St. Augustine FL

Day One: Passenger Princess Narcolepsy & Other Suspicious Activities

October 13, 2026 | Scott, Louisiana → Tallahassee, Florida

Every great road trip begins with excitement, anticipation, and a carefully thought-out plan. Naturally, ours began with me sitting in the lobby of Jessica's office wondering if we were ever actually going to leave Louisiana.

The plan was simple. Jessica was going to get off work early, we'd hit the road, and we'd get a nice head start on our long journey to Florida. Apparently, nobody told her Jake about the plan. So there I sat. Waiting. And waiting. And doing a little more waiting. Finally, around 5:00 PM, my beautiful bride emerged, and we were officially on our way!

Now, before we get too far into this adventure, I need to tell you about a medical condition that my wife suffers from. It's a condition that has baffled scientists, confused doctors, and left one husband driving thousands of miles in complete silence. I think we need to start a go fund me or maybe even a 5k for the spouses who suffer in silence with this mysterious disease called “Passenger Princess Car Narcolepsy”.

It's a very serious condition. Symptoms include extreme excitement about going on vacation, an overwhelming desire to get in the car, and then immediately falling into a coma approximately 37 seconds after the seat belt clicks. I'm convinced there's something in the air vents of my truck. It's like someone opens a bottle of chloroform the moment we pull out of the driveway.

One minute she's talking about how excited she is for our adventure. The next minute, she's sleeping like she's been working a double shift at a mattress-testing facility. And just like that, our romantic road trip becomes a solo concert starring yours truly.

Fortunately, I've got my music.

And let me tell you, I was absolutely crushing the greatest hits of the 80s, 90s, and 2000s. I'm talking about a full blown, three decade musical extravaganza, performed live somewhere along Interstate 10. The crowd was pretty quiet, though. In fact, my only audience member slept through the entire performance. But I am pretty confident that I would have gotten the golden buzzer on AGT.

Eventually, I decided to switch things up and listen to a murder documentary. You know, something relaxing and wholesome to help pass the time on a dark interstate in the middle of the night. This particular documentary was about a man who had been married to six different women. Four of them were dead. And apparently, he had killed at least 3 of them.

So there I am, driving through the darkness, listening to the disturbing details of this man's marital history, when Sleeping Beauty suddenly awakens from her medically induced highway coma. She looks over at me and asks: “Are you planning on killing me?"

Y'all…The timing. I have been driving for hours, faithfully transporting this woman across state lines while she sleeps peacefully beside me, and the first thing she wants to know when she wakes up is whether I'm planning her murder. Apparently, listening to a documentary about a man who kills his wives while driving your sleeping wife through the darkness is considered suspicious behavior.

Who knew? But here's the thing.

As much as I love teasing Jessica about her supernatural ability to fall asleep in a moving vehicle, there is genuinely nowhere I'd rather be than sitting beside her. Even when she's sound asleep. Every now and then, I'd glance over at her and smile. Because after all the miles, all the long days, and all the craziness life throws our way, getting to do life with this beautiful woman is still my favorite adventure.

She's my happy place. Even if my happy place occasionally wakes up and accuses me of plotting a homicide.

Anyway, back to our journey. Jessica had thoughtfully booked us a hotel in Tallahassee, Florida, so we wouldn't have to make the entire drive in one shot. And even better, she found one conveniently located right off the interstate! We'd get some sleep, wake up the next morning, jump right back on the highway, and continue our adventure.

Brilliant. Efficient. Perfectly planned. Except for one tiny detail.

The hotel was not actually off the interstate.

Not even close. Instead, somewhere around 2:00 in the morning, we found ourselves driving deeper and deeper into Tallahassee, eventually winding our way through Florida State University's campus.

And this is where things got entertaining. Jessica, who had recently emerged from yet another episode of Passenger Princess Car Narcolepsy, was staring out the windows in a sleepy daze, trying to figure out where in the world we were going. Probably still a little concerned about the recent documentary I was watching.

Every few minutes, she'd look around and say: "I know it wasn't supposed to be this far."

We'd drive a little farther. Another street. Another turn. More buildings. "Babe I know it wasn't supposed to be this far."

At this point, I'm not entirely sure whether Jessica booked us a hotel or accidentally enrolled us in a freshman orientation program.

And bless her heart, she was trying so hard to make sense of the situation, but her brain was still somewhere between REM sleep and reality. All I knew was that we'd been driving since 5:00 PM, it was now 2:00 AM, and I had absolutely no interest in exploring collegiate life.

We finally made it to our hotel room, and I'm pretty sure my body set some kind of world record. We arrived around 2:00 AM. I was asleep by 2:01. No unpacking. No sightseeing. No reflecting on the day's adventures.

Just a tired man, his beautiful sleeping princess, and a hotel room somewhere in the Florida State University educational system.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was Day One.

Hours on the road, three states, three decades of greatest hits, one time change, one suspicious murder documentary, an unexpected college campus tour, and a whole lot of love.

Florida, we're here.

Well, technically we're asleep.

But we're here.

Until tomorrow's adventure,

Pete & Jess ❤️