Saturday Feb 29, 2020 - Las Cruces NM to Bisbee AZ

Last day of travel and then we are done!! Only a 4 hour drive to Bisbee so we decided to go for a hike. Deb found Dripping Springs National Monument in the Organ Mountains about 30 minutes from Los Cruces. Beautiful sunny day and it hit 70's today. I don't really even look at the weather anymore because it is usually sunny (unlike back home..). Got in free with the National Geezer Park Pass again (I'm printing money here) and off on a nice gentle trail to a spring where 100+ years ago they built a resort and a sanatorium nearby. Like New England, they built these remote spots in healthy places and pampered their guests. Long horse and wagon ride up into the mountain and then pitch black nights with starry skies and absolute silence. We hiked back in and found all the ruins of the resort next to the spring which, as advertised was just a drip into a reservoir.
Back out and then back to Las Cruces to a farmers market with lots of music and crafts and food. Then head to Bisbee on Rt10 until the turn off on Rt80, a very lonely 2 laner that runs east of the Chiricahua Mountains.

We stopped at the big grocery store in Douglas to stock up and then the last 22 miles to Bisbee. The town was hopping but we found a parking spot at the bottom of the 95 steps to our house. We huffed our stuff up the stairs, made some dinner and pretty much collapsed.
Feels good to not have to drive tomorrow (or the next 30 days).

Friday Feb 28, 2020 Carlsbad NM to Las Cruces NM

Pitiful breakfast at the motel this morning so Deb found a classy place in town, the Blue House Bakery. A converted house with 3 or 4 young folks all over it. Very good, very fast, very friendly, the works.
Today's plan is to hit Carlsbad Caverns National Park and then somewhere within striking distance of Bisbee AZ. We were at Carlsbad in a half hour and free entry with the park pass. We walked down into the cave using the old entrance, about 1.25 miles of easy but steep pathway. Once again, the government does a fantastic job of keeping it simple, accessible, and protective for the long haul.
We hit the main cave and did the big loop around the whole inside, which is another 1.5 miles or so and then the elevator back the 750 ft to the visitor center. Like any of the amazing parks, it is awesome when you see it and then after a couple hours, the awesomeness fades. Not a criticism at all, just what our brains do.
So then it's time to head west and the only way to go is Rt62, which has no services 90 miles or so. Cruise control, no traffic (skinny two laner) and a few podcasts made quick work of it, and the scenery is pretty alright with big flat open on the east side and mountains on the west. Lovely.
We hit El Paso and the ugly strip outside, stopped for coffee and bathrooms, and then north to Las Cruces. Ended the day a bit early but there is not much more west of here and this puts us 4 hours from Bisbee. Feeling like it is time to stop moving after two weeks on the road.

Thursday Feb 27, 2020 - Fredericksburg TX to Carlsbad NM

The goto diner in Fredericksburg is Andy's and it was not as scruffy as I had hoped, but it was good. Then a stop at the tourist info place and watched a movie about the history of the town.
We had a big miles day so off we went across what started as pretty rolling, grassy Texas and ended in dry scrub and lots of oil / gas drilling. Half way into the day we started noticing a lot of truck traffic on the small two lane roads. We finally started to see drill rigs, oil pumpers and gas lines everywhere. When Deb started looking for motels in Carlsbad, she noticed the prices were high and when we got there, we realized the town was over-run with oil/gas field workers. This town is in a boom, much like Williston ND and parts of Pennsylvania.

We did get a room, but we look out of place not driving a big pickup truck. The woman checking us in said they can't keep the grocery stores stocked since there are so many people in town the last three years. She said the town population went from 36K to 93K in three years. She gave us a place to eat with a good salad bar and we got there early enough to miss the crowd. We chatted up a couple at the next table who were working in the new boom and they filled us in. The can make as much in three months as they used to make in a year. They tried retiring but came back to do a short stretch which turned into a year. One of their sons works near here and started a business with just he and his wife three years ago and now has 50 employees. Nice weather, nice drive, nice day.

Wednesday Feb 26, 2020 - Austin TX to Fredericksburg TX

Today we tour Austin TX, after hearing so much about it. It is the capital and is about a million people. We found the Train station and parked the car (free), got two $7 all day tickets and hopped on the train. 45 minute ride into the downtown stop and then walk around from there. We hoofed it to the Capital building which is big (this is Texas), and got a free tour of the building, history, etc. The House only meets every two years and this is an off year so not a lot going on. The center is a a giant silo that lets you see all the way to the top of the dome. The guide says if you take the Statue of Liberty off the stone base, it would fit inside. This is Texas.

We then walked to the LBJ Library / Museum. The 3rd, 4th and 10th floors are the museum and the reset are the library / admin. LBJ was pretty colorful and got a lot done because he was a workaholic and figure out how to use the telephone day and night to push legislation through. He was a democrat and wanted to finish of the social programs that FDR had started. They did not sugar coat the failure of the Vietnam War and how it overshadowed all the good things he did. He could not end the war.

Back on the street and down to Congress Street which is the old part of the city and found a coffee shop to rest our feet in the nice afternoon sun. We got back on the train and 45 minutes later were in the car and headed out of town. Fredericksburg TX was about the right distance to call it a day. This town was founded by German immigrants in the 1840's and it is a big tourist town (10K people). Lots of stone buildings and everything well groomed. Lots of things for tourists to do.

Tuesday Feb 25, 2020 - Lafayette LA to Austin TX

The bartender last night gave us a couple places to check out to buy weird Cajun food. We stopped at one which was closed (Fat Tuesday) and the second one was open so we picked up a slice of  King's Cake (tradition cake with a baby in the middle (look it up). The third place had the best assortment. King;s Cake, Boudin Balls, Alligator meat, bacon wrapped everything you could think of for the grill, and all kinds of meat ready to slap on a grill. Nice lady explained it all. Wicked accents in there.

The back on the highway to Texas. It got less swampy and more rolling green pastures as we got to Texas. Podcasts help burn the day up and next thing we knew we were in Austin checking in to the hotel. Mexican place a couple miles away and Deb chatted up a local real estate guy who gave us some tips on taking the train into Austin and things to see. Laundry tonight.

Monday Feb 24, 2020 - Mobile AL to Lafayette LA

We stayed a little north of Mobile last night and this morning chatted with an older woman from Philadelphia who flew down with her friend to go to Mardi Gras in Mobile. So we decided to drive through the historic downtown and check it out on our way west. Pretty easy getting to Dauphin Street and they already had the barricades up, people were already starting to line up to see the first parade of the day. Deb hunted down some tea while I chatted up the motorcycle police guys (Harleys). Sounds like a crazy week, but not as crazy as New Orleans. We ran into nobody that recommended being in New Orleans for Marti Gras. "Not family friendly" we heard over and over. Most towns seem to have their own parades and everything seems to close on Fat Tuesday. So the motorcycle police said we should get our car out in the next half hour before they start towing. They got this down. So off to the highway (Rt10) and west to Louisiana.

Every state we stop if there is an information place to get the official state map (if we don't already have it) and we stop for coffee / tea / bathroom breaks as required. Lafayette LA was out destination today and it poured buckets the last couple hours. We found and outdoor Aradian Village and ducked from building to building with our raincoats. Next time we bring an umbrella..
Checked in at the hotel and walked down the street to the Blue Dog Cafe for Cajun food (Crayfish enchiladas, Boudin Balls (rive and sausage balls deep fat fried) and beignets (powder donuts with butter/cane sugar dipping sauce). There is all kinds of traditional food down here we never heard of.

Sunday, Feb 23, 2020 - Panama City FL to Mobile AL

We crawled through beach towns all day. This is known as the Redneck Riviera and it looks like a fun series of beach towns with lots of quirky stuff for kids. Mini golf, go-carts, Ripleys Believe It or Not, T-shirt shops, the works. And most of all, there is endless pure white sand beaches, beautiful clean beaches. It seems to be all public beach and different levels of access depending on the town.

Some towns lots of access with parking, paths down to the shore, etc, and some towns build houses so close together, there really is no way to get to the beach. We found a nice State Park with full access to one of the nicest beaches we saw all day.

We hit every road we could find that ran right next to the gulf and finally had to call it a day heading north to Mobile. Great oyster place (since 1938) next door and wicked friendly folks. We got the impression that Martic Gras is celbrated in every town near here so hotel rooms are more scarce.

Saturday, Feb 22, 2020 - St Augustine FL to Panama City FL

We had a lovely dinner last night with friends (Dana & Robin) and they mentioned the natural springs all over Florida and specifically Ichetucknee Springs State Park. It turned out right on the way so we headed there, rented a canoe, and paddled down the 2 hour river that the spring feeds. Perfectly clear water with fish, turtles and birds all around us. A perfect sunny day (and a lot warmer) and not busy and perfectly quiet.

Then on to Panama City which is right on the gulf coast and sets us up for crawling along the coast the next day. Another sunny day!

Friday, Feb 21, 2020 - Kingsland GA to St Augustine FL

Today we go to St Augustine FL and just snoop around. We got there early enough that we could take the trolley tour (off and on bus) which is a great format for figuing out the town history. The Spanish were around from the mid 1500's and then the English showed up in the early 1700's and the Americans took over after the revolution. And then of course the Civil War, which we did not get a good historical sense of other than how the Castillo de San Marco (fort) was used during it. The fort is the historical anchor in the town and the Spanish built it originally. It was made of coquina which is like what they used up north (called Tabby). They mix sand, water, oyster shells and lime (made from burned oyster shells) together to make cement.

They claimed that this was the coldest day of the year with temps in the 40's and a very strong wind all day, so we got a couple hot drink stops in. We also visited the Lightner Museum which another rich guy named Lightner created. Very eclectic collection of stuff he bought. Paintings, musical machines, cut glass, toasters (yup, toasters), model boats, scientific instruments (microscopes, etc). The product of a really rich, very curious guy.
The town also has Ponce de Leon (Fountain of Youth guy) statues all over, and tacky stuff like Ripleys Believe it or not (think two headed calves).
All in all a fun town and lots of history cleared up (kinda).

Thursday, Feb 20, 2020 - Cumberland Island GA

Deb lined up and all day tour of Cumberland Island National Seashore. It used to be owned by rich folk, really rich folks who did not get invites to Jekyll Island next door. Thomas Carnegie and his wife Lucy got snubbed so the bought the place next door along with a few others. Then built a mega-mansion and "cottages" for their kids. Then it all fell apart and they gave / sold it to the US Park Service in 1970's. There are a few grandfathered plots that will eventually be given to the park, but in the end, then entire island will be a National Park at some point. There is only one single lane rough gravel road that goes the 18 or so miles from one end of the island to then other. You get out there on a ferry and there are two vans that will give you the tour. You can also camp, hike or bike over there. Our guide was Mike who talked the entire 6 hours we were over there, and he was great, explaining the entire history from when the Indians lived there to the Revolutionary War, through the Civil War and up to now. Great tour!! It was also cold and miserable, mostly during the ferry ride over. We got the last ferry back, which was less cold then the way over, stopped at a local place in St Mary's for dinner and then back to Kingsland for hot showers and sleep. I would highly recommend Cumberland Island!!

Wednesday Feb 19, 2020 - SC to GA

Good breakfast this morning and then downtown Beaufort to meet Ann, the woman that is giving us the walking tour. She was a wealth of information and history, and we were the only two in the group so lots of Q&A. The Spanish were hear in the mid to late 1500's, then the French and English and Spanish all tried to establish forts and communities here in the early 1700's. The English finally beat them out and indigo and rice became their big exports and a few people got wealthy using slaves to do the work. They got caught up in the Revolutionary war in a limited way. Then SC signed up for succession in 1860 and Beaufort was immediately attacked and taken over by the Union in 1861. The Union then used Beaufort and it's port to supply the Union effort in the war and also took over all the houses in town and turned them into hospitals. The big reason for the Union to quickly take over Beaufort was financial. They took over that years entire cotton crop, and the passed a law that taxed everyone in town, and if they could not pay the tax, their houses were taken over and sold in tax sales. They also experimented before the war ended with reconstruction. The newly freed slaves had to begin being educated and learning to not be slaves. At the same time they had to get crops in for anyone in the community to succeed so lots of adjustments there. Made me, a northerner, appreciate the complexity of southern history.

After the walking tour we headed to Jekyll Island in GA and Deb gave me the entire tour. The temperature hit 77 this afternoon which was heavenly, and no insects this time of year. Jekyll Island was a private island for the mega rich in the late 1800's and it is now a state park which keeps the buildings in good health and the grounds beautiful. They charge $8 per car to get in which I assume goes toward keeping things running.
Then on to Kingsland GA for the night. Dinner at a so-so seafood place and then to bed. Tomorrow we go to Cumberland Island.

Tuesday, Feb 18, 2020 - South Carolina

Today's plan is to find the Congaree National Park in South Carolina. It is a new national park and ir was set aside in the 1970's to protect a crazy rich bio-habitat. The Congaree River drains a huge area of South Carolina so the area floods 8-10 times per year and we are hitting this area at a time when they are having a lot of flooding. Mississippi is really getting socked and I expect we will see some flooding when we turn west in a couple days. Google Maps keeps taking on back roads which is wonderful because, no much traffic and we get to see some local folks. Lot of cotton fields here. Congaree is pretty small and sure enough we could only walk on the high boardwalk until we hit the flooded lower boardwalk.

Then on to Beaufort SC for the night. Very trendy tourist town which has been here since 1711. It was very prosperous until after the civil war and then bottomed out in the 1930's. WW2 brought the Marines and that has anchored the town ever since. Loud jets going over last night from the air base here. Parris Island is nearby as well. Deb found the #1 rated place in town which was great and we walked around town and soaked in the 60 degree temps.

Monday, Feb 17, 2020 - VA to NC

Jon is a history buff and he recommended going to Jefferson's Monticello on our way south. Good choice. We had never been there and we spent 3-4 hours there. Jefferson was an endlessly curious fellow and documented in drawings and letters everything he did and thought. So historians have had a lot of material to understand him and the self contained community that Monticello became. They did a good job fitting the question of slavery into the tour. While Jefferson wrote much about being against slavery, he held 100+ slaves at Monticello. He left the problem to be solved by some future generation.

After Monticello, we finished the day heading to just over the North Carolina border in Eden N.C. Found a great Mexican restaurant, watched a little Daytona 500, then found the motel and crashed. Carolina tomorrow.

Sunday, Feb 16, 2020 - NJ to VA

We had breakfast and Bob and Karen took us to Manasquan where we walked along the boardwalk. Nice temperature (compared to the deep freeze we left the morning before). We said our goodbyes and headed for our next stop, Deb's cousin Michelle and her husband Jon's house in Arlington VA. Another sunny and even warmer day with the temperature in the 50's by the time we arrived.

They live next to a walking trail / park so we went for a long walk while they went to a high school basketball game their son played in. Jon is an amazing cook and made dinner and we had a chance to catch up with them. We don't see them that often and their teenagers grow so fast, there is a lot to catch up on.

Saturday, Feb 15, 2020 - VT to NJ

Four below zero this morning so a good omen for leaving and heading south. Quick drop off of garbage on the way out of town and then west to Rt22A and south to the Halfway House in Shoreham for breakfast, a great place that has been there since 1951. We only discovered it a year ago, great place, lots of old photographs on the walls and nice folks that run it.
Straight down the northway (Rt87) and Deb found a motorcycle museum on her phone in Newburg, NY right off the highway. So she dropped me off at husband daycare and she found a car wash to remove the 10 pounds of Vermont dirt off our ca so we did not devalue the value of the house of the nice folks putting us up that night, and she found a bakery with good tea. Meanwhile at daycare,

I saw the most complete collection of Indian motorcycles (and an Indian toboggan??) and other assorted themes around motorcycles. Harley's everywhere, my old 1971 Triumph Bonneville (my first road bike), movie themed bikes (Batman/Robin, Easy Rider, Wild Ones,and every other B movie you can remember. A huge selection of choppers, and an assortment of very old (1896 to 1920) motorized bicycles.

Bought a new t-shirt and then back on the road in our shiny clean car. We continued to Belmar NJ where Deb's cousin Bob and his wife Karen invited us to spend the night. Their daughter and her fiance stopped by and we had a lovely evening catching up. Wonderful home cooked Italian dinner and then off to bed.