas over to Louisiana was pretty interesting. We crossed bridge after bridge, even the longest bridge in the U.S! Yup, you heard it, right here in Louisiana. It is the Lake Pontachatran causeway tallying in at 20.3 miles long. It even tops the lists for the longest bridges in the world at #7, only to be toppled by those in China and Thailand.
I was so excited to make it to New Orleans not only because we were seeing the famous city, but also because I was visiting an old Marist friend, Traci.
Austin, Texas – Houston, Texas [2 hours, 50 minutes :: 165 miles]
November 23 – 24, 2011
After Austin, our next stop was to Houston to see the city and visit an old coworker of Aaron’s whose family still lives in the area. We also happened be there for Thanksgiving. Given the cost of flights, we opted to stay here for the holiday instead of going home. It was a huge city compared to what we had seen in San Antonio and Austin. We did a lot of exploring on the moped as usual and found just how quiet a big city can get on Thanksgiving day…
San Antonio, Texas -Austin, Texas ( 1 hour 30 minutes..if you’re not in rush hour)
November 23, 2011
Austin was one of my absolute favorite areas of Texas. A very young town, full of people in their twenties and early thirties, there is so much to do and see. It is also the live music capitol of the world! As a guide for what to do in Austin, I followed the advice of the Visitors Center and Travel Blogger Kristin at Camels & Chocolate – she gives a great low down on what to do in most cities. While in Austin we stopped by the SoCo (South Congress area), Zikon Park along the river, Whole Food’s flagship store, the State Capitol and walked along sixth street.
Big Bend National Park – San Antonio, Texas [9 hours]
November 22, 2011
I’m going to start out by saying that 12,000 miles later Aaron finally let me help him drive. The road to San Antonio was flat, empty and in the middle of nowhere! Cell phone service was nonexistent and so was the traffic thankfully. 9 hours later we made it to a San Antonio Walmart [SE Military] of choice to spend the night. During our day in San Antonio we visited the famous Alamo, the River Walk, the Villata Shops, tested out some Tex-Mex and even tried to buy some cowboy hats.
Big Bend National Park, Texas
Carlsbad Caverns, NM – Big Bend National Park, Texas [5 hours]
November 20-21,2011
Heading from New Mexico into Texas we passed back into the Central Time Zone. Only 1 hour behind the East Coast and that much closer to the end of our trip. EEK. Okay enough freaking out - Big Bend National Park is yet another amazing national park to visit. The park sits right on the southern edge of Texas, with the Rio Grande river serving as the Mexican border. I know what you must be thinking – no, after our scary experience with Tijuana we did not attempt another trip over the border…
