Day 1
We started a trip a little later than intended, due to having such a large amount of stuff and visitors and cleaning to do. We ran out of trash bags and then ran out of space in the car and had to give more stuff away.
Once we got started we were going to take the turnpike as it is the quickest way out of central Florida but while on the entrance ramp police shut down the whole northbound side. We ended up having to go southbound and exit then drive almost back to where we started so we could take I-4 over to St. Pete and then up the coast. That added an extra two hours to the trip.
After driving until 4.30 am we decided to stop and get a little rest. We napped for about 30min-1 hr and then were awoken and left. We drove through Florida and into Alabama where it started to downpour. Alabama gets a thumbs down as it was wet, gray and very industrial. Even Mobile wasn't anything special.
Luckily, it is a small state at it's southern coast and we were quickly into Mississippi where it stopped raining long enough for us to visit the visitors center and take a look around. Mississippi gets a thumbs up. It seemed pretty and everyone was likeable. At this point it was about noon or 1 and we were so ready for New Orleans.
We are alive and in some little town outside of Houston for the night. Tomorrow we have a full day of driving to just get out of this state. We made great progress today but we're tired, bloated, swollen, and have some busted capillaries in our eyes.
We'll sleep now and update tomorrow.
Countdown
We are leaving in about 36 hours and we're trying to get things sold. People on craigslist are flakes or just strange as shit.
Carter will be departing tomorrow on his horribly expensive flight and should be in Oregon around 3 EST. I still need to get him a crate today and then he will be good to go. I hope he doesn't freak out too much with the whole situation and then having to live with people he doesn't really know. Poor dog.
We should be in New Orleans by noon on Friday and doing up the French Quarter.
Tentative Itinerary
Day 1-Orlando to New Orleans takes 9 hr 40 minutes. Leave early that morning so we can enjoy the most out of the french quarter and eat lots of food and look at buildings and such. Continue driving around 6p or so and head for TX. Stop somewhere between Beaumont and Houston. I'll stop when sleep is needed. We can do truck stop ifnwe have to. We will see. Day 2-Head to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. This will take approx 10 hrs from Houston and maybe 12 from beaumont. The last entry into the natural cave is at 3.30 and the last elevator entry is 5. I would prefer the elevator so i would like to be there around 3. Then we can look around and see the bats maybe and head out around 6 p for Santa Fe, which is four hours away. Day 3-We can get up at whatever time and we'll be in Alburquerque/Santa Fe until about 4 when we need to leave to go to Winslow AZ and spend the night. It looks little and quaint;we should get there around 8p. Day 4- From Winslow to the Grand Canyon takes 2 hours. We'll leave at the latest at 2-3 p so we can go to Vegas. It takes 5 or so hours to get to Vegas from there. We'll be in our room around 7 or 8 and chill and have good eating at a casino. CHEAP BEEF AND MONEY! and then walk the strip and see all the sights we can. Day 5-Vegas to San Simeon, CA home of the Hearst Castle. This will be a relatively ugly drive I think. We should leave vegas around 930 and be at san simeon in time for the last tour at 5.20. The trip is 7 hours. Then we can just find a place to stay near to there for the night. Day 6-San Simeon--thru Big Sur (waterfall hike!) and then onto Monterey for the aquarium. It should only take about two hours to get there. Then onto San Fran which is 2 hours from Monterey and play in the park and see orchids etc. We'll stay in that area (a cheap part hopefully). Day 7-San Fran to Leggett (drive thru redwood--this whole part of the trip should have lots of redwoods.It takes about three hours to get there. From here we have a choice. We can go straight to Longview WA and that would take 9 hours and we would be done with the roadtrip. OR We drive from Leggett to Crater Lake (about five hours) and chill at the crater for the night. I know they have a nearbyish camping place with cabins. We probably couldn't make the hike inside the caldera on the 7th but we could do it on the next day before heading to longview.