Our super-duper-cross-country trip has come to an end! Our last day on the road was yesterday and the longest of our trip at 16 hours (yikes!), but it didn't feel like it because we knew it was the last day on the road, and the excitement of reaching our destination kept us going.
We woke up early and left Monroe around 6:30. We watched a gorgeous sunrise as we headed east on I-20 and made our way into Mississippi.
A little side story to go with the following photo. I'll go with the short version. Imagine 2 young men driving late at night, the driver nodding off and veering right onto a service road. Barely missing a large pole supporting a gas station sign, the car sails over this grassy mound and lands in a large pond (which used to be here) and begins to sink. Darius, one of these young men, kicks out the sunroof and they are able to climb out and kick off from the car as it sinks. True story.
| Stuckey's has awesome saltwater taffy and pecan log rolls. |
US-49 S to I-59 S to US-98 E took us from Mississippi into Alabama. Both of these states I had never visited before, and I really enjoyed our drive through them. It's a good country drive, Darius told me, and I agree.
| USS Alabama Battleship in Mobile Bay. |
After we made our way past Mobile, I-65 S took us to I-10 E into Florida. It was such a relief to cross the state line and it was such a great feeling to know that we had no more overnight stops and no more state lines to cross. We were home. Around 10:30 we pulled up to the Bacon's house and we'll be here until we find four walls of our own.
We feel so incredibly grateful and blessed to have made such a long trip and have everything go as smoothly as it did and to even have the opportunity to make such a huge move. We had almost perfect driving conditions over most of the trip and great road conditions. As much time we spent together in the car, we honestly enjoyed our time together as a family and only had a few snippy moments. I can't even begin to describe how well the boys did on this trip. They really made a tremendous difference in how well the trip went. What a great experience for all of us. I don't foresee us ever making quite as long a road trip in the future, but I'll definitely look forward to making some shorter ones in the future.
A trip recap is coming, but for now I'm going to get ready and spend some time with our friends and family in the warm Florida sun.