We put away our beautiful spacious Christmas tree on the evening of December 25, and got up Friday morning to head south through freezing rain. It was white-knuckle driving until about Grand Rapids when the temperature finally rose above 32 degrees.
Traffic was not too heavy on the day after Christmas so we made it to Mt. Vernon, Illinois and stayed over night at a beautiful Comfort Inn. On Saturday we drove almost to the top of Texas and spent the night at a Hampton Inn in Texarkana, Arkansas. The weather was very foggy and overcast both days of travel. We have become discouraged that both of these hotel chains, and maybe all today, allow guests to bring dogs and other pets into their rooms. We both had a few congestion and breathing issues at both locations.
On Sunday evening we arrived in McAllen, Texas just as the sun was setting on the clear, dry desert floor. We stopped for supper and Karen got to flirt with this cute taxi driver who tried to pick her up.
We stayed over at a Wyndham Garden hotel in downtown and had a tasty meal at Buffalo Wild Wings with a much younger Hispanic crowd.
On Monday morning, 12/29/2025, we drove into Bentson Palm Village Resort to find Karen's baby looking in pretty good shape after a 22-month absence.
More to come another day.......
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