Journey Into Spring

Well, my adventure is over. I'm back home and ready to blog! I feel fortunate that the warm weather returned with me. This is what it looked like the morning we left for Louisiana. It remained cold (in the low teens) with patches of snow almost all of the way to the Michigan border. After a week of 70-80 degree temps I probably would have cried had I come back home to snow.

We left Petoskey, Michigan early in the morning on April 8th. By the time we hit the Indiana boarder it was starting to look like spring. The tulips were in bloom and there was no sign of snow. Still quite chilly though.

A little further into Indiana and the daffodils were in bloom. The little white things scattered on the ground are petals from the trees that were also in bloom. Yes, this is definitely starting to look like spring.

Illinois was about the same but we did catch a glimpse of some new terrain. Up until this point the land had been pretty flat. Little did I know it was about to get much flatter as we entered into the Mississippi flood plain.

Our first (of many) crossings of the Mighty Mississippi River. Much greener here. The trees are finally starting to leaf out.

We spent the night in Effingham, Illinois. We had an awesome dinner at a restaurant called Firefly. Unique dining for sure. We also did a little shopping before calling it a day. We were up & on the road early the next morning. By the time we hit the Missouri line it was warm enough for shirt sleeves. We stopped at a little tourist trap called Boom Land. They had everything there! It had a gas station, a restaurant, an ice-cream parlor, a fireworks stand and a huge store with every type of trinket & souvenir imaginable.

Needless to say, I walked out of Boom Land with a bag full of goodies.  :D

I took an accidental selfie as we blew through Western Tennessee. We weren't in this state long. No mountains, just the Memphis skyline. It was on the opposite side of me and we were on an overpass so unfortunately I did not get a photo of the glass pyramid visible from the freeway. Too bad because it was a beautiful sight.

Hello Mississippi. You are a beautiful state in full spring bloom. I certainly could have stayed here longer to explore the area. The weather was warm, the land was green and flowers were in bloom everywhere you looked. Maybe a special trip is due?

We crossed the Mississippi River one last time before entering into Louisiana. It was dusk when we hit the Louisiana State Line but we were close to our final destination. It was a nice drive, easy to travel in two days time.

The weather ranged from 70 degrees to the low 80's in Pineville, Louisiana. This was the view from the patio where I drank coffee in my shirt sleeves every morning. It was beautiful except for the little creepy crawlies that insisted on joining me every morning for coffee.

I made the most of my time in Louisiana. I'll be posting blogs and photos of my visits to Camp Beauregard, Kent Plantation and the Big Easy. Stay tuned. In the meantime, enjoy this beautiful spring weather!