107th through 114th ( 17th-24th ) : roughly 2,650 miles travelled with 48 hrs behind the wheel
107th : 659.5 miles / 11 hrs behind the wheel
Agent Orange's "Unsafe At Any Speed" plays as I leave the Cities :D
St Louis area - pure, unadulterated vehicular evil... reminder to avoid driving this area like the plague !
MN to IA to MO - finally stop @ Fruitland Rest Area (MO)... only night spent in vehicle !
108th : 560.9 miles / 11 hrs behind the wheel
MO to AR to TN to MS to LA
follow a house ( yes, seriously ) through Jackson (MS) on 55 - hilariously perfect, excepting the few miles where behind me all I could see was someone's chrome grille/bumper ( how was it not obvious I was following a house, for cryin' out loud ?!? )
reach my family-of-friends in Mandeville (LA) ... now 3 generations to call family <3
note : Mississippi Welcome Centers/Rest Areas have THE friendliest, nicest people and the cleanest, most welcoming places!
109th : in Mandeville (LA) w/ family-of-friends
Beignets at Cafe du Monde (Mandeville) !
Mystery House w/ friends new and old :)
...keep those you love close, even if you don't see them in years they will always be family and the love only continues down the generations <3
110th : 76 miles / 5 hrs behind the wheel
LA to MS
arrive in Biloxi Beach (MS) - Gulf Of Mexico... beautiful!
spend the eve, right next door! @ the Crawfish Music Festival - never heard of the bands ( Troy Cartwright, Riley Greene, Troy Davis, & Old Dominion ), but good food and, yes, the music was good, too :)
111th : in Biloxi Beach (MS)
bacon, eggs, & beach breakfast - aren't mornings a beach ? ;)
visit Beauvoir & explore the area - meet locals, including some homeless... and one friend of the homeless who was convinced I was a cop *laughs*
112th : 606.2 miles / 10 hours behind the wheel
MS to TN to AR to MO
downpour the entirety of Mississippi, rainy day the remainder - but still beautiful drive!
roughly between 4p-5:30 'Lost In The Ozarks' ( yes, seriously, passing through barely existent towns such as Warm Springs & Wilderness on rollercoaster dirt roads with random hills & twists & turns ) until suddenly ending up on pavement in the Mark Twain National Forest
note : don't know when/where I passed between AR & MO, but there was a stream I crossed over at one point with a sign stating "It's Safe!" ... as if I had any intent on stopping on the crazy coaster-roads where you had 0 idea if anyone was behind or ahead of you !
stopped in Salem, MO to relax and let go of the steering wheel, finally ;) - interesting little mid-Ozark mid-Nat'l Forest town
113th : 437.3 miles / 7 hours behind the wheel
MO to IA
tried exploring the nearby mid-Ozark State Parks, but was largely disappointed - pretty much fishing hatcheries and definitely fishing-oriented... only exception : Echo Bluff State Park, new ( only a park since '16 ), beautiful, relaxing - and a former rainbow camp *laughs* - so continued northward
stopped in Pleasant Hill, on the outskirts of 'dez moe eenis' - lock issues with the hotel room, I was fine if inside, but mgmt had to let me back into my room !
note: so, yes, I "went to Iowa" - as I often threaten people to go to - only I didn't fish ;)
114th : 258.4 miles / 4 hours behind the wheel
IA to MN
intriguing rest areas in IA - very high-tech ! most intriguing : IA Rest Area in Daws... Corn & Chain themed !! ( found out it was a civil war piece, but I still think it's more interesting thinking of it as Iowa Kink ;) )
...and then home again
115th/Today
woke up to the news talking about a fire where someone died... on the block where my daughters live with the ex-wife! - while watching in shock, awe, and wonder I get the text from the ex-wife that it's a few doors down from them *whew* ... near heart-attack - and would've been one hell of a way to end a vacation !!
