Travel

PuzzleDrifter started because of Alaska. At the time I created the site, I was already about two thirds of the way through my 50 state adventure. I sat in the library aboard the Celebrity Millennium to write my first few posts while cruising the Inside Passage, and I published them a few days later after getting back to a place with wifi.

This is going to be a very quick and simple post, but I’ve got a big update on my little trip to Florida!

As an escape room enthusiast, it’s a bit of a sore spot for me to only have played one game in the TERPECA top 100 ranking. Only 17 of the most recent year’s winners are in the US, and the only one I’ve played has been Cutthroat Cavern in Baton Rouge (US #2). This year I have a chance to rectify that.

Day two of my trip to North Carolina started with a simple objective- go west as early as possible. I didn’t have any concrete plans for the day, but I knew my list of to-dos was long compared to the time I had available, so an early start was imperative.

A day before my trip to Charlotte, I didn’t have a plan. I had only just confirmed that Christina (my wife) would not be available at any point on the trip to do anything with me. I had to leave home at 5:30 AM to catch my flight to Charlotte, and the night before I didn’t get home until 10 after staying out to grab dinner with a traveling vendor. I hadn’t packed yet.

For the first time in about five years, I returned to North and South Carolina. The trip was amazing- but more on that later! First I need to share my experience flying to and from Charlotte, since it was quite an unusual experience. The short version: avoid flying United Basic Economy!

I’ve committed a serious violation of my modus operandi today. Nine hours in the car, zero escape rooms, zero geocaches!

It’s nice being back in the swing of things with travel. Only a few weeks after circumventing Lake Michigan, we’re hitting the road for a long journey eastward.

With everything that’s going on, and with approaching my 600th escape room, I very nearly missed out on reporting about a neat trip I took recently- a big loop around Lake Michigan, including a trip to Mackinac Island!

This last week contained my biggest adventure in a long time. After spending a few days in Las Vegas, Christina and I flew to South Dakota and experienced several national parks, including Mount Rushmore.