Road Trip, Anyone?

I have decided to refer to our recent absence from Florida as our unintentional road trip.  Yes, we had plans to travel to Utah to visit Jamie and the girlies, and yes, we intended to drive (as we always do), but when James suggested we try to avoid all interstates and seek out the backroads and byways, the traveling there and back again got a bit more interesting (and longer naturally).  Here is a preview and map of the journey:

James probably knows the exact mileage, but that means nothing to me -- I need the visual.  From Lakeland, we drove state and county roads north through Florida following the Big Bend Scenic Byway -- very pretty.  This is along the roadway in Apalachicola:

Apalachicola was also the home of a store that I have been searching for ever since I moved south.  My first Piggly Wiggly store!!  I was so excited.  I mean how cool would it be to be able to say, "I need to stop at the Piggly Wiggly for some milk and bread."  Some people have all the luck.

 

We stopped for the night in Biloxi, Mississippi, right along the beach.

Biloxi is an odd sort of beach town these days, post-Katrina.  Driving west along Beach Boulevard, we passed lot after empty lot.  Sometimes a brick or stone wall remained, but mostly the only things left on the lots were huge old live oaks and For Sale signs.

Bye bye Mississippi.  On to Louisiana and my obsession with Lucinda Williams.  --cds