Florida to Texas in 15 hours

7am – hit the road, running away from Hurricane Ivan. Little traffic, smooth sailing. Crossed into Alabama around 1pm. Had lunch in the Tillman’s Corner area around 2pm – McDonald’s, as fast as we could. Filled up with gas at a RaceTrac – REALLY slow because of people preparing to flee Ivan. Crossed into Mississippi around 2:30/3pm. Drove straight through. Got to Texas around 7pm EST/6pm local time. Noticed some really strange clouds during the sunset and eventually figured out that something BIG was burning. I reacted a bit to the smoke and looked like I had a sunburn. Stopped in Baytown/Beaumont Texas for dinner – guiltless pasta at Chili’s. Back on the road. Drove straight through Houston – that was way fun – crazy roads at high speed in the rain at night! Spent the night at a Holiday Inn Express in Sealy Texas – checked in around 11pm EST/10pm local time.