Day One – Erie to West Virginia – Camping at Bee Run Recreational Area in Sutton, WV. Every single campground we stayed at (except for the KOA) said “No alcohol” so we had to sneak our beer. Every time. Kinda made it fun.
Day Two – From Sutton to Nashville, TN. Drive took all day, so we just slept and drove.
Day Three – Toured Nashville, ate some lunch, watched some live music and had a couple of beers. (Three beers and two shots in downtown nashville was $26.00) Moved on to Memphis, TN. Slept at Meman-Shelby Park in Memphis.
Day Four – Woke up and toured Memphis, at lunch on Beale Street. Drove to New Orleans, LA, and set up at a KOA, then drove to downtown New Orleans and walked Bourbon Street. Had pizza and margaritas on Bourbon Street, then went into a club and watched a cool blues band and had a couple more beers.
Day Five – Drove the scenic route all along the Gulf of Mexico (On the Gulf drive, a giant rock hit our window and cracked it, so we made an appointment in Houston to get our windshield replaced) and into Port Arthur, TX. This is the first time I have taken a vehicle onto a ferry, just before the Texas, Louisiana line. Slept on the beach at Sea Rim State Park. We got our car stuck in the sand on the beach and had to get towed onto harder sand the next morning. A bit stressful, but the stay was still beautiful.
Day Six – Drove into Houston to get our windshield repaired, then to Corpus Christie, TX, where we stayed on the beach again at Mustang Island State Park. This time we parked in a parking lot and walked to our campsite on the beach. It is really awesome to fall asleep to the sound of ocean waves.
Day Seven – Drove to San Antonio, TX and stayed in a hotel to take real showers and try to get the sand out of everything. It was an Extended Stay hotel, so Janelle cooked us an awesome pasta dinner and we watched Dawn of the Dead on SyFy.
Day Eight – Worked at a Starbucks in San Antonio, the drove to Luckenbach, TX. There was live music going on, and after talking to the musicians, we were asked to come up on stage, so we each sang a song. That was an amazing experience. We drove through Waco and into Fairfield, and stayed at Fairfield Lake State Park.
Day Nine – Fairfield to Tulsa, OK. Stayed in a hotel in Tulsa, across from Oral Roberts University. That was a little creepy, with the giant hands statue and all. Went to a Mediterranean restaurant (Helen of Troy) in Tulsa.
Day Ten – Tulsa to St. Louis, MO. Stopped to visit and take pictures of the Gateway Arch. Janelle saw a little side street with bars, so we walked there and had dinner and drinks at Hannegan’s Restaurant and Bar. Drove a little further towards home and found a motel.
Day Eleven – Drove all day, then home sweet home.
Matt and Janelle 