5 Optimists Travel 4,000 Miles
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My 2008 Toyota Prius carried my sons Jim and Lee and Jim's kids, Naoki and Leina, from Naples, Florida to Michigan's Upper Peninsula and back.
The five of us were together in the car from Jacksonville to Menominee, Michigan, a total of about 7 days in the car, a 2008 Toyota Prius.
This is the car that I use to travel around the state gathering information for my website, Florida Backroads Travel.
The round trip was 4,070 miles, and we averaged 47.4 miles per gallon.
We stayed at motels and with family, but on other trips by myself I have used my car as a mini-RV that I call Prius camping.
Somewhere on the trip we saw a billboard with a Toyota Prius ad saying it "seats 5 optimists". It made us smile.
I drove alone from Naples to Jacksonville, about 420 miles, then picked up the other four for the trip up north.
Lee and I drove back together from Milwaukee to Jacksonville, then I drove back alone to Naples.
We had a very good time and - as far as I know - had no serious issues or quarrels, just enjoyed the scenery and each other's company.
Here are some highlights of the trip in chronological order.
Sunday, August 2.
I drove from Naples to Jacksonville and spent the night with the kids and their mother and the grandkids.
My route was I-75 from Naples to Ocala, then US-301 north to Normandy Boulevard and on into Jacksonville.
Monday, August 3.
We didn't hit the road until about 2:30 p.m. or so, and drove on I-10 from Jacksonville to SR-51 near Live Oak. We then took SR-51 south to Mayo where we stopped at a convenience store.
The friendly clerk told Jim that the nearby town of Steinhatchee on the Gulf of Mexico is pronounced Steenhatchee, not Stinehatchee.
When I told her the county that Mayo is the seat of is pronounced La-FAY-ette, with the accent on the middle syllable, she told me that locals call it "Laugh At It" County.
This poor girl had very bad teeth and we all agreed that a kindly dentist could donate his time and effort and change her life forever.
We left Mayo on US-27 and drove west to Perry, and then on US-98 all the way to Panama City.
We drove through Panacea, Carrabelle, Apalachicola, Port St. Joe and Mexico Beach.
We enjoyed the beautiful views of the Gulf of Mexico and the offshore islands like Dog Island and St. George Island.
That night we had dinner at Uncle Ernie's in Panama City. The restaurant overlooks the bay and a marina.We drove in the pitch black dark on the back roads to Crestview.
Somewhere near the tiny town of Bruce on State Road 20 we almost hit an alligator hurrying across the road.
We think the car ahead of us might have hit it because he pulled over. We kept on going, and spent the night at The Country Inn and Suites in Crestview.
Tuesday, August 4.
We had breakfast at The Country Inn, and Naoki and Leina proved their waffle making skills.
Jim, Lee, Naoki and Leina enjoyed the swimming pool while I went into Crestview and looked around at the neat little town, the seat of Okaloosa County.
We left about noon and headed north on State Road 85 through the rolling north Florida country side. We came into Alabama at Florala and picked up US-331.
Jim wanted to get a good old fashioned southern cooked meal for lunch, so we stopped at a restaurant in the small town of Brantley, Alabama.
They had a nice buffet, so we all pigged out on fried chicken, fried okra, turnip greens, corn bread and country biscuits.
Two nice elderly couples chatted with us as they were leaving the restaurant.
One of the men was a veteran of World War Two and had served in Tokyo. He and Jim chatted about Japan. The man is now a pastor.
We continued north on US-331 through Luverne, Highland Home, Lapine and other tiny towns until we hooked up with I-65 at Montgomery.
We then took I-65 all the way to Birmingham where we connected with I-59 and drove on into Chattanooga in the dark of evening.
We had dinner at an Olive Garden in Hixson, Tennessee, and our server was a pretty young southern belle who was a student at Lee University in nearby Cleveland.
She is majoring in music, so Lee chatted her up and quickly fell in love. Leina and Naoki shared a pizza.
We spent the night at the Country Inn & Suites in Hixson, Tennessee.
We then took I-65 all the way to Birmingham where we connected with I-59 and drove on into Chattanooga in the dark of evening.
We had dinner at an Olive Garden in Hixson, Tennessee, and our server was a pretty young southern belle who was a student at Lee University in nearby Cleveland.
She is majoring in music, so Lee chatted her up and quickly fell in love. Leina and Naoki shared a pizza.
We spent the night at the Country Inn & Suites in Hixson, Tennessee.
Wednesday, August 4.
Naoki and Leina proved again at breakfast that they can make good waffles.
The rest of us had a bunch of everything, and everybody except me went swimming. I went to my room to write a report on a Wal-Mart claim and call my client in Miami.
We rolled out of Chattanooga about noon and took I-75 up toward Knoxville enjoying the mountains and rolling road. The scenery was beautiful.
We went through Cleveland, Clearwater, Sweetwater, Knoxville and came into Kentucky near Jellico, Tennessee.
We stayed on I-75 and stopped for a while in Berea. We visited the historic Boone Tavern, a hotel and restaurant where many Berea students work.
All Berea students work their way through college working at local businesses.
The Boone Tavern hostess was a young lady who is studying Japanese at Berea and wants to be a school teacher in Japan.
She and Jim had a nice discussion about that career.
Naoki and Leina had fun running around the sidewalks of Berea and getting some of their pent up energy out of their systems.
We drove to Lexington, then took I-64 west to Louisville, Kentucky. The road was under construction, so we were stop and go most of the way.
We finally crossed the bridge over the mighty Ohio River and were on our way north on I-65 to Indianapolis.
We had dinner at a Denny's in Indianapolis near our motel. Our waitress was a talkative Hoosier named Jennifer who had more energy than all of us put together, especially at that time of night, ten o'clock.
We spent the night at the Country Inn & Suites near the Indianapolis airport. It was our third straight night of having difficulty finding the Country Inn.
We came to the conclusion that they buy cheap, hard to find sites. It was the same story in Crestview and Chattanooga.
The inns are near the interstate highway, but you can't find them easily once you get off the main road.
Thursday, August 5.
Same routine in the morning, Naoki and Leina making waffles, everybody in the swimming pool except old grandpa Mike, talking to a client on the telephone.
We left Indianapolis and stayed on I-65 all the way up to County Road 14 just north of Rensselaer. We went through Lebanon and Lafayette on the way.
We got off the interstate and took County Road 14 through the cornfields to US-41 north of Morocco.
I told the kids about my father, their Grandpa Miller, who worked for Mrs. Cox, a farmer widow, at a produce stand on US-41 near Morocco.
My dad had clear memories of the John Dillinger procession after the gangster was shot in Chicago and they brought his body down to Indianapolis.
He said police motorcycles escorted the hearse, followed by hours and hours of cars following the procession. Dillinger was a gangster, but a Robin Hood kind of character with a huge popular following.
After we started north on US-41, we noticed that the gas tank gage was blinking. We were almost out of gas!
Luckily, we made it to a small gas station near Lake Village where we took a bit more than 11 gallons in a tank that will hold 11.9.
We were close, but not too close to running out.
We headed north on US-41 to Cedar Lake, Indiana, where we had lunch at Harry O's. A Greek owned restaurant, great food and jumbo portions. We all got very full.
We stayed on US-41 all the way into East Chicago and Hammond, then got on the expressway to creep through Chicago rush hour traffic.We took plenty of pictures of the Chicago skyline, Sears Tower and all the rest.
We got to Uncle Pat's in Milwaukee about dinner time.
Pat took Mike and Lee and Jim out on his 22 foot boat docked at his house on the Milwaukee river right downtown.
We cruised out to Milwaukee harbor, then on into McKinley basin where hundreds of sailboats are moored.
It was a nice cool evening and a great ride with the beautiful Milwaukee skyline lighting up the night.
Friday, August 6.
We got up and Leah made breakfast.
Jim and Lee took Naoki and Leina to an art museum and saw the sights of Milwaukee.
Pat and I had lunch at a restaurant on the Milwaukee River, and it started to rain while we were eating. It continued to rain for almost 24 hours.
My sister Kathy and husband Ramon came over to Pat's and we had a cookout in the rain.
Hamburgers and bratwurst, good potato salad, lots of nice visiting and chatting. Pat's daughter Sarah was there with her cute two year old daughter, Mazelin.
Saturday, August 7.
We had breakfast at Pat and Leah's, and drove north to Green Bay.
We met Chuck and Nancy at Nancy's house on the bay, and left our luggage and headed to Menominee for the Waterfront Festival.
We stopped at Mickey Lu's Barbecue in Marinette, Wisconsin, for a late lunch of milkshakes, charcoal grilled burgers and potato chips.
Delicious, the same Mickey Lu's I used to frequent as a kid.
We drove out to the Menominee Riverside Cemetery and visited the graves of my parents, Fritz and Mary Miller. Then we parked at Memorial Park right next to where my boyhood home used to stand and walked to the marina.
Kathy and Ramon and their son Richie were already there. They had staked out a location with a good view of the marina and were lounging in their comfortable portable chairs.
Kathy and I had a drink or two at the American Legion, and were ready for the fireworks at 9:15.
It was a spectacular display, the best fireworks I have ever seen.
On the way back to Green Bay we stopped again at Mickey Lu's and had a late dinner that pretty much resembled our late lunch.
It was pitch black and very late when we got back to Green Bay.
Jim and Lee and Naoki and Leina stayed in Nancy's cute little home on the bay, and I stayed at Chuck's house in the guest room.
Sunday, August 8.
Chuck and Nancy and the rest of us all gathered at a great little nearby restaurant for a big breakfast.
After breakfast, Jim and Naoki and Leina went to Bayside Beach, a quaint old historic amusement park in Green Bay where they enjoyed the rides.
Lee took a nap at Nancy's house, and I took a ride around Green Bay taking in the sights including Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers.
That night we all gathered for dinner at Rock Falls, a restaurant near Chuck and Nancy's, and many of us had fried perch.
The gang split up then and went back to Nancy's and Chuck's for a good night's rest.
Monday, August 9.
Jim and Lee and Naoki and Leina went kayaking and canoeing at Chuck's place on the bay.
Chuck went to work hosting a golf tournament.Nancy, Jim, Lee, Naoki, Leina and I met my old friend Dolly Jonas and her husband Jim for lunch at Fratello's in Green Bay.
We had a nice visit, then hit the road back to Milwaukee.
Jim, Lee, Naoki and Leina went to the Wisconsin State Fair in Milwaukee that night.
Pat and I took his boat to Barnacle Bud's on the Kinnickinnic River and had a nice meal. The Kinnickinnic is a tributary of the Milwaukee River.
At sunset we went to the harbor again, then went past Pat's house for a distance up the river.
The lighted buildings, parks and restaurants along the Milwaukee River were beautiful.
Tuesday, August 10.
Lee and Jim and I had breakfast at the Michigan Diner a few blocks from Pat's house.
Lee and I hit the road a bit after 9 am, and Leina and Naoki had tears in their eyes as they gave us a hug and said goodbye.
They would be leaving with Jim for Switzerland the following day; it would be a long time before we visited again.
Lee and I stayed on I-65 all the way through Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, passing through Indianapolis, Louisville, Bowling Green, Nashville and Chattanooga where we picked up I-75.
We spent the night at Ramada Limited in Calhoun, Georgia, about halfway between Chattanooga and Atlanta.
Wednesday, August 11.
Lee and I had a decent breakfast at the Ramada Inn and chatted with an elderly couple from St. Petersburg, Florida on their way to Nashville, Tennessee.
We drove from Calhoun to Jacksonville, passing through downtown Atlanta, Macon, Cordele, Tifton and Valdosta.
We had lunch at a Shoney's in Ashburn, Georgia, just off I-75 north of Tifton.
It was a great all you can eat buffet with great fried chicken and fried fish and copious vegetables. Our waitress was a friendly little southern gal named Donna.
My Garmin Nuvi GPS is a couple of years old, and we got frustrated now and then when restaurants we wanted to visit turned out to be closed.
I made a note to update the Garmin with new maps and restaurant information as soon as I got home.
We took I-75 to Jennings, Florida, then jumped off the interstate to go through Jasper and connected with I-10 south of White Springs.
Lee jumped off at his home in Jacksonville, near Jacksonville Beach.
I continued on to Naples via I-95, I-4, and I-75. I stopped in Lakeland for dinner at Applebee's.
I arrived home in Naples about midnight, tired but happy.
The next evening Jim called from Switzerland where he and Naoki and Leina were visiting friends.
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