396 miles via US-96, US-59, US-79, I-20, I-220 (around Shreveport), I-49, I-30 and US-270 with several shopping stops in Beaumont and a refueling stop at Walmart in Center TX. Auto miles: 399 (3 extra miles to get ice). Cumulative route miles: 1428. Cumulative auto miles: 1431.
This was the “easy” hop – just 6 hours. But it seemed longer. We left before 9am but didn’t arrive until nearly 6pm – 9 hours clock time. Much of that non-travel time was spent in some “brief” shopping stops as we departed Beaumont – one of which took 90 minutes.
But the weather was good and the traffic not too heavy, so it was a fairly pleasant (and boring) trip once we got out of Beaumont.
We stayed for 3 nights with our friends John and Deb who lived in Lehigh Acres FL until last December. They were our regular Hand, Knee and Foot card companions and we missed them terribly. They both have significant health issues, so it was both pleasant and necessary to see them. They were wonderful hosts. The detour to Texas was well worth it.
In case you were wondering, Marlene and Deb won 3 out of 4 games. John and I managed to salvage one game (and our dignity).