Does The Idiot Complete The Road Trip From Mendocino To Miami?

The last leg of the relaxed two-week road trip from the Pacific Ocean in Mendocino, CA, to the Atlantic Ocean in Miami, FL, was replete with exuberant get togethers with a wide variety of friends. Close encounters of a kind kind occurred every day in Alabama and Florida, a state where most people haven’t worn masks since Halloween.

Take a look.

Visiting my artist friend Nall, whom I first met in France four decades ago, at his museum and art center in Fairhope, Alabama.

Hiking on sand dunes in Destin, Florida, with John Keeney, my traveling companion who I have worked with on “The Paris Metro” magazine and other publications since 1977.

Saying hello to Florida during a nature walk in Destin, FL. (Photo: John Keeney)

Dropping in on Jim Owens — a teacher who permitted me to speak about “The Idiot and the Odyssey” trilogy of travel narratives to his high school classes between 2011-2014 — in Gainesville, FL. We met in Paris in 1980 when we worked out with firemen on the Seine.

Watching Jim Owens and John Keeney discuss the state of the union and contemporary literature over a delish home-cooked dinner in Gainesville, FL.

Attending a cattle drive, yes a cattle drive, and town fair with John Keeney, Wendy Melnyk (left) and my cousin Sandra Birken Fernandez in Ocala, FL. (Photo: Wendy Melnyk)

Catching up with performing artist/writer Marisa Dalla Vallee in Saint Petersburg, FL.

Kissing the sand on this beach in Venice, FL, for the first time since 2011. (Photo: John Keeney)

Watching the Super Bowl with MJ and Bill Anderson in Naples, FL.

Meeting the postmaster at the smallest post office in the United States in Ochopee, FL. (Photo: John Keeney)

Not feeding the alligators in the Everglades between Naples and Miami, FL.

Dining on Cuban cuisine with photographer/author Mary Russell and John Keeney in Miami, FL.

Listening to photographer/author Mary Russell discuss geopolitics with John Keeney.

Discussing life issues in Miami, FL, with travel specialist and former girlfriend Linda La Rosa who will always be one day older than I am.

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Posted on February 15, 2022 by Joel in Featured, Follow The Idiot, Idiotic Musings, Style, Travel, USA, Weather

About Joel

Joel Stratte-McClure has been a global trekker since the 1970s. He lived in France for over 30 years, working as a journalist, before he turned his attention to a unique life-time-project of walking the shores of the Mediterranean. The first 4,401 kilometers are explored in his inspirational and entertaining first book "The Idiot and the Odyssey: Walking the Mediterranean." The next 4,401 kilometers are covered in the gods-filled sequel, "The Idiot and the Odyssey II: Myth, Madness and Magic on the Mediterranean,” published on Valentine's Day 2013. The last 4,401 kilometers will be discussed in the last book of the trilogy currently entitled "The Idiot and the Odyssey III: Alexander the Great Walks the Mediterranean."

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