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Author Archives: Sparky

Quinceañera

As I have been on this planet for over 75 years, it is not often that I get to experience something I have never experienced before. But I had a “first” last Saturday: my first Quinceañera – a coming-out party for a Hispanic girl turning 15. In this case it was the granddaughter of a … Continue reading »

Categories: Adventures, FL, Food, Friends | Leave a comment

Garage sale!

I don’t know if I mentioned this, but Marlene has hoarding tendencies. She has WAY more stuff than she needs. Yes, I am a minimalist – that is one of the reasons that I have been perfectly happy living in a 400 square foot RV for 12 years – but she is the exact opposite. … Continue reading »

Categories: FL | Leave a comment

You call THAT a storm?

We had back-to-back hurricanes this month here in Fort Myers. They both packed a lot of punch and did major damage in other places. Yes, there was some damage locally but for the most part they missed me. The second – Milton – came closest to a direct hit but landed about 50 miles north. … Continue reading »

Categories: Adventures, FL | Leave a comment

Around the world?

Marlene and I have done a lot of traveling together in the two years since we met – a transatlantic cruise, a transpacific cruise, several Caribbean cruises and road trips to GA and New England. We just booked another Caribbean cruise for January 2025, for my birthday, and have a 25-night cruise through the Panama … Continue reading »

Categories: Adventures, ATW, Cruise, Preparation/Planning, Rail, Routes | Leave a comment

TS_10 wrapup

The 10th trip south was longer than the 10th trip north (TN_10), both in miles and time. It knocked some items off my bucket list. And Marlene and I arrived home still liking each other. I call that a success. By the numbers: Highlights: Lowlights: Planned and actual routes: The plan and actual only resemble … Continue reading »

Categories: Routes, TS_10 | Leave a comment

TS_10 Hop 8: Tallahassee FL to Lehigh Acres FL

415 miles via I-10, US 19, US 98, FL 60, US 27, FL 29 and FL 82. Cumulative route miles: 2,482. Auto miles on this hop: 415. Cumulative auto miles: 2,519. This was a LONG trip – over 8 hours on the road – mostly because I chose to avoid I-75. And because Marlene wanted … Continue reading »

Categories: FL, Hotels, Routes, TS_10 | Leave a comment

TS_10 Hop 7: Nashville TN to Tallahassee FL

486 miles via I-40, I-440 (around Nashville), I-65 and US 27. Cumulative route miles: 2,067. Auto miles: 615. Cumulative auto miles: 2,196. We had one snack/bio stop at a Wendy’s in Mongomery AL. The weather was very good, fortunately, because this was a LONG day of driving. About 8 hours behind the wheel. But the … Continue reading »

Categories: Food, Hotels, Music, Routes, TN, TS_10 | Leave a comment

TS_10 Hop 6: Louisville KY to Nashville TN

212 miles via I-264, US 31W, KY 841, I-65, I-24 and I-40. Cumulative route miles: 1,581. Auto miles on this hop: 22. Cumulative auto miles: 1,656. There were no extra auto miles. However, the route was rather tortuous: first to Churchill Downs where we tried (and failed) to get a souvenir, then to a gas … Continue reading »

Categories: Family, KY, Routes, TN, TS_10 | Leave a comment

TS_10 Hop 5: St Clairsville OH to Louisville KY

323 miles via US 40 (through St Clairsville), I-70, I-270 (south of Columbus OH), I-71 and I-264 into Louisville KY. Cumulative route miles: 1,369. Auto miles on this hop: 340. Cumulative auto miles: 1,434. The extra miles on this hop were due to a trip to the Wheeling Island Casino in Wheeling WV. We started … Continue reading »

Categories: Hotels, KY, OH, Routes, TS_10 | Leave a comment

TS_10 Hop 4: Harrisburg PA to St Clairsville OH

270 miles via I-81, US 30, I-70, I-470 (around Wheeling) and I-70 (again). Cumulative route miles: 1,046. Auto miles: 286. Cumulative auto miles: 1,094. We stopped at the Flight 93 Memorial near Shanksville PA. The extra miles were from the trip to the Hershey Chocolate World. This was a clear, warm day with relatively little … Continue reading »

Categories: Hotels, OH, PA, Routes, WV | Leave a comment