Retired and Trippin

It was 38 degrees and sunny when we departed Saint Robert, MO at 9:15. Carl led us west on the I-44 business route (Google Maps shows it to be part of old Route 66) to neighboring Waynesville, MO, where we went north on Highway 17. This was another beautiful, hilly and curvy route, great for motorcycles and Mustangs alike. Highway 52 took us west and north to Eldon, MO, where we stopped for gas. By this time the temperature had increased to 42. When we left Eldon, however, there was no sun and soon the temperature dropped down to 36. Highway 5 took us north to Tipton, MO, where we caught 50 westbound. The temperature gradually increased to 40 by the time we stopped for lunch at Heroes in downtown Warrensburg. They have LARRAPIN good onion rings. Highway 50 took us the rest of the way to the Kansas City Area, where the metro area highways got us back home. We arrived at 2:15 and it was 51 degrees. We drove 209 miles today for a trip total of 2,322 miles. This was a great trip p

There was frost on the pumpkin when we woke up this morning. It was sunny and 33 degrees when we left our hotel in Jackson, TN at 8:15. We traveled Highway 412 (and I-155) all the way to Kennett, MO. Along the way we crossed the Mississippi River into Missouri. All the rivers we crossed along the way were out of their banks. At Kennett, MO we turned north on 25 and then 53. We stopped for gas and a butt break at a Casey's in Campbell, MO. At Poplar Bluff we headed west on Highway 60. Near Van Buren, on 103, we headed south to Big Spring State Park. The spring was going wild and the river it produced was out of its banks too. Chris and I with Big Spring broiling out of the ground in the background Big Spring After leaving Big Spring we backtracked east a bit on Highway 60 to eat lunch at the Float Stream Restaurant. I remembered this restaurant being on the square of downtown Van Buren across from the courthouse. A young lady working there said it used to be but i

We left our hotel in Cullman, AL at 8:15 under sunny skies with a temperature of 49. It was a short 40 to 50 miles north on I-65 to Huntsville, AL, where we visited the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. It was an interesting visit but the place was packed with youngsters. There was a Space Camp graduation going on and possibly a new class of campers coming in. Leaving Huntsville we took Highway 53 north into Tennessee, 31 north and 64 west to Pulaski, TN, where we stopped for lunch at the Legends Roadhouse. We finished off the day with Highway 64 west to Crump, 69 north, 22A north, 100 west and 45 north to Jackson, TN. where we checked into our hotel at 5:00. The high temperature today was 58. Our travels today totaled 241 miles. To see all the photos taken today click on the following link:  Day 8 Pics

At 8:15, under cloudy skies with a temperature of 64, we left our hotel in Gadsden, AL northbound on Highway 11. At Fort Payne, AL Highway 35 took us east a short distance to the Little River Canyon National Preserve. We enjoyed seeing Little River Falls, The sights from Canyon View, and Grace's Falls (probably named after Vada Grace). From the Little River Canyon National Preserve we traveled west on 35 and south on 75 to Albertville, AL where we enjoyed a lunch at the Food Basket. Our next stop was the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament. We got there on 75 south to 278 west to 231 south and 47 west. It was an impressive facility on many acres. The inside of the church was extremely ornate but no photography was allowed. Our Garmin led us to the Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman, AL but as we arrived it started to rain lightly. Chris and I decided to go to our hotel but Carl and Marge stayed at the Grotto. We found out later that by the time they were done in the g

A great day for sight-seeing! We left Greenville, AL at 8:30. It was sunny and 60 degrees. We buzzed north on I-65 to Montgomery, where we visited the Alabama Capitol building, the Civil Rights Memorial and the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church (where Martin Luther King was pastor from 1954 to 1960). Actually, Carl and Marge visited the Civil Rights Memorial and Chris and I visited the Baptist Church. All of it was very interesting. From Montgomery we traveled north on 231 and 9 to Goodwater, where we had a BBQ lunch. After lunch we were northbound again on 9 and 431 to Gadsden, AL, where we arrived at about 3:15. After checking in at our hotel we drove a few miles to see Noccolula Falls. The falls were named for a native American princess who committed suicide near the falls ( Legend of Noccalula ). That is Black Creek running over the falls. We traveled 213 miles today and our high temperature was 78. BEAUTIFUL day! To see all the photos taken tod

The day started beautifully! We departed our hotel in Biloxi, MS at 8:00. It was 57 degrees and partly sunny. Highway 90 took us east along the gulf shore through Biloxi and Pascagoula, then northeast into Alabama. At Grand Bay we turned eastbound on Highway 188. Highway 193 took us south to Dauphin Island, Alabama. It was a long bridge (over 3 miles) over the intracoastal waterway to the island. At the east end of Dauphin Island is historic Fort Gaines, which was established in 1812. It was in remarkable shape for its age and we enjoyed exploring inside the fort. There was a group of school kids taking a tour. Part of their tour included seeing a man shoot a musket and a small canon. Since we were there we got to see it too. After touring Fort Gaines we enjoyed seafood for lunch at Capt'n Snapper's Marina Bar and Grill on Dauphin Island. Our next stop was the Bellingrath Gardens. We got there traveling back north on 193, west on 188, and north on county road 59

Today was an R&R day in Biloxi, Mississippi. But we ended up walking over 6 miles! The temperature was 75 today. When we woke up it was foggy, just like yesterday when we arrived. The fog was supposed to be gone by 11:00 but that time kept getting pushed back. It was finally gone by 2:00 so. We walked east down Beach Boulevard to Souvenir City, where Chris and Marge shopped to their hearts' content. When they got done it wasn't quite time for lunch so we walked to Woody's for an adult beverage. Finally it was time for lunch - seafood! And to make it better, Carl and Marge bought our lunch to celebrate our birthdays. After lunch we walked to Beauvoir, the Jefferson Davis home and presidential library. Using a golf cart for 4, we toured the 52 acres of Beauvoir. Chris and I then toured the home while Carl and Marge headed back to the hotel. Before the sun went down we walked on the beach and to the end of a nearby pier. The water was a funky brown color

We left our hotel in West Helena, AR at 8:15. It was mostly sunny and 49 degrees. A beautiful start to the day! Highway 49 was our route east across the Mississippi River and then south through the state of Mississippi. As was the case yesterday, we saw a lot of standing water. Rivers (including the Mississippi) and streams were out of their banks. The Yazoo River at Greenwood, MS was way out of its banks. The Tchula, MS police had a road block working on the highway through town. All vehicles were stopped, drivers licenses were checked, and they made sure vehicles had license plates. The tourist activity today was a visit to the state capitol building in Jackson, MS. The roads in Jackson on the way to the capitol were horrendous. It was like a war zone with big craters in the road. At the capitol we just walked around the grounds and took photos. We couldn't go inside because it was closed. Before leaving Jackson we stopped for a gourmet lunch at Whataburger! T

The weather gurus predicted a rainy morning and they were right this time. It rained during the night and while we were enjoying the complimentary hotel breakfast it was pouring rain outside. After breakfast, when the skies started to clear, the tornado sirens went off. Fortunately it was a false alarm. The rain had stopped when we left at 9:30 and it was 54 degrees. We took off eastbound on I-40. Carl mentioned before we left that if I passed a motorcycle shop he'd like to purchase a new bike cover. A short distance down the interstate we stopped at Russellville Honda in Russellville, AR. Carl scored a bike cover and Marge scored a rain jacket. Yesterday Carl experienced an electrical problem where the bike was telling him his left side saddlebag was open when it was really closed. He decided to have the mechanics at Russellville Honda check it out. They determined that the switch was defective. They could replace it but that would mean over a two hour wait so they just d

Sister-in-law, Marge, works for a school district. For many years now, when Marge has spring break she, Carl, Chris and I go on a trip. This year we intend to escape the cold, snowy, nasty weather at home and head for the Gulf of Mexico. We departed Shawnee, KS at 9:00 and it was foggy and 35 degrees. Carl and Marge were bundled up on their Honda Goldwing while Chris and I were in our Ford Mustang GT. We took I-49 south out of Kansas City on the Missouri side. Our first stop was for gas in Lamar, MO. I-49 took us further south into Arkansas and we stopped at the Mildred Cooper Memorial Chapel in Bella Vista, AR. We finished up our visit to Bella Vista with lunch at Las Fajitas, which took forever. From Bella Vista we continued south to Fayetteville, where we caught Highway 16 eastbound. It was a curvy two-lane highway that makes Arkansas a great motorcycle (and Mustang) travel state. At Highway 21 we turned south. The fog returned. We called it a day in Clarksville (app