We had some fun gambling our way through Nevada and seeing the beautiful sights in Arizona and New Mexico, but it was time for that bitter sweet moment on every road trip, heading home! Of course home for us was still another 2163 miles away :-) We took a rambling route across New Mexico, through Roswell, then to San Antonio to see family for the Turkey Consumption Fest we Americans call Thanksgiving. Once that was over with, and we could once again fasten our pants, we cut through New Orleans to drink off the Family Induced Stress Syndrome and then finally made it to our home in the Miami area.

Albuquerque to San Antonio via Roswell NM & Lubbock TX

We left our hotel in ABQ and started making our way towards San Antonio. The drive can be done in a day but we didn’t really want to spend 14 hours in the car before seeing family the next day. Instead we set our sights on a little city called Lubbock, Texas (birthplace of Buddy Holly). The drive through the New Mexico and Texas desert can be a bit dry (pun intended) so we added a short detour on our road trip and made a stop off in Roswell, NM.

Roswell, NM is best known for one thing: Aliens. More specifically the Roswell UFO crash of 1947. We were happy to see that local businesses are fully embracing this culture and saw many small and large tributes to the UFO conspiracy culture.

Shortly ater passing thorough Roswell we found ourselves back the second largest state of the union, Texas.

We made an overnight stop off in Lubbock and then continued on our way to San Antonio. The drive was filled with cotton fields and more oil pumping jacks than you could ever count. Most of them were pretty boring but occasionally you can find some that have been embellished by some locals with a sense of humor.

San Antonio – A Texas Thanksgiving

Once we arrived at my brothers house in San Antonio we waited for the rest of the “Rambling” clan to arrive and had most of the family together for Thanksgiving.

We enjoyed a few days of family togetherness and had all the traditions that go along with Thanksgiving. After traveling all across North America it was wonderful to be able to sit back and relax for a few days and be surrounded by the ones you love.

It also helps when you have a couple not-so-traditional moments for Thanksgiving, like bourbon and cuban cigars :-)

or celebrating a birthday or two :-)

Once we were able to rouse ourselves from our carb and meat (andy maybe bourbon) comas we spent a few days just hanging out in San Antonio. Considering we had just visited a few months earlier, we spent most of our time relaxing at home. We did, however, get out one afternoon and visit the Japanese Tea Garden. It’s a beautiful place and a good time for the whole family although it is a bit small.

San Antonio to New Orleans

After imposing on our family for a few days it was time for us to reluctantly wrap up our road trip and head on home. The good news for us was that one of our favorite cities, New Orleans, was on the way . When traveling through Louisiana on I-10 there’s one stop that is an absolute must. Look for a town called Scott, LA and stop off for some boudin. It’s available in many forms but our favorite is by far the boudin ball!

We arrived in New Orleans pretty late and kind of tired so we were able to resist the call of Bourbon St (unlike our last road trip) and just settled for some rest. The next morning we decided to spend the day in the French Quarter and see the sights but first we needed some food. On our way into town we stopped of a a great place that we both absolutely fell in love with. If you are in the Metairie area( just NW of NOLA) find Crabby Jacks! It’s a small place but the food is absolutely worth the trip.

After stuffing ourselves with Po-Boys and fried chicken we made our way to the French Quarter and surrounding area for some sightseeing, but first we needed some spending money. Good thing for us there’s a Harrah’s Casino on the riverfront. What better way to make a little extra cash than gambling? :-)

We spent a few hours enjoying the slots and complimentary drinks while the sun went down. Then we wrapped up our evening with the only sensible thing to do in NOLA at night: Shots on Bourbon St.

New Orleans to Miami – The Road Trip comes to an end

Once we were done living it up in New Orleans and we were nice and relaxed we had one final leg of our road trip to complete. It was a long haul, New Orleans to Miami. We had about 15 hours of driving ahead of us so we started off our morning with the only sensible choice,  giant Cafe Au Laits from Cafe Du Monde.

Once we, and our car, we’re all fueled up we made the long drive home. Our road trip route took us along I- 10 and through the deep south. The drive isn’t all that thrilling, but we were out for speed not sightseeing this trip. plus we took HWY 90 on our last trip through the area so we were familiar with the gulf coast. There is one cool stop off along the way though. If you’re a military buff there is a cool park in Mobile, AL that features the decommissioned USS Alabama.

After Mobile you enter Florida’s panhandle and get to go straight for about 6 hours until you finally hit the turn off for I-95. Then it’s a road trippers dream; more hours of straight roads :-)

After a total of 15 hours we finally drew our Florida to Alaska road trip to a close. We had been on the road for 58 days and covered more miles (or kilometers?) than we could even count. We had traveled from one end of the United States to the other and survived! We were so tired of the road that exhausted wasn’t even close to describing how we felt. Somehow, though, we were filled with bittersweet sadness. It’s the feeling that fills your heart when you realize the adventure is over and tomorrow will be just another day combined with the enormous sense of accomplishment caused by knowing you set off to do something just a little crazy and succeeded. With that, we settled into home and let ourselves drift off dreaming of our next rambling adventure!

If you enjoyed this post you may enjoy these other articles:

New Orleans: Voodoo in the Bayou

San Antonio: Everything IS bigger in Texas

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There’s plenty of Desert in New Mexico :-)

Roswell sure loves their Aliens

I never thought I’d see an Alien on a cell phone :-)

Welcome to Texas Sign

The open road along Texas Highway 380

Oil Pump Jack outside of Post Texas

Bourbon and Cigars – A Thanksgiving Tradition

Home Made Apple Pie :-)

Even tough this sign says Chinese it’s actually Japanese

Japanese Tea Garden San Antonio Texas

Even man-made waterfalls are pretty

Fleur De Bree Po-Boy Crabby Jacks NOLA

Crabby Jacks New Orleans LA

Just in case you’re not sure what Bourbon St is all about

Getting some drinks on Bourbon Street

Dot’s Diner in New Orleans LA

Cafe Au Lait is the only way to go

Cafe Du Monde – New Orleans

Welcome to Mississippi

Welcome to Alabama Sign

Make sure to stop at Buc-ee’s for many great treats :-)

Who does’t love deep fried balls of cheese and sausage?

The Sunshine State – Where it rains frequently :-)

USS Alabama in Battleship Park Mobile

Our Route from Albuquerque to Miami via Lubbock New Orleans and San Antonio

Have to make some Drinking Money :-)

Miami- HOME!

Hook’em Horns!

Kenin Lauren and the rest of the clan

A cake for my twin brothers :-)

Harrah’s New Orleans (image courtesy GONOLA.COM)