Florida to Biloxi! 11000 miles!

We left Key West on Tuesday morning and enjoyed a beautiful ride back across the Overseas Highway. It was even prettier heading back to the mainland!
The weather was perfect and the temperature was ideal. The water was a beautiful blue mixed with turquoise.

We took highway 75 across to the west coast through the Florida Everglades.

They do seem to go on forever!

Our niece, Denise, introduced us to her good friend Lauree and we arrived at her home in Cape Coral. Lauree was the perfect hostess, making us feel right at home. We immediately felt like family even though this is the first time we have met.  Unfortunately her husband Ken was out of town. Guess we'll just have to come back!

A beautiful home on the canal which leads to the Gulf of Mexico.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay with Lauree and look forward to the next time we will be together!

From the luxury of Lauree's beautiful home to quite possibly the least luxurious accommodations we have yet to inhabit on our cross country trek.

We left Lauree's Wednesday morning with big miles ahead of us. We were blessed to have perfect weather and 500 miles later we pulled into Defuniak Springs Florida. 

We checked into "Americas Best Value Inn", a misnomer if ever there was one!

To top our evening off, we ate at the finest culinary establishment Defuniak Springs has to offer!

You have not eaten until you have eaten at "McLain's Family Steakhouse". 

It is "to die for", or is it "to die from"?

The next morning we took off for Biloxi Mississippi passing through Pensacola Florida and Mobile Alabama!

A storm was threatening so we pulled over and stopped under an overpass to don our raingear.

The Lord once again protected us as we had only minor sprinkles and arrived safely at the Hard Rock Hotel in Biloxi Mississippi.

While on a flight to aid Hurricane Katrina victims, our good friends Joe and Debbie Shelton met Chuck Stuart.

Chuck's parents, Greta and Sonny, lost everything in the hurricane.

Since that chance encounter on an airplane, our Bible study group has maintained an E-mail / Facebook relationship with the Stuarts.

Sadly, Sonny passed away just a couple of years after Katrina, but we were blessed with the opportunity to meet Greta and her son Chuck face to face.

Truly a "Divine Appointment"!

We cannot express the joy we felt to finally hug and kiss these loved ones that we know so well though we had never seen face to face. 

Thank you dear Lord, for the relationships with which You have grace us.