Jonesville, LA to Dallas - April 16

We awoke and found out that there was no coffee maker in the room, a fact that we had failed to notice last night.  Checked the office for a coffee pot, but it was not open yet.  We just got ready and left at 7:45 to find coffee and stopped at a Shell station in Midway, LA at 8.  We got back on the road and stopped in Jena, LA at McDonalds for breakfast at 8:20.  We got back on the road at 8:45. At Winnfield, we saw several pigs along the street.  We were stopped in Coushatta, LA by a train for about 15 minutes at 10:20.  We crossed back into Texas at 11:45 and stopped in Rusk, TX for gas at 1.  We stopped in Kaufman, TX at the Dairy Queen for blizzards at 2:45.  We got home at 3:40.

Dothan, AL to Jonesville, LA - April 15

                    
                                    

 

                                         Jim Folsom Bridge over Tombigbee River

                                     

                                          

After breakfast, we checked out at 9:10 and switched from US231 to US84.  We drove to Enterprise, AL to get a picture of the Boll Weevil Monument.  Later, we side tracked to Monroeville, AL to see Harper Lee’s hometown that inspired To Kill A Mockingbird.  We got there at 11:30 but couldn’t find the Courthouse Museum mentioned on my  Roadtrippers app.  We got to Natchez, MS at 5:05 and saw a fixer upper before we crossed the Mississippi River into Louisiana at 5:15.  We stopped at 6 for the night at the Edwards Motel, a small family run motel in Jonesville, LA.  We had supper next door at El Nopal, a Mexican café.  Very good food.

Crystal River, FL to Dothan, AL - April 14

After breakfast, we checked out at 9:30.  We took some pictures as we drove along.  We stopped in Perry, FL at 11:45 for a coke.  We stopped for gas at 2:30 (or 1:30 as we were near the time zone line) in St. Joe Beach, FL.  We started to get some intermittent rain or drizzle as we drove along the beach areas.  In Panama City, we switched from US98 to US231 in order to go North to Dothan, Alabama to see the world’s smallest city block.  The rain became a bit more steady and the roads were wet from previous rain.  We stopped at Nan’s Country Store in Marianna, FL and bought a bunch of jams and such at 3:30.  We stopped in Dothan at 4:15 to get the photo of the smallest city block and then went to the Best Western for the night.  We walked next door to the Rodeo Mexican Café for supper.  There was light rain as we left and walked back to the  room and it was quite chilly.  We got warmer clothing out of the suitcases that we normally leave in the car.

Sarasota, FL to Crystal River, FL - April 13 Part 2

After breakfast, we left the hotel at 9:45 to go to the John and Mable Ringling estate which opened at 10.  We got there at 10:15, bought our tickets and toured the mansion along with the circus museum and the Tibbal Learning Center until 12:30.  We then spent some time in the gift shop and bought a few things.  We got back on the road at 12:50.  We stopped outside Gibsonton, FL for gas and ice cream at 2 and after consuming the ice cream, we got back on the road at 2:15.  At 4:15, we switched from US41 to US98 and stopped at 4:45 for the night in Crystal River, FL at the same Best Western Resort that we used on our way down.  We even got the same room.  After moving in, we went next door again to Crackers for catfish and coconut shrimp.
Part 2 of 2