Whew!

I am exhausted, pooped, worn out, dragging my behind, yadda yadda. To the left is the route I took home from Biloxi. It is 9 hours of driving. It would have been longer if I had taken a more scenic route than interstates. But, let's face it, the interstates are so tempting. No traffic lights, no annoying cross streets, no pesky 35 MPH speed limits. Just clear sailing at 70 MPH (effective speed is 75 MPH) all the way. If I had taken the more scenic route, I'd have stopped for an overnight stay at some seedy motel (since the nice ones are all near an interstate) because it would have taken closer to 14 hours to make the trip. So I took the easy way out. And paid the price. When I was much younger I took the trip in the opposite direction and on the more scenic highways and byways. I left from a little further south and at 4 in the afternoon. I arrived in Pensacola sometime around 8 AM, stopping only once for coffee near Tallahassee and finally getting on the interstate (I-10). I left Pensacola after an oil change and breakfast and didn't stop until I reached Deming, NM the next morning around 1 AM.

There are things you can do at age 24 and alone that are unheard of at 63 with a wife in the car.