I know a number of people just aren't comfortable with any kind of travel right now, and that's perfectly fine. I know a lot of people would have also scrapped all hopes of traveling when your plans keep getting canceled or changed. Ultimately, we were in dire need of a getaway and as the pandemic progressed, I started to formulate a plan.
Originally, we were supposed to go to Pensacola Beach for a week followed by a week at WDW. My daughter's softball team backed out of the Pensacola tournament and my parents scrapped the idea of going to Disney. We still kept the idea of Disney on the table for a while, but as we got into May and found out our check in day was opening day for the parks, we chose to reschedule any Disney plans. I also had an alternate road trip plan that didn't include Disney, in the event that we stuck with softball in FL. I eventually came up with a road trip based on that plan that didn't involve Disney or softball, but even that had to be moved by a week and shifted a little because of back to school stuff (most of which was eventually canceled as well). Eventually, we hammered out the dates, booked our lodging, made sure all was still good for the dog with boarding, dealt with some car headaches and planned on this...
Highlights of the trip involve...
-lunch in Texarkana, TX
-Hot Springs, AR
-Memphis, TN
-lunch in Jackson, TN
-Nashville, TN
-Gatlinburg, TN
-New Orleans, LA
Day 1 - July 17th
While we stopped somewhere around Nacogdoches, TX for some snacks, it was very clear by Texarkana that we needed some real lunch. It was 93 outside by this point and people thought we were crazy, but the aim was to find a spot with outdoor dining. We were having trouble getting the filter to work to give us options, but we wound up at a Mexican place with a few tables outside. They warned us that there were no fans, but that's ok. While warm, that part of TX is much drier than the Houston area. So, it wasn't too bad.
Yeah, that's the gang. Kendall is on my right, Sam directly across from me and David to my left. I'll show up later in the report.
Food was decent.
The drive to Hot Springs, AR was fairly simple from here and not too long either. I was driving, so no pretty pictures of all of the water/lakes as we drove in. Our hotel was a Comfort Suites. It had decent reviews and we've stayed at Comfort Suites that we've liked, so I wasn't overly concerned. Just last summer, we stayed at one in Moab, UT and really liked it. Check in was pretty simple and everyone went up to settle into the room.
On the surface, it doesn't look too bad, but after further inspection...it was a bit of a mess...and of course, they were at full capacity. I'll spare you the pictures, but bedding was stained, floors were stained, carpeting damaged, lampshades damaged, and some areas off to the sides that could have used a more thorough vacuuming. Oh yea, and mildewed grout. Ick. I had everyone bring pillows from home, I had a can of Lysol spray that I have been using sparingly until the trip, I had a big thing of Clorox wipes, and a bottle of Microban. So basically, I cleaned up the room, took pics of what was wrong (even the deadbolt had issues), plugged in the air purifier/UV light, and threw on the Do Not Disturb sign to protect the bubble. Yeah, not sure if it helps or not, but I bought this UV light air purifier that we used during the trip. It's supposed to be able to cycle the air in a hotel room in about an hour.
We hit the road after that to explore. Thankfully, the hotel had a big staircase at the end of the hall, near the parking lot, so we could avoid the elevators for the bulk of the trip.
I don't know about you guys, but when we go on road trips, we enjoy playing Count the Waffle Houses.
The kids were supposed to be taking pics for me, but naturally, they had to take pics of each other to get things started.
Eventually, they started to focus on fun and interesting stuff.
We weren't planning on a ton of exploration today, but we found a part of the national park where you could drive up to some of the overlook sections...so, we drove up.
Not that there were a ton of people up there, but people were being very good about giving everyone space and waiting their turns. i.e. no crowding in the covered overlook.
Originally, we were supposed to go to Pensacola Beach for a week followed by a week at WDW. My daughter's softball team backed out of the Pensacola tournament and my parents scrapped the idea of going to Disney. We still kept the idea of Disney on the table for a while, but as we got into May and found out our check in day was opening day for the parks, we chose to reschedule any Disney plans. I also had an alternate road trip plan that didn't include Disney, in the event that we stuck with softball in FL. I eventually came up with a road trip based on that plan that didn't involve Disney or softball, but even that had to be moved by a week and shifted a little because of back to school stuff (most of which was eventually canceled as well). Eventually, we hammered out the dates, booked our lodging, made sure all was still good for the dog with boarding, dealt with some car headaches and planned on this...
Highlights of the trip involve...
-lunch in Texarkana, TX
-Hot Springs, AR
-Memphis, TN
-lunch in Jackson, TN
-Nashville, TN
-Gatlinburg, TN
-New Orleans, LA
Day 1 - July 17th
While we stopped somewhere around Nacogdoches, TX for some snacks, it was very clear by Texarkana that we needed some real lunch. It was 93 outside by this point and people thought we were crazy, but the aim was to find a spot with outdoor dining. We were having trouble getting the filter to work to give us options, but we wound up at a Mexican place with a few tables outside. They warned us that there were no fans, but that's ok. While warm, that part of TX is much drier than the Houston area. So, it wasn't too bad.
Yeah, that's the gang. Kendall is on my right, Sam directly across from me and David to my left. I'll show up later in the report.
Food was decent.
The drive to Hot Springs, AR was fairly simple from here and not too long either. I was driving, so no pretty pictures of all of the water/lakes as we drove in. Our hotel was a Comfort Suites. It had decent reviews and we've stayed at Comfort Suites that we've liked, so I wasn't overly concerned. Just last summer, we stayed at one in Moab, UT and really liked it. Check in was pretty simple and everyone went up to settle into the room.
On the surface, it doesn't look too bad, but after further inspection...it was a bit of a mess...and of course, they were at full capacity. I'll spare you the pictures, but bedding was stained, floors were stained, carpeting damaged, lampshades damaged, and some areas off to the sides that could have used a more thorough vacuuming. Oh yea, and mildewed grout. Ick. I had everyone bring pillows from home, I had a can of Lysol spray that I have been using sparingly until the trip, I had a big thing of Clorox wipes, and a bottle of Microban. So basically, I cleaned up the room, took pics of what was wrong (even the deadbolt had issues), plugged in the air purifier/UV light, and threw on the Do Not Disturb sign to protect the bubble. Yeah, not sure if it helps or not, but I bought this UV light air purifier that we used during the trip. It's supposed to be able to cycle the air in a hotel room in about an hour.
We hit the road after that to explore. Thankfully, the hotel had a big staircase at the end of the hall, near the parking lot, so we could avoid the elevators for the bulk of the trip.
I don't know about you guys, but when we go on road trips, we enjoy playing Count the Waffle Houses.
The kids were supposed to be taking pics for me, but naturally, they had to take pics of each other to get things started.
Eventually, they started to focus on fun and interesting stuff.
We weren't planning on a ton of exploration today, but we found a part of the national park where you could drive up to some of the overlook sections...so, we drove up.
Not that there were a ton of people up there, but people were being very good about giving everyone space and waiting their turns. i.e. no crowding in the covered overlook.