Winter 2025 Southbound Trip Recap contains links to Day 1 - 8 posts.
The links above will take you to the detailed posts.
Just kidding...
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TOTAL DAYS DRIVE SOUTH - 8 (7 nights)
TOTAL DAYS PALM SPRINGS - 21
TOTAL DAYS LAS VEGAS - 20
TOTAL DAYS SAN DIEGO - 6
TOTAL DAYS DRIVE NORTH - 8 (7 nights)
TOTAL DAYS AWAY - 61
Normally we would not have come home the same way as we went south, but we had no planned excursions.
We had initially planned to do several stops on the way home that would have taken us in late March. But as the tariffs were announced we decided that we wanted to get home as soon as possible. We had wanted to spend some time in Dallas, Louisville, Nashville and St. Louis but that was not off the agenda.
I had also hoped to visit NYC this year, no to that as well. We had talked about a golf trip on the east coast which also won't happen now.
Our money will be spent anywhere but in the States.
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Abilene TX we enjoyed the Dr. Seuss statues. And some murals.
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WEATHER
We never needed our spring or winter coats on boots.
CALIFORNIA
ARIZONA
NEW MEXICO
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TEXAS
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ARKANSAS
TENNESSEE
KENTUCKY
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OHIO
MICHIGAN
SIDE TRIPS
Tucson AZ We've been here before. This time we managed to catch a Dumpster Must Go parade!!!
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Little Rock AR NEW Bill Clinton's Childhood Home
NEW Louisville KY It's too bad, we had planned on a few days here to really see some stuff, but $hit FELON47 (8647) happened!
HOTELS/FOOD NORTHBOUND
Best Hotel Brentwood TN Hilton Suites
Best Hotel Food Richardson TX Hilton Garden Inn
Worst Hotel and Food - Miamisburg OH Doubletree Hilton
SNACKS
Discovering great jerky (we'll ignore the fact that John threw it out thinking it was garbage LOL)
John now loves crystallized ginger. We had to stock up on Goo Goo clusters.
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FOOD
We had one McDonald's meal, our only fast food on this trip.
We ate at Cracker Barrel twice on the way home.
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BEST SIGHT!!!!
THINGS I LEARNED ON THIS TRIP
Red Rock NV the difference between a tortoise (lives on land) and a turtle (lives in the water)!
Tumbleweeds aren't native to the U.S. They accidentally arrived in South Dakota in 1870 in a shipment of flax seeds from Russia. Funny to think that such a staple in American West folklore is based on an invasive species. It could be argued that cowboys are an invasive species, so perhaps it's fitting.
The brightly colored balls on power lines, often orange, red, yellow, or white, are visibility markers, or marker balls, designed to make power lines more visible to low-flying aircraft and helicopters, particularly in areas where they might be difficult to spot.
All these years and so many Cracker Barrels in our travels but I never wondered where the name came from. Cracker Barrel's name comes from the 19th-century practice of general store customers gathering around "cracker barrels" filled with soda crackers to chat and socialize.
We love date shakes!!!
I owe John a bean dip like he had in Lordsburg.
Bringing a HDMI cable to stream our own shows from laptop to big TV worked really well!
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
It was not uncommon to see hospitality employees wearing masks. There were also quite a few tourists with masks.
American restaurant portions are way too big!!
Radio reception is nil driving through southern New Mexico and Texas. Funny enough, though, you can get Mexican stations and the bible thumper stations.
Texas has the worst construction.
I missed having two bathrooms!
I also miss my kitchen and stuff and trying new recipes.
I miss the frozen gluten free shrimp that we found.
I didn't miss housekeeping, doing laundry (sheets/towels), stripping beds.
SONG LIST
...Rosy is right.
ReplyDeleteYou do live THE LIFE, this is so wonderful!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing!
LOL, my Granma thought those ginger-pieces are for kids. Ummm. Huiii...
Very interesting about the Tumbleweeds!
I think restaurant portions are way too big everywhere. Ingo got Namaste-food yesterday, "normal" portion. I had three meals, Ingo 2 "big" ones...
I think €8 and highest quality... crazy!
Two bathrooms?! I think you would not like our place (tiny toilet with washbasin, separated from bigger basin and shower, both without window - but with family´s help we could afford it in one whoosh)).
LOL on the last one - commenting in my PJs.