Sold our beautiful house in Florida, our furniture, my BMW, and headed west to our little vacation condo at Lake Tahoe. A new beginning at ages 75 & 80! What a great adventure awaited us!

Day 1, Sunday, Waltzing across Texas:
Left little Gulf Breeze, FL in good spirits and headed west. Stopped at my hometown, Ellisville, MS (the Free State of Jones!), and paused for an hour. I may never be back. We also stopped near Magee, MS, and I talked my way onto a state mental facility that is on the site of an old TB Sanitorium. I had spent a few months at the Preventorium that is on the site in the early 1950s: getting healthy. I had not been back since. At the sight of the Preventorium building, the 70-year-old memories really came flooding back. When we tried to leave the gate guard that let us in was gone and the new gate guard didn’t want to let us out. Real funny. NOT! Counted the Little General stores along Hwy 49. Not much else to see in rural Mississippi. Arrived in Shreveport, LA where I was informed that I had reserved the wrong night. On to Marshall, our first night in Texas. I ate at a What-A-Burger: wife was afraid to leave the motel room.

Day 2, STILL in Texas:
Cross the Trinity river and the landscape changes to desolate west Texas. Nothing but mesquite. I-20 had been “perforated”, according to the signs. Kinda like driving on a road where the asphalt had been stripped before repaving. It was so loud we couldn’t hear our book. Counted What-A-Burgers and DQ’s. Got some of Para's “Steak Fangers” for lunch. Spent the night in Odessa. Good God. I dragged the wife to a local BBQ joint for some damn good Texas brisket.

Day 3: STILL in god damn Texas!
Finally broke out at El Paso. Saw The Wall. I had tacos at our Tucson casino for dinner. Wife wouldn’t come out of the room.

Day 4: Not in Texas but still BORING:
Made it to Palm Desert, CA. Rested up a few days and bought a condo on a golf course. Wife broke out of her funk.

Road day 5: Hit the road again to Tahoe.
I had never driven this route but WOW. Highway 395 goes straight north through the high desert hard beside the Eastern Sierra. What a view! Flat desert all around and the snow-covered Eastern Sierra range on the left. For miles and miles and miles. It was snowing and butt-cold when we finally arrived at our little condo. Tired. Hungry. Snowed-in.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, I WILL NEVER DRIVE ACROSS TEXAS AGAIN!

I hope you were entertained by my whining. Please feel free to share your road-trip misadventures.

(note my updated location)

Was your wife just too tired from all the driving to leave the hotel rooms or what?

To be honest, when I was doing road trips for a few years in my S2000 after I retired some 14 years ago, I found the most southerly routes in the SW States invariably annoying and at times scary. Don't ask. There was some beautiful scenery but not all that far north the scenery remained breathtaking but without all the "drama" of closer to the border.

quote:

Originally posted by Orguss:
Was your wife just too tired from all the driving to leave the hotel rooms or what?

I noted that for humor but her reasons varied: In Marshall it was sketchy (to her), in Odessa, she just didn't want to go out but I made her, in Tucson, she was tired and grouchy & didn't want to walk across the casino to get Mexican food. I brought it back to the room and she enjoyed it. She is not as spry as she once was, but can still shop 'til I drop.

quote:

Originally posted by cne32507:
Sold our beautiful house in Florida, our furniture, my BMW, and headed west to our little vacation condo at Lake Tahoe.....


.....Day 4: Not in Texas but still BORING:
Made it to Palm Desert, CA. Rested up a few days and bought a condo on a golf course...

Road day 5: Hit the road again to Tahoe....

You already have a condo at Tahoe but on the way there you stopped in Palm Desert and bought a condo there as well?

Sounds like a nice road trip though.

I have driven quite a bit in Texas due to work, doing site walks in Eagle pass is not fun when you live north of DFW.

There's a great place for burritos around Odessa at a gas station off of I20. Not that I had one but the line was 20 people long at 0500 so it must be good.

Drove quite a few times from Phoenix to DFW....Get to El Paso....announce that you are in fact a citizen...then only 10 more hours...of Texas