2024 Spring Exploring Florida
My husband and I just returned from an 18-day trip to explore a little of the Gulf coast and Florida. Some of the highlights were Gulfport, the Florida Keys, visiting good friends, a day in the St Augustine area, and a day in Shiloh National Military Park. I will start to post more details, and photos, as I go along.
We stayed in motels/hotels the entire way -- Comfort Suites (two places), Holiday Inn Express (two places), Best Western and Best Western Plus (several places), Margaritaville Beach House in Key West, and Quality Inn (one place). We were able to use our points for two nights and build up points to be used on a trip later this year.
Fuel was all over the place, price-wise. Hubby puts premium in his baby. We use Gas Buddy but a lot of times, GB did not have the price for premium listed. (I think that's because some reporters just list the prices they see on the outside signs, which tend to be Regular Unleaded and maybe Diesel.). We paid anywhere from $3.30 to $4.14, though we could have gone as high as $4.90-ish. Prices were highest in Florida, and lowest in Mississippi. We used Sam's Club a couple of times, and Murphy USA more than a couple of times. Our MPG ran from 22mpg to a whopping 30mpg.
I have to give a round of applause to Florida for their rest areas. They are numerous on 10, 75 and 95, usually 30-40 miles apart. Most of them are HUGE, with parking places for trucks that number up to 140 at some. They are often unusually set up, to be able to accommodate that many trucks. (Our friends told us that Florida did that and drastically reduced the numbers of trucking accidents in their state.) The rest areas are also CLEAN and have nighttime security -- and some of them have daytime security.
Our weather was good except for the 2nd day and the last day. On the second day, we were driving in downpour after downpour. We found out later that we went through Slidell, LA, a few hours after a tornado hit. We saw the evidence as we passed. We were basking in the 80s and 90s when in southern Florida.
Before we left, we ordered (and got) a Florida SunPass Pro. We chose to buy one for a few reasons, only a minor one being able to use Florida's turnpikes if necessary. The other reason? It's good in a LOT of other states, including Kansas where we travel a lot due to family.
We brought home a number of souvenirs. It was a challenge to find good riding places for new coffee mugs in the car we took, as there was no room for the empty suitcase or crate that we toss into the pickup when we take that on a trip. But all 4 mugs got home safely, as did the other things we brought home.
No, unpacking has not been completed yet. Soon. Soon.
Donna
Day 3: Mississippi Gulf Coast's Hidden Gem!
Day 3: Beauvoir
The morning and into early afternoon was spent at Beauvoir. This was the last home of Confederate States President Jefferson Davis. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and very relaxed. They do house tours every day, and once done with the house tour, one is allowed to wander the grounds, which are extensive.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9252e749_c.jpgIMG_7131 on Flickr.
The home and grounds later became a home for Confederate veterans and their spouses, until the last one died in 1957. It's now run by the Sons of the Confederacy, though our guide wryly pointed out that many are grandsons, great-grandsons, etc., now.
The furniture in the home is mostly period, but not all was original to the home. Sadly, too, Hurricane Katrina waged her war on Beauvoir, taking out the entire front porch of the house and there was water in the basement and first floor which tried to destroy many things, including a beautiful piano. Some of the things have been moved from the house to the museum, which is also extensive. I took many, many photos, so if you want to see more than the ones I upload here, just click on the IMG link. That will take you to my Flickr page with more.
One of Davis' daughters was an avid and talented musician, playing 15+ instruments. Here is her harp:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9a0a5791_c.jpgIMG_7136 on Flickr
Evidence of the water line from Katrina shows in this photo:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a9cf49de_c.jpgIMG_7140 on Flickr
The outside back porch and entrance into the exposed basement:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6e7d63c2_c.jpgIMG_7153 on Flickr
The extensive grounds are also home to a Confederate cemetery, complete with its unknown soldiers and the grave of the father of Jefferson Davis.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...91294211_c.jpgIMG_7166 on Flickr
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f09d514b_c.jpgIMG_7169 on Flickr
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...272f244a_c.jpgIMG_7172 on Flickr
The grounds have a beautiful garden, complete with a spring and a bench.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7e123f73_c.jpgIMG_7175 on Flickr
Day 3 Continued, Beauvoir Museum
Day 3, The Museum
The museum had a film playing on a loop on one floor, and Disney's "Song of the South" playing on the 2nd floor. There was also the requisite gift shop. But there were many things rescued from the house, before or after Hurricane Katrina, as well as an entire room dedicated to Civil War memorabilia.
The hearse that carried the body of Jefferson Davis after his death:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...5b8a3672_c.jpgIMG_7185
Jefferson Davis went to West Point Academy. There was a uniform there, with a notation that the cadet uniforms were the same in 1970 as they were back in the days that Davis was a cadet.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...73b073b8_c.jpgIMG_7186 on Flickr
An item leftover from the time when there were Confederate veterans living in the house and in homes on the property (destroyed by Katrina):
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...be6eb9d5_c.jpgIMG_7196 on Flickr
The statue of Davis' horse. Katrina swept it into the ocean, but after many "weird sightings", it was rescued and returned to Beauvoir.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...cba9d3e1_c.jpgIMG_7200 on Flickr
I hope you enjoyed your "tour" of Beauvoir. We spent that afternoon walking on the beach, which we were told earlier is completely man-made.
DAYS 4 and 5: More Driving
Days 4 and5: Driving Florida
We spent two days driving the Panhandle and the Gulf Coast of Florida, utilizing I-10 and I-75. Both days had the sun shining, and the weather warm enough to at least have the windows of the vehicle open a little.
On the first day, we drove from Gulfport to Ocala - about 490 miles. It was very uneventful. We found a Whataburger in Tallahassee for lunch. Our "rule of thumb" for food is to use local places as much as we can, and only the chains that we don't have steady access to. Whataburger qualifies in the latter category. So did dinner that night -- Olive Garden.
The second day was planned as a shorter day (270 miles) on purpose. However, I made a rookie mistake, forgetting to check the day of the week. My plan was to stop along the way and check out Siesta Key near Sarasota. OOPS -- it was a Saturday in the spring -- NO PARKING anywhere nearby, free or otherwise. I also would have liked to check out a lunch place in the Sarasota area, a place called Yoder's. Um, no, by the time we got ourselves out of Siesta Key (thank you, GPS), we were too stressed to go looking for somewhere else that might have issues. So we moved on, driving around Fort Myers and then down to Naples.
We were early again, so we found ourselves doing some shopping. Another chain we do not have near us is "Total Wine and More". Hubby wanted to pick up something for our friends (later in the trip) and also if he could find something he can't get near home, he'd buy it and bring it home. Success!
That night's stay was memorable. Saturday night in Naples, we checked in to our reservations at the BW Naples Park. Lovely place. We decided to use the pool. We weren't in it for 10 minutes when we were chased out. Evidently, there was an underwater light fixture that one of the many, many kids staying at the place had pulled out. That was dangerous! So we were all asked to leave the pool area, and they locked up the pool until they could get it fixed. There were a lot of kids because there was some big sports tournament in the area. We've had that happen before, staying with a lot of teams. We were surprised that it was fairly quiet that night.
Driving through Mobile, AL on Day 4:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6f9447f3_c.jpgDay 4-7
Spanish Moss at the Florida Welcome Center, Day 4:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a5bd4674_c.jpgDay 4-13
Day 6: Surprises around every corner
Day 6: Across Southern Florida on US-41
Making a leisurely exit from Naples Park, we got back on I-75 but not for long. We stayed on it until we could get on FL-951, which took us down to US-41. For a few miles, we admired the scenery, then turned south on FL-29 to Everglades City. Previous research had told me there was one of 4 visitor centers for Everglades National Park down there. Everglades City was a pretty little town, but no visitor center seemed to exist. A little later, at another visitor center, we found out why: hurricanes had taken out the Gulf Coast Visitor Center not just once, but twice. The construction site we saw was the rebuild, this time to be built to withstand hurricanes!
Back we went to US-41, continuing to enter Big Cypress National Preserve. It's run by the NPS, but as a preserve. Our first stop:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...03c4056e_c.jpgIMG_8332
Alligators!
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9808d417_c.jpgIMG_8333
We saw several alligators at that first stop, as well as some large turtles, who chose to stay underwater and make photos near impossible. Moving on, we stopped at the Big Cypress Visitor Center to learn more about the preserve, and also found out about the Gulf Coast V.C.'s issues with hurricanes.
A third stop was a long one, as there were a LOT of alligators in the swamp below the boardwalk.
One was basking in the sun:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...fb0782f6_c.jpgIMG_8352
Others were swimming:
[https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...613a3a70_c.jpgIMG_8354
Our fourth stop took a long time, once again because of my poor planning. Here we were, in a long line at the entrance to the Shark Valley Visitor Center of Everglades National Park. There was simply no parking. One car would leave, another would be allowed in. Some folks had parked along US-41, and walked in. Our vehicle was finally allowed in, about 25 minutes later, so we could go to the SVVC. We'd thought about taking the tram tour out to an observation tower, as no private cars are allowed back there. You could ride a bike, if you had one, but due to alligators on the roadways, they did not recommend walking -- it was a 16-mile round trip anyway. The tram tour would have cost us around $50, so we declined, looked around, and left so someone else could have our parking space. It was a Sunday -- that was the big problem.
We left US-41 on FL-997, a two-lane road that went through a lot of farmland, nursery areas, and some poor areas. Taking this down to Homestead/Florida City, we looked for a lunch place that wasn't fast food and ended up at Cracker Barrel. We'd only had a brief breakfast at BW.
Our night lodging was Best Western Gateway to the Keys. It definitely was showing its age, but it had a lovely pool area, which we took advantage of since it was over 80° and sunny. The place had most everything we needed. That night, though, we were sound asleep when it sounded like someone was trying to break down the door that adjoins one to the neighboring room. Turns out, the folks that rented that room came in very late and had a kid who was trying the door between the two rooms. Scary, but fortunately not an issue other than some lost sleep. The two of us were looking forward to the next day, and fortunately we could sleep in again!
Day 7: Getting to a "Bucket List" Place
Day 7: The Overseas Highway
Since moving to the Midwest, one place on our "must do" list was the Overseas Highway, AKA "The Florida Keys". The Keys were the point of this trip. Not wishing to deal with crowds or hurricanes, we chose to travel in mid-April, so in our planning, the first reservations were for the Keys. Then planned backwards and forwards from those dates. Watching the weather for the Keys for 10 days before our travel, we felt we were going to be in for some good weather down there -- and we were.
We checked out from our Florida City lodging just after 9 and headed south. It surprised us that we were so close to Key Largo, the first one along the Overseas Highway. Though armed with a guidebook, "South Florida", as well as a AAA Florida Keys map and of course state maps, we didn't hesitate to stop at the Key Largo Visitor Center. The docent there gave us so much information about the entire drive out to Key West, including speed traps. He gave us a good booklet about Key Largo, which came in helpful almost immediately since I'd forgotten to ask where a good breakfast place might be -- hotel breakfasts were getting old. Real old.
So the booklet had a nice ad for Key Largo Conch House, open for all meals. A conch, for those that don't know (we didn't), is a shellfish. We wondered, "for breakfast?" Yes, like lobster in Maine, it's okay to eat conch for breakfast (as long as you aren't allergic to shellfish). But first, mimosas -- in various flavors. Mine was pineapple.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e94449f8_c.jpgDay 7-1
My husband tried conch, but I had to be boring. I noticed things on the non-breakfast menu though, and put it in the back of my mind that we could stop here on the return trip for a different meal.
It was a gorgeous day for a drive on this highway. The weather was holding for us. Views ranged from typical Florida palm trees and beaches, to lots and lots of water. And bridges. It was evident why this highway was once included on the old TV show, "Modern Marvels". Especially the 7-mile long bridge! They have also turned parts of the old railroad bridges, wiped out in hurricanes, into pedestrian and fishing bridges.
View of an old bridge now partially a fishing/pedestrian bridge:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e2f74126_c.jpgIMG_8392
I think this is Seven Mile Bridge:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...68aff455_c.jpgIMG_8391
While making reservations for Key West, a place by the beach and with a beach view was on our "must have" list. We knew it would be pricey -- it was -- but this probably wouldn't be an every year thing. So, why not? We chose Margaritaville Beach House, which is on the south side (ocean side) of the island. (The old Margaritaville got sold and is now Opal something.)
The view out of our window:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...fb881f8e_c.jpgDay 7-2
After check-in, big decision: that beach, or the pool? Decided on the pool.
"Wastin' away again in Margaritaville...."
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e23a900e_c.jpgDay 7-3
And now, the pool:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...4c74c5af_c.jpgDay 7-4
So we unwound by, and in, the pool. The weather was well over 80°, the sun was out, the only issue was there was only one lounge chair. So we just threw our stuff on it until the people next to us abandoned two. "Come Monday, it'll be all right".
Folks here ask us how this Margaritaville compared to the one at Lake of the Ozarks, which we stayed at about 4 years ago. Well, they're a LOT different. They don't want them to be cookie cutters. The one at the Lake is a LOT bigger, with more buildings and more spread out, because it used to be Tan-Tar-A. The Lake's Landshark Bar & Grill is located on the property. The Key West one is in historic part of town, not on the hotel property. (The Key West bar & grill is called Top Chalice, if I remember correctly.). Also, the Key West property is much newer. It started life as a Sheraton before Margaritaville got it and put their spin on it.
Our room here was a true suite -- bedroom, kitchen area with a sink-refrigerator-microwave and a nice counter, a huge double-sink bathroom, and a living room area. You could close the bedroom doors, too. Plus there was a balcony with 2 chairs, and that nice view.
Day 8: Exploring Key West
Day 8: What does Key West have to offer?
From the first day of planning this part of the trip, we knew we could only afford so much $ and time in KW, so the research led to the things that were the most important for us to see. With our interest in history, two things stood out, and we decided to tackle one on each day.
Setting out in our car, we first realized the problem and expense of parking. A parking garage was $7/hour, and had available spots. Street parking was less expensive at $5/hour but not easily procured. (We solved that issue the next day, but for Day 8 we just paid the garage fees. Ugh.). The garage was right next to our goal for the day:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9d4dd7b2_c.jpgIMG_8406
We paid for the next tour, and got another great knowledgeable guide. The Truman White House was chosen because of our parents' admiration of Truman as well as the fact that he was a down-home country boy from Missouri. We've visited his Library in Independence, MO, and what's left of his farm in Grandview, MO. The Little White House, at one time, was located right on the water. But some dredging and other industrial issues now have the water much further from the home.
The tour enters here:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6b6be823_c.jpgIMG_8403
As with many home tours, you can go into certain rooms, while others are roped off. After we visited many rooms, we were left in the room with President Truman's piano (well traveled, as it went with him between DC and KW, by boat) and other beautiful antiques and furniture. Other presidents, including Clinton, have used this property. Another piece of trivia - all correspondence between Pres. Truman and his team left in DC, was done by telegram. That telegram had to come through the presidential ship that brought he and his family to KW, as KW had yet to get telegraph, much less phones, installed!
Also, the Trumans did not stand on ceremony. They would much rather throw on a bunch of hamburgers and hot dogs (and serve them from silver trays onto informal dining dishes) than host a fancy dinner.
I admired this table and the bowl on top of it, because the table was similar to one in my grandmother's house:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...75052cfb_c.jpgIMG_8408
The Trumans visited this house for 175 days over the course of his presidency. President Truman loved music - listening to it, and playing it.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...cc0be2cf_c.jpgIMG_8410
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...db957eb0_c.jpgIMG_8409
How he loved to dress when he was in the Key West White House:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f64fae04_c.jpgIMG_8413
One other tourist asked, "Was Camp David in existence during Truman's reign?" The answer is yes, but FDR called it "Shangri-La". President Eisenhower named it for his father and grandson, David.
By the time we finished our tour, the caretakers had brought out the Key West Presidential Limousine.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f6001193_c.jpgIMG_8414
After leaving the Little White House, knowing that the car was safely parked, we decided to go walking and also find a place for lunch. Here was a landmark we definitely wanted to find:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0eeb22a0_c.jpgIMG_8420
Our lunch was at Margaritaville in downtown historic Key West. It is the original cafe and Landshark Bar & Grill. We had to have the Cheeseburger in Paradise.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f32e55d8_c.jpgDay 8-6
[
While you were waiting, and then eating, there would be a loop of videos of Jimmy Buffett in concert. So if you were a parrothead, you were in seventh heaven. We liked his music, but don't consider ourselves Parrotheads. It was a nice way to be entertained.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...70c4cdb1_c.jpgIMG_8419
Before leaving that area of the island, we tried to do the traditional photo of the southernmost point, but there was no parking anywhere nearby and the line was horrendous! I took a photo, but with other people in it.
We headed back to the hotel, donned our swimsuits and grabbed our beach towels, to spend some time on the beach we'd been looking at!
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f27a69fc_c.jpgDay 8-8
cool landmark for roadtrippers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DonnaR57
Yes, that is a very cool landmark for roadtrippers.
I am enjoying this field report!
Mark
Day 9: Sightseeing Key West
Day 9: Fort Zachary Taylor
The second item on our "must see" list for Key West was Fort Zachary Taylor. Built as a protector from pirates, it has served during many conflicts including the Civil War (though it saw no action during that war). We were a hair late to the one and only tour of the day at 11 am, as we had traffic issues. But after the tour guide finished his initial talk and had the group move towards the next place, he gave quite a few latecomers "the 30-second version". He was good-natured about it.
He said that this was one of 13 forts on the Eastern seaboard that were all built to the same specifications. During the late 1700s, the French government gave us the plans with one comment, "Build them exactly as they are on the plans, do not make changes." Well, that means a fort built on the Atlantic Ocean south of Florida has a LOT of fireplaces, many of which went unused. It also had an interesting toileting, relying on the tidal flows as a flusher, with water level change. What works on the Mediterranean does not necessarily work on the Atlantic Ocean. But this tour was far better than the one at Fort Sumter, which looked amazingly like Fort Taylor!
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...db24dfe8_c.jpgDay 9-4
We were allowed to climb up to where one story was taken down, and there was a beautiful view:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a1c01055_c.jpgDay 9-10
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7f55ae7f_c.jpgDay 9-12
Our lunch that day was leftovers from the night before at Grand Cafe, and our dinner was a delicious one at Duffy's. For each of those dinners, we rode the hotel's shuttle to its drop-off point by the Key West marina. On Wednesday night, we weren't sure how late we were going to get back. We tried to get there before the 8:30 shuttle, but at 8:20, we saw it leave. We'd been told that as soon as it filled up, it would leave (no standing allowed). Well, fortunately, the normal airport shuttle bus/driver was free, so he came to get us at about 8:40.
This was our final full day on the island, and we spent the afternoon debating between the beach and the pool again - finally opting for the pool because shade was easier to find. We were starting to get a tad pink, despite sunscreen!
Day 10: Sad Departure, but Fun Awaits
Day 10: Leaving Key West, Seeing Everglades NP
We were slightly sad about departing from Key West after the lovely weather, but knew we still had some places and people to see in Florida. We just hoped that the good weather would stick around while we were in the state.
Driving back to the mainland was pleasant, and took around 2-1/2 hours. We didn't stop, but we drove slow enough to enjoy the scenery and for me to snap a few photos.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...60d9cd67_c.jpgIMG_8424
In places, the old Railroad bridges have been made into pedestrian and fishing bridges, but in others, the bridge is too heavily damaged and therefore, closed.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...933b40ce_c.jpgIMG_8423
We stopped at the same little restaurant on Key Largo where we'd had breakfast on Monday, but this time we had lunch and key lime pie. I'm not sure that was authentic key lime pie, but it was yellow (as it should be) and very sweet -- just no real "lime" taste to it. The lunch was good, though.
Getting onto the mainland and into Florida City/Homestead, we headed down the road towards Everglades National Park's road to Flamingo Bay. Before this trip, my husband had not been to either Everglades or Key West. (Evidently I'd gone to Key West with my family, but as a day trip?! in the 60s. I have vague memories of Everglades NP from back then, but no memories of the Keys.).
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7e73da4b_c.jpgIMG_8430
We stopped at two viewpoints that had nature trails, and also saw a sign that made us laugh -- something about rocks and "elevation 4 ft."
Swamplands:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...41759e6a_c.jpgIMG_8432
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...547e703a_c.jpgIMG_8437
On the Mahogany Hammock Trail:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0421c516_c.jpgIMG_8444
We tried to find flamingoes, which are seen more often at Nine Mile Pond than anywhere else in the Park. Sadly, we did not see any long-legged birds of any type. So we moved on, to Flamingo Bay, a visitor center, the marina and basically the end of the road in ENP. We were looking out at the Gulf of Mexico when a park ranger came up to us and told us there were manatees over in the marina area. We hot-footed over there. Sure enough, there was a pod of them, including one that was eating algae from the side of one of the docks.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0fe2d72a_c.jpgIMG_8452
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...99de9026_c.jpgIMG_8451
Nice place for a picnic, but we were still too stuffed from lunch. However, we bought ice from the marina store so that we could have cold drinks from our cooler.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...1d0924a3_c.jpgIMG_8455
With that, we headed back up the 38-mile road to Homestead/Florida City. We had made reservations for the same place we had stayed on Sunday night, doing that before we left home. I need to rethink doing that, as we didn't care THAT much for the place and they also put us in the same room! It wasn't a bad place, don't get me wrong, but there were others we could have stayed at. But we were trying to build up Best Western points.
We'd noticed that places now are collecting an "incidentals deposit", ranging from $50 to $150. Most were $50, refundable when you checked out. The BW Gateway to the Keys, in Florida City, charged $150, the highest anywhere on our trip. For ONE night. Yeah, obnoxious. Another reason to avoid making two separate reservations at the same place.
Day 12 and 13: Friendships
Days 12-13: Space Coast with Friends
We found our plans fit to visit our friends who once lived in CA, now live in FL. We'd spent Friday evening with them.
On Saturday morning, we enjoyed some "down time". In the afternoon, we enjoyed shared hobbies with them. At one time, we all camped together a lot in SoCal, but also shared hobbies then and now. Then enjoyed dinner out again.
They knew some great restaurants in the area. On Friday evening, we'd gone to Meg O'Malley's Restaurant and Irish Pub. Lunch on Saturday, for just us gals, was Crayderman's Deli. Saturday evening, I sadly did not write down the name or place we went. On Sunday at lunch, we ate lunch in Historic Village of Cocoa - a biergarten. Sunday night was at their home.
LATER UPDATE (since no one has responded/commented yet): The Saturday night dinner was at a place called American Icon Brewery, in Vero Beach. It is an old diesel power plant. Interesting history and great food.
Here are some photos from the weekends' jaunts:
The marina near the Historic Village of Cocoa:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7178cfd3_c.jpgDay 13-3
The Indian River:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...375dce47_c.jpgDay 13-1
Beautiful downtown Cocoa Beach. We'd been there before, in 2012.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...59b09be3_c.jpgDay 13-9
Patrick SFB (Space Force Base):
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...26df1e1b_c.jpgDay 13-17
Day 16: Another (short) day of driving
Day 16: Pelham, AL to Savannah, TN
Another leisurely morning while we let the Birmingham rush hour pass by (we were on the south side, heading north). When we finally DID leave -- around 10 am -- we still got stuck in traffic on the frontage road in front of the motel! Evidently a traffic light was misbehaving.
We headed up I-65, through Birmingham and got off at I-22 west. It's a good thing we weren't looking for fuel yet, nor anything to eat. I-22 has a few services, mostly just gas and those are spread out. It was lovely driving, though, as there wasn't much traffic on this Wednesday morning.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...fd12f8b9_c.jpgDay 16-1
Back in Mississippi, we decided that Tupelo was good for a few stops. First, lunch -- Popeye's. Then, gas -- Sam's Club -- the cheapest on the entire trip at $3.30/gal for premium. We debated whether or not to try to find Elvis' birth home, but ultimately decided we wouldn't want to tour it because we aren't huge fans. Time to head north.
From Tupelo, we used US-45 to head north into Tennessee. It was good road, and not too many stop lights. As we passed through Corinth, we reminisced about our visit there about 6 years ago.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...30500a9e_c.jpgDay 16-2
At Selmer, we turned east again on US-64, to get over to Savannah where we were going to stay for our visit to Shiloh. We chose a Quality Inn, which was next door to a Days Inn. That night, it was recommended that we try a restaurant called Mollie Monday's. In retrospect, we probably could have walked there but did not. It was pretty much diner food, decent. They had a Wednesday Night Breakfast Buffet for dinner, but we chose to have dinner from the menu.
Day 17 and 18: The Last Two Days
Day 17: Seeing Shiloh National Military Park
Our last "hurrah" on this trip was to be Shiloh National Military Park, in southern Tennessee closest to Savannah. Their visitor center is being rehabbed this summer, so we watched the movie in a temporary theater, and also did some shopping at the bookstore across the street. Our souvenir of choice is always a coffee mug from any national park or monument, and my husband collects t-shirts.
Much like Yorktown, you're given a map with the "tour stops" clearly marked and labeled. Though there are interpretive signs, you can also read the description of the tour stop in the map. These do not follow the battle itself or you would be criss-crossing the area several times, wasting precious fuel. They present more of a "this happened here", like Gettysburg and, to a degree, Vicksburg.
A link to the Shiloh National Battlefield website.
An example of how the stops are labeled in Shiloh. The interpretive signs are separate.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...bb88a180_c.jpgIMG_8520
Memorial to the Confederates, either stop 2 or 3.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f1ab9401_c.jpgIMG_8525
Interpretive sign with husband walking out on the field before coming back to announce he's hungry.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...47146d5f_c.jpgIMG_8535
We had seen a sign about someplace called "Hagy's Catfish Hotel" and "great food" just outside the entrance to Shiloh, so we headed there. It took two tries to find it, because the arrow had pointed down the road but didn't give us any indication on how far it was. It was GREAT food, GREAT service, and we vowed to go back there for dinner that night and sample a different item on the menu.
Link to Hagy's Catfish Hotel Restaurant.
Just outside "Catfish Hotel" (a restaurant, not a hotel) was the Tennessee River. There was a flight of stairs, so my husband walked down them.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...43153f45_c.jpgIMG_8539
Once back on the auto tour, we eventually made our way to the Shiloh Church, which is how the battle got its name. "Shiloh" means peaceful place, which it is now, but never during a battle. There is a replica of the old Shiloh church, the modern church, and a cemetery. The latter is only for church members and their families. No one else.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ea11b9e8_c.jpgIMG_8549
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...eacc29ae_c.jpgIMG_8551
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...cc3338d0_c.jpgIMG_8553
One trail we took was to a mass Confederate gravesite. It said 0.4 mile one way, but my FitBit registered more than that! There were several of these on the property.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...c665f232_c.jpgIMG_8558
Memorials such as these, to Confederate Generals, were plenty, most of them using cannonballs.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...92f8b8a2_c.jpgIMG_8577
Next to the (former) peach orchard was an old cabin, which we walked to:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a0d90ff5_c.jpgIMG_8584
The last two stops take you to Pittsburg Landing, and then the National Cemetery.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...10c5768a_c.jpgIMG_8593
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...813e0fe3_c.jpgDay 17-2
We felt we had seen Shiloh, reading everything that the map's description had at each site, but only skimmed the interpretive signs. Can you see every memorial and every mass gravesite? Only if you spend several days.
Indeed, dinner that night was definitely a return to Catfish Hotel, with different food that was equally delicious. Ordinarily we wouldn't do that, but Savannah doesn't have that much to offer and this was worth a return trip.
Day 18: The Trip Home
The next morning, we were up very early and on the road by 6 am. We knew we had about 520 miles to go, with the first 108 miles or so on 4-lane divided and undivided highways.
Our route took us back to Selmer via US-64 and then up US-45 to Jackson TN, then US-412 up to Dyersburg. We got on I-155 and decided that the first 108 miles had gone fairly well -- very much interstate quality in places -- so we'd stop for breakfast at Cracker Barrel, exit 13.
From there, we continued on I-155 until it ended in Missouri at Hayti.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9f888cb1_c.jpgDay 18-6
This is where our lollipop-route ended, so we returned home from here by the same way we came: I-55 to I-270 to I-44. It was good to be home, after driving what turned out to be 496 miles. While we were gone, our contractor continued some landscaping work that he was doing, finally finishing it after we'd been home a few days. The trees had also greened out quite a bit.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...2b6476e6_c.jpgDay 19
We love trips, but it's ALWAYS good to be home!
Donna
Thanks for the time to compile and publish it.
Donna,
Lovely field report. Thanks for the time to compile and publish it.
mark
