2024 Spring Exploring Florida

[DonnaR57]

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

[DonnaR57]

Day 1 and 2: Travel from home to Gulfport MS

Our first two days were just driving days. We'd been on these roads before, I-44 East to I-270 to I-55 South. It was cloudy and a little drizzly in places on the first day, 550 miles from home to our first stop in Grenada, MS. Looking at the trees along the way, we noted that they were getting greener, the farther south we went. Crossing into Arkansas, which I-55 goes through for around 70 miles, was non-eventful until we got to West Memphis. It was there that driving was less than stellar.

Arkansas and Tennessee have been working on the interstates in West Memphis and Memphis for ages. Our comments were, "When will they make it end!" It took a half hour or so to go from the place where I-55 and I-40 join temporarily for concurrent travel, to the I-55 bridge. Memphis bragged "the I-55 bridge is open". What they did NOT mention till you got close, was that it was one-lane-only traffic.

This is what we looked at for 7 miles:

Day1B on Flickr

That continued, though not quite so bad, through Memphis on I-55. My husband was so stressed that when we finally drove out of Memphis, he vowed to never travel through Memphis again unless he was absolutely positive that they were done with the construction.

We overnighted in Grenada, MS at Comfort Suites, thanks to points we'd earned on previous trips. The place was located right next to this, which we found comforting:

IMG_7125 on Flickr


The second day was mostly a nightmare. We drove through rain varying from a drizzle to a downpour, nearly the entire 335 miles. It was another time when we were glad we took "the long route" which was all interstate (I-55 to I-12 east to I-10 east), rather than non-interstates. It wasn't until later that evening, after we were settled into our two-night "digs", that we learned why we had seen so much destruction around Slidell LA: they'd had a tornado blow through there a few hours before!

We were too early to check into our place, Holiday Inn Express on the beach at Gulfport, so we stopped at a nearby casino for an hour or so, to unwind.

Our room at Gulfport faced the water, but it was windy and cold there. So the view was better than being out in the reality.

IMG_7128 on Flickr

Dinner was worth a mention here. A local place, Shaggy's, appeals to the tourists and the locals alike. It was beach-themed, had great food at reasonable prices, and a good drink menu for those that imbibe. We liked the place a lot!


I loved the sign, too -- I always like those types of signs:
IMG_7130 on Flickr

[DonnaR57]

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.

IMG_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:
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Evidence of the water line from Katrina shows in this photo:
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The outside back porch and entrance into the exposed basement:
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The extensive grounds are also home to a Confederate cemetery, complete with its unknown soldiers and the grave of the father of Jefferson Davis.
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The grounds have a beautiful garden, complete with a spring and a bench.
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[DonnaR57]

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:
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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.
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An item leftover from the time when there were Confederate veterans living in the house and in homes on the property (destroyed by Katrina):
IMG_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.
IMG_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.

[DonnaR57]

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:
Day 4-7

Spanish Moss at the Florida Welcome Center, Day 4:
Day 4-13

[DonnaR57]

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:
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Alligators!
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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:
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Others were swimming:
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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!

[AZBuck]

Love, absolutely love, how you're adjusting to the unexpected. Whether it be weather or closures or days of the week, a traveler should always be willing to adjust on the fly and adapt themselves to circumstances and not the other way around. Circumstances will win every time!

[DonnaR57]

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.

Day 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:
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I think this is Seven Mile Bridge:
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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:
Day 7-2

After check-in, big decision: that beach, or the pool? Decided on the pool.
"Wastin' away again in Margaritaville...."
Day 7-3

And now, the pool:
Day 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.

[DonnaR57]

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:

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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:
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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:
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The Trumans visited this house for 175 days over the course of his presidency. President Truman loved music - listening to it, and playing it.
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How he loved to dress when he was in the Key West White House:
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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.
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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:
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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.
Day 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.
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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!
Day 8-8

[Mark Sedenquist]

Here was a landmark we definitely wanted to find:
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Yes, that is a very cool landmark for roadtrippers.

I am enjoying this field report!

Mark