This trip was all about visiting people and seeing baseball in Pensacola. Pictures were taken with my Fujifilm Finepix HS50 camera, my iPad, my Google Pixel 6a phone, and Cathy's iPhone. Pictures are linked from within the trip report below.
Wednesday, July 17 - Amsterdam, New York, to I-95 in North Carolina
We got on our way by later in the morning. We left the Thruway for a Chipotle lunch stop in Kingston. Our route was down through New Jersey, taking the Turnpike all the way from the Meadowlands to avoid some storms off to the west. We caught up to the storms in Maryland, so decided to find some dinner at a Wegman's in Abingdon while the heaviest rains passed through [Picture]. We had just crossed from Virginia into North Carolina when midnight came. [7 Pictures from the Roads]
Thursday, July 18 - I-95 in North Carolina to The Villages, Florida
We passed through the Carolinas in the early morning hours, including a Buc-ee's stop in Florence around 3:30 AM. We got some breakfast from Chick-fil-A [Picture] in Kingsland, Georgia, just before crossing into Florida, then continued on to arrive at The Villages by late morning. We had the rest of the day for visiting there [3 Pictures] and stayed that night. [2 Pictures from the Roads]
Friday, July 19 - The Villages, Florida, to Bonita Springs, Florida
We had the morning and early afternoon to visit at The Villages (including with a larger group for lunch) [5 Pictures]. Then we made the ride down to Bonita Springs [Picture], where we moved into our rental for the next few days.
Saturday, July 20 - Bonita Beach, Florida
Our first full day in the Bonita area included some time around the rental house [9 Pictures], at the boat rental/beach [2 Pictures][1 People Picture], and dinner at our friends' house [2 Pictures].
Sunday, July 21 - Bonita Beach, Florida
We took a boat out in the morning [12 Pictures][7 People Pictures], spent the day at the rental house and the boat rental, then sunset at Bonita Beach later [Picture].
Monday, July 22 - Bonita Beach, Florida
Some fishing [3 Pictures], relaxing at Bonita Boat Rentals [Picture] and at the rental house [Picture], ending with some Taco Mix takeout.
Tuesday, July 23 - Bonita Beach and Naples, Florida
In the morning, we made our first visit to Barefoot Beach preserve [8 Pictures] for a short time, then headed down to Naples for visiting and lunches at Skyline Chili and at the Dock. We also spent a little time at the Coastland Center Mall before heading back up to the rental house for a little while in the middle of the afternoon. Then back to Naples for a party with a bunch of friends.
Wednesday, July 24 - Bonita Beach, Florida
Everyone but me took a long boat ride on a skiff for some beach and fishing [3 Pictures][7 People Pictures]. I met the group for lunch (by car) at Doc Ford's [Picture][2 People Pictures] in Fort Myers Beach (which was getting better but still a long way from recovery following Ian). We gathered later for dinner at Tacos and Tequila for our last night in town, then a sunset with a group of friends that started with hiding out from the rain under the boat rental but ended with a very nice sunset [10 Pictures][3 People Pictures].
Thursday, July 25 - Bonita Beach, Florida, to Tallahassee, Florida
We got on our way from the rental house in Bonita by a little after 9. We were ready for lunch in the St. Petersburg area, and got some Raising Cane's. Our main stop for the day was Tarpon Springs, where we had never stopped before. We enjoyed walking around the area near the Sponge Docks [21 Pictures][5 People Pictures]. Our Cane's lunch was good, but we wish we held out for lunch in Tarpon Springs, which was filled with lots of good lunch options, mostly Greek. Next time. Continuing north, the van passed by Ocean Honda in New Port Richey, where we picked it up 4 years earlier [2 Pictures]. The rest of the day was a ride on a different route, mainly up the Suncoast Parkway, US 41, and US 27. On the way, we picked up some food for dinner at a Publix in Dunnellon, then stopped to eat it at a park along the Suwannee River in Branford [16 Pictures][5 People Pictures]. We arrived for the night in Tallahassee before 9:30. [20 Pictures from the Roads]
Friday, July 26 - Tallahassee, Florida, to Pensacola, Florida
We had much of the day to take the scenic coastal route to start our ride toward Pensacola. We got going after 9, and after a gas stop, started southbound toward the coast on US 319. We passed by the world's smallest police station in Carrabelle [4 Pictures], then stopped for a short look at Carrabelle Beach [6 Pictures]. Next up, we crossed over Apalachicola Bay to see a bit of St. George Island [14 Pictures][3 People Pictures]. We were in Apalachicola around lunch time, so we walked around there and decided on the Hole in the Wall Seafood and Raw Bar (which we enjoyed) [10 Pictures][People Picture]. Continuing west, we passed through Port St. Joe, and made another brief stop at Mexico Beach [5 Pictures][People Picture]. At Panama City, we turned north to faster roads, working our way to I-10 at DeFuniak Springs. I-10 was a bit slow in some heavy rains. We made it to our hotel in Pensacola after 4, checked in, and quickly got ourselves organized to go into the city for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos game, hoping to see Amsterdam's Dale Stanavich pitch for the home team [23 Pictures]. The Blue Wahoos won, but Dale did not pitch. [51 Pictures from the Roads]
Saturday, July 27 - Pensacola, Florida, area
We had the day to check out the area before our second Blue Wahoos game in the evening. We started with a ride down to Perdido Key, where we spent part of the morning at Rosamond Johnson Beach in the Gulf Islands National Seashore [10 Pictures][3 People Pictures]. There were storms around but they held off for us to have a nice visit. We went west from there into Alabama, where the rain started to fall heavily. We drove out of the rain after we turned north at Orange Beach, and got some lunch in Foley. We continued north to US 90, and took that back to Pensacola. We had a little time to clean up then it was right back out for the game. We were in the stadium area earlier than expected (no traffic or parking difficulties) so we walked around Pensacola [3 Pictures] and then the waterfront park [3 Pictures] where the stadium is located before going in. At the game, we got what we came for when Dale came in to pitch the 9th, though with his team losing. A fireworks display followed the game, then we had the chance to chat with Dale a bit on the field [38 Pictures][People Picture]. Before returning to the hotel, we decided we wanted milkshakes. We stopped at a Sonic, but they had no ice cream (!). It worked out fine, though, as the Whataburger down the street had some good shakes for a better price anyway. [27 Pictures from the Roads]
Sunday, July 28 - Pensacola, Florida, to Abingdon, Virginia
Time to head for home, and we decided not to do an overnight ride. It was nice to see some different places, but it was a pretty rough ride with quite a bit of heavy rain and some traffic. It started out nicely, though, as we headed up US 29 from Pensacola and into Alabama. In Alabama, the parts of I-65 south of Montgomery were new territory, as was part of I-459, and I-59 north of Gadsden. We found a new (to us) chicken strip chain called Huey Magoo's in Prattville and actually met the owner of the chain [Picture]. We liked it and would gladly go again when we see one. We left I-65 to dodge a little traffic south of Birmingham. We were hoping to see just a bit of Chattanooga when we passed through there, but decided against it given the time and the weather. We dodged more traffic with a small detour from I-75 in Tennessee, grabbed dinner from a Culver's in Knoxville, and made a gas stop at the Buc-ee's in Sevierville along I-40 [Picture][People Picture]. From there, it was on into the rainy night to spend the night in Abingdon, Virginia. [57 Pictures from the Roads]
Monday, July 29 - Abingdon, Virginia, to Amsterdam, New York
Lots of I-81. Lunch in Harrisonburg at a nice little sandwich shop. Dinner was pizza in Binghamton [2 Pictures]. We got in before too late, around 9. [3 Pictures from the Roads]
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