A long bridge disappearing to the horizon with a missing span

Driving South Sans Reservations: To Florida or Texas?

Nov 30, 2023

This trip is a little odd. I was close to re-qualifying for Hyatt Globalist, and they had a promotion going where you get 3,000 points back every three nights you stay. Since I stay at a lot of places that cost 3500-5000 points, that’s a nice rebate.

I knew I wanted to go somewhere, but didn’t know where, even a few days into the trip. The plan was to drive south and just take it one night at a time. There was a Starship launch in Boca Chica, Texas and a regular launch in Canaveral.

I ended up headed towards Florida because it gave me the opportunity to visit the Keys and Everglades, and because the FAA hadn’t formally approved the Starship launch. Delays had been common, sometimes for several months, though this time they launched more or less on time and they made it pretty far until things went BOOM.

Attractions

Norris Dam and Rice Mill, TN

This park has a special place in my family’s history. The Rice Grist Mill in the park was built by my great, great, great, great grandfather Jim Rice in 1798. He gave it to his son George who gave it to his son Henry who gave it to his son Rufus who was my great grand-uncle.

Back in 1935, before they became the Time Variance Authority, the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) flooded the land when they built Norris Dam and the mill was relocated within the park.

The nearby Museum of Appalachia is actually run by one of Rufus’s descendants and my grandmother’s crib can be found inside.

Fort Pulaski National Monument, GA

Arriving in Savannah in the early afternoon, I took some time to drive out toward the coast and visit Fort Pulaski. This was an important port for the confederacy and later became an important location on the underground railroad and eventually a prison for confederate leaders.

It also held a unique place in military history. Prior to its siege during the Civil War, people thought that these kind of fortifications would be impervious to cannon fire. Instead, to their surprise, the Union was able to take the fort in a little over 24 hours, with only four fatalities, 3 confederate and one union. This battle rewrote the textbooks on siege tactics.

Buc-ee’s, St. Augustine, FL

I had never been to a Buc-ee’s, and so I stopped at #46 near St. Augustine. I was expecting something like a mega pilot station, but this was much, much bigger, more like a full grocer, but with 60 pumps, and 60 varieties of every kind of bbq sandwich imaginable with more constantly being made. It was so crowded it took almost 10 minutes to exit the parking lot.

Canaveral Launch, FL

I arrived just in time to watch the launch from Max Brewer Bridge near Sandy Point park. During the Artemis I launch, this place was absolutely packed with a festival atmosphere. When Artemis launched, it was at night, and it lit up the sky like a new sun.

For this late afternoon Falcon 9 launch, there were only two dozen people. As overcast as it was, we only got to see the rocket for about 2 seconds before it was hidden by low cloud cover.