The Libators go Corner to Corner: From New Orleans to New Mexico through some Texas Panhandle

Traveling fast gives us some quick impressions of the places we move through and of the places we stay. I look for interesting things to see or unique restaurants to try as we move. We found some good places as we left New Orleans and headed toward northern New Mexico, starting with the last Harvest Host of the entire trip in Natchitoches, Louisiana. We also found a gem of a city park in Childress, Texas, ate at a famous steak restaurant in Amarillo, and met with an old friend in Albuquerque. We ended this leg at Russ' childhood home, all in time for Thanksgiving.

Parked for the night.

Worth a stop.

Lake Ray Hubbard.

Happy cat in John Paul Jones Park.

Childress Fair Park.

We were the only customers at the Childress Fair Park Campground.

Sunset in Tucumcari, New Mexico.

Wind Power in Texas.

Fried Catfish at the Big Texan.

The Big Texan.

The lights of Albuquerque.

Isleta Lakes RV Park.

The Sandias.

Margarita at Bruno's in Cuba, NM.

The land of spicy, stuffed sopapillas, Christmas style.

The long views of New Mexico.

Home. Cedar Hill (Russ' Mom's house).

The Libators go Corner to Corner: Across the Florida Panhandle to the Big Easy

Time is growing shorter... we fell back to standard time. We do gain an hour twice, too, since we are now heading west towards the central time zone. Our first stop in Madison, Florida yields a clean load of laundry and a good night's sleep at a new and very clean RV park. We parked for the night and left the next morning. I had hoped to see more of the gulf coast, but we just spent one night in Fort Walton Beach before moving on to New Orleans. I did schedule more days there, and we had a great time exploring the city and getting an oil change for the truck on the other side of Lake Pontchartrain. It's been a long time since I've been in the Big Easy, and I really loved going back to visit again.

Northern Florida had more farms than I expected.

Fort Walton Beach sunrise.

Interstate 10.

This was definitely near the gulf coast.

Lake Pontchartrain.

Sunset on the Mississippi River.

Sunset on the levee trail next to the Mississippi River.

Cheers to RIPS on the Lake.

Rebuild better after complete destruction during Hurricane Katrina.

Lakeshore Drive Park.

Sunset on the Northern side of Lake Pontchartrain.

Drama before dark.

The Beignets and Cafe O'Lait at Cafe Du Monde.

A hurricane at Pat O'Brian's.

Shrimp Po'Boy.

A hurricane lantern?

St. Louis Cathedral on Jackson Square.

Shipping on the Mississippi.

The Libators go Corner to Corner: From Key West on Halloween to a Rocket Launch in Titusville.

It felt a bit melancholic to leave the Keys, but it took us half the day to drive out on Highway 1, so the sad feeling sort of dissipated as we drove along. We pulled over at a turnout near a state park to grab something for lunch from the trailer. It was a quiet Halloween for us, no eating out, no trick-or-treaters getting candy at our door, no special TV or movies, just driving and vibing. Scary.

We chose to go to Titusville on the Atlantic coast, since we have a friend who grew up there. It turned out to be a great decision, because we managed to catch a Space X night launch at 1 am (on our first night there). Looking at the schedule, it was the only opportunity to watch any launch for several weeks, so we timed that perfectly. Because of the government shutdown, we were unable to go to the Canaveral National Seashore, so we chose a local beach instead and enjoyed it without the National Park Passport stamp I would have gotten. We thought about going to the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, but it seemed like it would take up most of our time, and it was nice to just hang out and see Titusville.

Leaving the Florida Keys.

Stopped for lunch.

They were burning the fields as we drove through central Florida (sugarcane, mostly).

Maintenance on the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail.

Lake Okeechobee from the trail (it was on the levee, all the way around the lake).

The R-Pod as seen from the trail.

It was a nice evening.

Sunset over the lake.

On the public fishing pier in Titusville.

Space X launch of Bandwagon 4, Falcon 9 Block 5 from Cape Canaveral SFS.

Sidewalk detritus in Titusville.

Smyrna Beach.

The Atlantic Coast.

I put my feet in the Atlantic Ocean.

Selfie with shoreline.