MARCH 2: After several weeks the trip plan was completed. I expected there would be a few changes along the way as there are always unforeseen events…and that certainly was the case on the last part of the trip.
MARCH 3: Pittsburgh, PA > Richmond, VA. Travel easy, no issues. Aiming for the 1pm Hatteras to Ocracoke Ferry crossing tomorrow. Booked crossing from Ocracoke to Cedar Island on 3/5 for 730a sailing, must arrive at least 30min early.
MARCH 4: Richmond, VA > Ocracoke, NC. Beautiful day. Had time for a bike tour around town before the sun set. Almost nothing open yet in the off season, ended up having oatmeal for dinner. Many properties being raised 20ft from ground level after Hurricane Dorian. Campground was nearly empty. I picked a private spot away from others. Crazy amount of stars visible. Chilly morning and off to the ferry.
MARCH 5: Ocracoke, NC > (Myrtle Beach, NC) Charleston, SC. Departed Ocracoke on 730a ferry to Cedar Island. Keep south all day to Myrtle Beach, did not like the KOA location at all. Decided to keep going south to Charleston, get a Marriott rewards room. Arrived to hotel 7pm. Long day driving, practicing patience. Enjoyed a shrimp and grits breakfast before leaving for Hilton Head.
MARCH 6: Charleston, SC > Hilton Head, SC. Arrived Uncle Ned’s early afternoon. Spent a few hours catching up on the events of life, family, and friends while keeping an eye on the local wildlife.. We enjoyed a BBQ dinner together. Last weekend of meat before the Great Lenten Fast.
MARCH 7: Hilton Head, NC. Attended St. James OCA church. Turns out the priest (Fr. James) went to seminary with my home parish priest (Fr. Branislav). Lunch plans with friends on Hilton Head Island. We ended the day with some nice wine and cheese. Really fun day!
MARCH 8: Hilton Head, SC > Quincy, FL. Departed 830a from Hilton Head for Quincy. Arrived to the town (North of I-10) which was not very nice. The campsite (Ingram’s Marina) was south 6 miles and was very nice, on a lake with great sunset. Camp staff are super friendly. Met a retired guy from CA who travels full time in a RV x3 years with his wife. His hobby now is photography. They are heading next to Charleston and then New Orleans, so I gave him a few suggestions on where to eat at both locations.
MARCH 9: Quincy, FL > Lillian, AL. Departed 0630a from campsite for the next stop. Crossed from ET to CT zone. Arrived to Pensacola around 930a CT. Decided to explore the town by bike (camp is just 30 min to the west, no rush). Had a nice breakfast, cycled the town. Lots of great waterfront areas. Arrived to camp (KOA Camp Shores) about 5pm. Got upgraded to “patio” site and end of row. Very nice! Damp firewood, would not burn. Ate my prepared dinner that was sourced from local co-op grocery store in Pensacola. No fire? No problem!
MARCH 10: Lilian, AL > New Orleans, LA. Camp was quiet, slept well. Departed 630a. Stopped in Mississippi at rest stop on the bayou for breakfast. Arrived to New Orleans early, hotel room was ready and scored free parking. Did a good amount to hiking around the city seeing the French Quarter sights and the newer Crescent Park along the Mississippi River. Great light for photos peaking from behind the clouds. Delicious seafood gumbo from Mother’s Restaurant.
MARCH 11: New Orleans, LA. Fantastic day! Toured the National WWII Museum in the morning, great experience! Had a huge shrimp po-boy sandwich for lunch from Mother’s (again) and it was outstanding. Circumnavigated the city by bicycle, broke my first spoke ever while riding, fixed it with with a zip-tie for now. Enjoyed beignets and cafe-au-lait for post ride snack and Mom’s birthday via FaceTime. Tomorrow west bound to Houston.
MARCH 12: New Orleans, LA > Deer Park, TX. Longish drive from NOLA to here, which is basically a petrochemical plant with a speck of a town next to it. Fantastic fish tacos from Lone Star Tacos for dinner. Just a 3hr drive to San Antonio tomorrow, I plan to start early so I can explore the city before Vespers.
MARCH 13: Deer Park, TX > San Antonio, TX. Departed Deer Park early. Stopped en route to San Antonio for fuel (and some local donuts). Driving I-10 in Texas is ridiculous, at least half of the interstate is under construction and the drivers are super aggressive. Ready to be out of Texas urban zones. San Antonio is very full of people. Vehicle and people traffic everywhere. Found a local taco place (Pete’s Tako House) out of the way and had a nice fish taco lunch. Attended Vespers at St Anthony’s Orthodox Church…and it turns our the priest here (Fr David) also went to seminary with Fr Branislav, met his wife as well…and she reports she once cut Fr B’s hair! Also saw some fire trucks.
ARCH 14: San Antonio, TX > (Big Spring, TX) Lamesa, TX. Divine Liturgy in the morning, then headed out after coffee and a snack from a local coffee shop (Cheesefare Sunday). Big Spring was just more “Texas” I-10. Still had daylight and didn’t love the campground. Pushed on an extra 45+ miles to Lamesa TX (Forest Park Campground). Overnight was free. Grabbed some shrimp tacos to go, headed to campground. Got to bed early. Left before sunrise. Slept well.
MARCH 15: Lamesa, TX > Cloudcroft, NM. So glad to be out of Texas! I hit a dust storm on the way. Vibe changes as soon as crossing the boarder to NM. Calmer, better road, better driving, friendly folks. Love the Lincoln National Forest! Climbed from 4k feet elevation to nearly 9.000 ft elevation. Things are beautiful everywhere. People are nice, the air is clean, and it is really rural. Did a 2.5-3 mile hike after having a delicious blueberry pie in town. The Cloudcroft Hostel is great, host is German, I have a private room, shared bath, just a few others here. Dinner at the Cloudcroft Brewery, sampled some local brew and had a cheese-less veggie pesto pizza. Ready to sleep at 9pm local time. Tomorrow, more hiking!
MARCH 16: Cloudcroft, NM. Love the hostel! Great sleep, super quiet. Coffee, shower and ready to hike. Did a morning hike about 3 hours and 8 miles. Hiked into the canyon, up to the peak, back into the canyon then out to the starting tail-head. Clear sky, windy, chilly at times, lots of sun. After 1pm the wind kicked up lots of dust from the white sands region to the west and sky became overcast, hazy. Weather Service issued a “Wind Storm Warning”, strong sustained winds with gusts to 75 MPH. Stopped into the local bicycle shop (High Altitude) and of course the young lady working the front counter is from Cumberland, MD. Drove around and saw some more of the area. Tomorrow heading to St. Paisius Monastery for 2 nights. Plan to leave by 830am for the estimated 4 hour drive.
MARCH 17: Cloudcroft, NM > Safford, AZ. Before departing, I met two new friends. One works summers in Pacific NW (OR) and the other is a digital nomad doing the reverse trip of mine headed for NYC. We shared some travel tips before heading out. Spectacular drive to Safford, AZ. St Paisius Monastery is amazing! Beautiful property in the desert surrounded by snow capped mountains. Lovely people, generous and spacious accommodations, very special chapel dedicated to St. Anastacia of Serbia with a portion of her relics…which I was invited to venerate upon my arrival. First service was 5pm for Great Compline with Great Canon. Quiet time is 6pm until after morning services, which start at 530a.
MARCH 18: Safford, AZ. Beautiful people and services. Amazing grounds. True oasis in the desert. Met Fr David, the assigned priest, he is a retired cardiac ICU nurse. Tomorrow morning Liturgy of Presanctified Gifts at St Paisius, then driving onward to St Anthony’s Monastery.
MARCH 19: Safford, AZ > Florence, AZ. Attended early morning services and then Liturgy of Presanctified Gifts, before departing about 11am for St Anthony’s Monastery. Amazing drive through the desert and then up and over the Tonto National Forest mountains. Beautiful rock formations with stark contrasts to the landscape along the way. Arrived to St Anthony’s about 3pm and was overwhelmed with the number of people, the level of activity and the very different feel compared to St Paisius. Met Fr Markos and was shown to my room in the Men’s guesthouse. The guesthouse seemed to be about half filled with pilgrims…some on short visits, some on several week long visits. Attended evening Great Compline and had a delicious meal. Quiet time starts at 630p because church begins at 1:30am and goes until about 430am, followed by breakfast and then more quiet (nap) time until 8am.
MARCH 20: Florence, AZ. Saturday morning early services Midnight Hour, Orthros and Divine Liturgy. Breakfast and back to bed around 530a. Woke up to meet a few of my guesthouse members over coffee in the common area around 830a. Recruited to work in the olive tree groves for a little while to help with the pruning and then lunch. The food is outstanding! We had Vespers in the afternoon, then dinner then Small Compline. Was selected to help with the cleanup after lunch and the evening meal. Enjoyed working alongside the monks and fellow pilgrims. Strong sense of community and absence of “social hierarchy”. To bed early.
MARCH 21: Florence, AZ. Sunday morning full set of services (Midnight Hour, Orthros and Divine Liturgy) from 130a – 5am, including Divine Liturgy. Followed by breakfast and napping. Spent most of Sunday hiking in the desert and exploring all the areas of the property, visiting the various chapels and shrines. Slower pace by the afternoon with far fewer visitors.
MARCH 22: Florence, AZ > Gallup, NM. Early services again. Enjoyed seeing the switch over from Clean Week to Great Lent in the solemness. Departed St Anthony’s at 7am for Gallup, NM. Amazing scenery along the way. Drove through the Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted Desert on the way (great side trip from I-40 if you are ever in the area). I had to limit myself on the number of photo stops, or else I would be way behind on miles. Arrived to West Gallup, NM about 5pm. I picked not the best spot for the hotel. Essentially an over built area around a truck-stop on the old Route 66 “mother road”. Most of the businesses are run down or closed (just like Radiator Springs in the movie Cars). Found a nearby Mediterranean restaurant for a vegetarian platter to go. Interesting rock formations were noted just behind the hotel, decided I would drive over on my way out in the morning.
MARCH 23: Gallup, NM > (Santa Rosa, NM) Sayre, OK. I woke up to snow falling in Gallup, NM and a WINTER STORM WARNING in Santa Rosa, NM with 9″ snow + gale force winds expected tonight through tomorrow evening, expected to bring I-40 travel to a halt. Changed plans with intent to skip Santa Rosa and keep going to next stop (Sayre, OK). Arrived 730pm Sayre after 555 miles of driving. No so bad…brief stop for lunch (Little Anita’s) in Albuquerque (must return someday, cool vibe & cycling friendly). Sayre City Park camp site is simple, nearby the highway, quiet and not too populated. Ready to roll to the Ozark Mountains tomorrow morning. Revised schedule will now have me home on Saturday (4 days early) due to two major weather systems pushing west to east, with high potential for severe storms.
MARCH 24: Sayre, OK > Fort Smith, AR. Spectacular campsite at the top of White Rock Mountain! Arrived just before 3pm. Had a huge private site (group site) and was far from the rest of the populated sites. Got checked in, ordered a bundle of fire wood, parked the 4Runner at the site and then headed off to hike the rim trail. Great hike. Beautiful views all around the Ozarks. Back to the site and got the fire going. Chilled by the fire and watched a great sunset, then it got chilly quickly. Headed to bed about 10p. Woke up shortly after 12mn to a major thunderstorm in progress. Lots of lightening and strong winds. Checked the weather radar to make sure a tornado was not headed my way. Napped between all the flash/bangs. Finally stopped about 330am. Slept until 7a. Headed out on the formerly dirt, now slick mud roads. Had to 4WD it and go slow 5-15MPH) for about 20 miles to get up/down the mountain “roads” before hitting pavement again. The 4Runner was awesome, slipped only a little in a few “kinetic zones”.
MARCH 25: White Rock Mountain, AR > St Louis, MO. Drove all day in the rain and fog to St Louis, MO. Arrived just about 3pm the hotel. Grabbed early dinner, had a shower, a glass of wine and early to bed. Tomorrow is a push to Cincinnati, OH before last leg to home. Weather has been nasty all day across the central south with many severe weather events including long trail tornadoes and flooding. Fortunately I am about 24 hours ahead of the worst storms. Hopeful for better weather to travel tomorrow.
MARCH 26: St Louis, MO > Cincinnati, OH. Good weather, easy drive. Not much in the midwest non-scenic areas. Arrived to hotel about 5:30p. Grabbed Thai food that was delicious, and walked around a bit. Early to bed. Tomorrow…drive home!
MARCH 27: Cincinnati, OH > Pittsburgh, PA. Easy drive home & back in the barn! Total of 5,924.3 miles. Ready for a shower, a car wash and to plan the next trip!
Hey…where’s my Dad? Everyone at home followed along using the latest technology and geo-tracking devices..
25 days.
21 states.
3.5 weeks.
2 Monasteries.
1 Great adventure!
