From Florida to California and Back: 6,169 Miles of Adventure in Our Jeep Gladiator There is something special about packing up the Jeep, pointing it west, and watching America unfold mile by mile through the windshield. What started as a road trip from Florida to…
Starting Our New Orleans Morning with Beignets at Café Beignet on Royal Street One of the things we knew we had to do while visiting New Orleans was enjoy a plate of fresh beignets. The next morning, we walked over to Café Beignet on Royal Street in the heart of the…
Returning to New Orleans: A Relaxing Evening in the French Quarter After a comfortable night’s stay at the La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Columbus TX, we began another day on the road heading toward one of our favorite destinations—New Orleans. Before…
From El Paso to Columbus: A Long Texas Drive with Small-Town Hospitality Leaving El Paso behind, we began another long day on Interstate 10 heading east across the vast landscapes of West Texas. The scenery slowly transitioned from desert mountains and rocky terrain…
From Arizona’s Texas Canyon to an Overnight Stop in El Paso Leaving California and continuing east on Interstate 10, one of our favorite scenic stops of the day was the Texas Canyon Rest Area near Dragoon. The rest area is surrounded by enormous granite boulders…
After a long day of driving across Arizona, we made an overnight stop in Kingman before continuing west on our cross-country road trip. We stayed at the Clarion Inn Kingman I-40 Route 66, which turned out to be a comfortable and relaxing place to recharge for the night. The hotel was clean, quiet, and conveniently located near Interstate 40, making it an easy stop for travelers making their way across Route 66 and the Southwest. After spending long hours on the road, having a nice clean room and friendly atmosphere made the evening much more enjoyable.
One thing I wanted to try while traveling through the western United States was the famous In-N-Out Burger. Since there are no locations near home in Florida, this was my first opportunity to finally see what all the hype was about. The restaurant was busy and clearly very popular with both locals and travelers passing through town. The burgers were fresh, the service was fast, and the food was good, but after hearing so much about it over the years, I personally felt it was a little overrated.
Everyone has their own burger preferences, but for me, I still prefer Five Guys burgers overall. I enjoy the thicker burgers, larger topping selection, and fresh-cut fries that Five Guys offers. That said, trying In-N-Out Burger was still a fun part of the road trip experience and one of those iconic stops you almost feel required to make when traveling through the Southwest.
After getting some rest in Kingman, the adventure continues with the next major stop: Hoover Dam. The drive toward Nevada and seeing Hoover Dam for the first time was an experience all its own, and that will be featured in the next blog post from this unforgettable Florida-to-California road trip.
