The road to Tennessee

The trip up from New Orleans to Tennessee was relatively quick and uneventful. Normally I wouldnt have been looking forward to a 7 hour drive, but now its like "only 7 hours, thats nothing." I got out of the hotel early and was on the highway within minutes. I10 took me across Lake Pontchartrain and I was impressed with the size of the lake. One of the most interesting part for me was driving across the bridge that linked the two sides. I bridge was several miles long and impecably maintained, and there was another similar bridge close by. Not to toot the horn for the people who maintain the bridges and levees especially if they are closing the barn door after the horse got out. Its just that the combined efforts of the NY and VT DOTs cannot maintain both of the bridges over Lake Champlain which resulted in one getting closed and peoples jobs getting screwed up.
I stopped in Hattiesburg, Mississippi to get a burrito in Brett Farve's home town. I also stopped just outside of Birmingham to grab a burrito so I never have to go back to Alabama. I booked into a days inn for my last night in a hotel for the trip. For the next 4 or 5 nights ill be staying with friends and family which should be fun. I should have knocked off the Tennessee burrito when I was here almost 2 years ago for a ski weekend. I was staying in the alumni cabin and there were people cooking every day so that I didnt have a chance to go out and find a mexican place. On the way out of I opted against getting a breakfast burrito at Sonic, and ironically I will be going to Sonic tomorrow morning to get the burrito.

I will be heading into Atlanta tomorrow afternoon and will be getting a chance to see several friends in the area and explore. I should be a good time and im looking forward to it. Im excited to be heading home, only 5 or so more days and I can relax for a bit and not have to worry about driving several hours at a stretch.
-O

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving in New Orleans was quite an experience. I was suffering pretty badly during the morning because of my time on Bourbon Street the night before. It was a pretty interesting time, but next time I am definitely going to need somebody with me so that I have a better time. I did get a chance to see a few really good bands, including a zydeco band which I watched for almost an hour. They had a guy playing the washboards, and another who played the accordion extremely fast while singing. It was a good snapshot of New Orleans, especially since I was drinking a Hurricane that I got from Pat O'Briens which is the place which invented the Hurricane.

After I got up and ready I rode the Rue St Charles Streetcar around the city. This is one of the oldest street car lines in the world and they cars were pretty historic. I got to see the entire city. The houses were a hodgepodge of Victorians, brownstones, french colonials, low rise apartments, neuveau architecture and others that I cant name. This shows how old the city is and how many cultural and historic forces made their way through the area. I spent a few hours wandering around the french quarter and checking out music. I grabbed a cajun thanksgiving dinner at a little place near the cathedral. While it wasnt turkey and stuffing the Gumbo, Jambalaya, and red beans and rice were good enough. I eventually headed back to the hotel to watch some Football and relax a bit. I enjoyed these few days and definitely want to go back, but next time im going to bring some friends.

I took some time to really think about what I am thankful for at this time. I am definitely thankful for the opportunity to go on this trip. Not only have I seen a lot of places and done a lot of things I never had a chance to, but I have had the opportunity to step outside my comfort zone and both grow and learn a lot about myself. I am thankful that I am almost done with school and that things are finally falling into place for my future. I am glad that everyone is doing ok and that people are healing up nicely after surgery.
-O

Nawlins

After a frustrating hour and a half trying to find Oak Alley plantation on the Mississippi river between Baton Rouge and New Orleans I was able to find the place. The oak trees are like 400 years old and the place looked like something out of a movie. The antebellum plantation was a pretty cool find, even though getting there was a challenge I am glad I went. I eventually made it into New Orleans and wandered around until I could check into the hotel. Driving over the bridge and seeing the superdome was pretty amazing. After seeing all the footage of the post katrina new orleans it was awesome to see the rebuilt dome after everything the city has been through.

I wandered through the French Quarter for a few hours. I made it to the Aquarium of the Americas which was pretty mundane compared to Mystic Seaport. The one thing they did have was a white alligator which was awesome. I went to a nice cafe on rue charles and got a chance to eat an alligator po'boy and have a local beer. I then made it down to the cathedral and wandered around the square. There were two jazz bands playing in the street, real bands with several members and even a sousaphone. I stopped into a microbrewery and then checked into the hotel.

I have a real room. It isnt right on the parking lot, and I have to use a real elevator to get there. It has a view that isnt of a strip mall, parking lot, highway, or a fast food restaurant. Its a nice room and surprisingly was significantly cheaper than a lot of my other hotels. Im heading over to Bourbon street now then wandering around the french quarter for a bit.
-O

Deep South

Today I made it all the way to Baton Rouge, LA. This put me over 9000 miles for the trip and more than 2 thousand since Friday. Yesterday I made it from San Antonio up to Texarkana. The drive was relatively short and pretty easy. I was surprised that the cities of Austin, Waco, Dallas, and Texarkana popped up spaced an hour and a half to 2 hours apart. It kind of felt like driving from Buffalo back toward NYC where you hit Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, and Albany on the way spaced pretty close together. The drive was pretty short and there wasnt much traffic. The traffic that was on the road apparently had an aversion to driving at a decent speed, so most of the time was spent either avoiding cars at 40mph or getting out of the way of cars going 90. Texarkana was a pretty strange experience. I stayed in the Texas part only about 100 yards from the state line. I went to a gas station in the texas part to buy some beer and found that it was a dry county and I would have to go to Arkansas to get beer. I had to deal and travel all 50 feet across the road to the other gas station, only to find out that apparently they dont sell Lotto tickets so people have to go over to Texas to buy lotto. It was a pretty strange experience. After one of the worst nights in a hotel I have ever had where the bathroom was dirty, the TV color was off, and the maid barged into my room at 9am even though checkout time wasnt until noon. I normally dont complain, and if it had only been one or 2 problems I wouldnt have said anything, but I complained at the front desk and they wound up taking the charges off my account so I got to sleep for free. To celebrate I went to breakfast at a Waffle House just down the street. I didnt have lofty expectations for the Waffle House, but they did ok and the breakfast was decent. The one thing I didnt like was how harsh the accents were of the people of Texarkana (Texarkans?). I am used to the mellower accents of Georgia and Virginia, but these people had voices that sounded like nails on the chalkboard. All in all I would have to rate the Texarkana experience as strange. Im glad I went (not just for the burrito), but im in no rush to go back.

Fueled by a Waffle House breakfast I headed through some back roads to Shreveport, LA and down to Baton Rouge. The first part took me on roads that reminded me of taking route 30 or route 9 up through the Southern Adirondacks. IT was pretty empty, with a lot of green grass and lakes/bayous, plus a decent smattering of trailers and run down houses. Along the highway I got to see more of the same open areas. Over the past week I have had a chance to see the extreme amount of agricultural production that can be done in America. From the Artichoke fields of the California Coast to the Sugar Cane plantations of Louisiana it is pretty awesome to think of the amount of food that we can grow.

I made it into Baton Rouge safely and was able to grab a Burrito at this place called Izzos Illegal Burrito. The place had 3 sizes of burrito, regular, Super Felony (about the size of a Bombers Burrito), and Illegal which was giant. I opted out of the Illegal burrito so that I can enjoy the culinary delights of New Orleans over the next few days. I plan on heading into the city tomorrow and exploring over the course of a few days, it should be a pretty cool experience and I am looking forward to it.
-O

Everythings Bigger in Texas (Thats what she said)

Early this morning I headed into San Antonio from Fort Stockton. The first place I made it to was the Alamo. I have heard about the Alamo and the fight and everything for all these years, suffered through the Disney Davey Crockett movie dozens if not hundreds of times, and watched enough King of the Hill to have respect for what happened there. The thing I didnt realize was how small the space was, its hard to imagine how many people died in such a small space. I dont know if I was desensitized to the historical significance by all those trips to Fort Ticonderoga as a child, but I wasnt as impressed as I planned to be.

After I remembered the Alamo I headed over to the riverwalk. The riverwalk was the location for most of the stories I heard when my friends went to a conference here in 2005. I wandered the path along the river and stopped at a few shops. I didnt spend any time in the bars because I wasnt feeling much like drinking. I did head to a supermarket later and pick up a case of Lone Star Beer and Lone Star Light. I also picked up a 12 pack of Sessions Black Lager for my black friend who happens to be named Aaron Session, the coincidence was well worth the 10 bucks.

I headed over to OD's house and hung out with him for a bit before he headed to work. We went out to this BBQ place called Rudys which was out of this world. It was easily the best BBQ I have ever had. The meat was cooked with a dry rub and then you could slather it with their amazing sauce. I picked up a bottle of their rub to try out at home, and I will be ordering the sauce online so I dont have to drive it home. I also picked up some of the rub to bring to Veres in Atlanta because he apparently loves Rudys.

I decided that I have seen enough of San Antonio for this trip and will be heading out a day early. I had planned 2 days in San Antonio to rest and relax a bit, but I feel pretty fresh and both of my friends here are working tomorrow. Im going to head up through Dallas and possibly up to Texarkana. This splits my trip up a little more and allows me some more time along the way. Who knows but by this time tomorrow I may have eaten a burrito in my 27th state plus New Jersey.
-O

What do you want on your Tombstone?

This morning I got up early and headed about half an hour from Benson to Tombstone, AZ. I was able to walk the main street of the historic western town and even get inside the OK Corral. I was shocked at how small the area where the gunfight took place was. The area of the corral where the fighting took place was literally about 15 feet by fifteen feet. The town was pretty cool, I got to check out the Tombstone Epitaph newspaper where you could "read your own Epitaph before breakfast". The people who work there must really love their jobs, they were all in period wear with a whole lot of handlebar mustaches. I got breakfast in the "OK Cafe" and as the name suggests it was just OK, but several of the guys dressed up as cowboys were there telling stories about Tombstone's history which was pretty cool.

When I was in Tombstone I noticed that one of my hubcaps was gone, odds are it is somewhere along the roadside in Death Valley. I would be mad, but the irony of the mexican guys joking about stealing my hubcaps was too much. All in all the car is holding up well, today took me over the 8000 mile mark for this trip, and nearly to 22,000 miles since I bough the car at the end of April. It has been through a lot, and is covered with road grime and dust. The first thing I am going to do when I get back to broadalbin is take it to the car wash and scrub this trip off it. I will also empty everything out and possibly take it in to get detailed.

Today's driving went pretty smoothly. I made it almost 600 miles in around 8 hours in part thanks to the 80mph Texas daytime speed limit. The trip took me through part of Arizona, all of New Mexico, through El Paso, and about halfway from El Paso to San Antonio. I am currently in Fort Stockton, TX in a nice Best Western that I found a coupon for. Before checking in I went to a steakhouse and ordered my steak with a side of broccoli and a baked potato. The waitress looked at me like nobody has ever ordered the broccoli before. I wonder if she went back and told the kitchen "somebody finally ordered the broccoli, please tell me we have some in stock. I picked up a 6 pack of Lone Star beer and found it to taste pleasantly like Utica Club. Tomorrow I am heading over to San Antonio to spend 2 days hanging out with OD. I will be visiting the Alamo and checking out the Riverwalk and everything else that I missed when I couldnt go with my friends a few years ago.

Back in Arizona

Today I got a bit of a late start because I took my car in to get serviced. After getting the oil changed, the tires rotated and a new air filter I was ready to hit the road. The guys working on the car were joking that my hubcaps didnt match and they didnt want me going home and telling everyone that mexicans at jiffy lube stole them. After this I made the decision that I really like Mexican Americans. I only know 1 mexican guy and that wasnt a big enough sample size, but after this trip I have decided that mexicans are OK. I figure that they are a hard working, family oriented people with great food, they are like the Italians of the early 20th century (minus the hand motions), plus you really dont want to get on their bad side. I was able to head out by 10 and had a full day of driving in front of me. I am glad that I got everything running smoothly because shortly after I left LA i headed through the Palm Desert and into the valley of death (death valley). There were signs saying not to run the AC because of overheating (which is find because mine doesnt work), and that there were no services for up to 60 miles ahead. The desert was actually more green that what I expected with a lot of sage brush along the roadside. I saw my first Cactus of the trip just after I crossed into Arizona. I had seen a few planted and manicured ones outside the Airport in Phoenix when I flew in this summer, but those werent real cacti.

I hit a little bit of traffic when I crossed through Phoenix at rush hour, but after what I dealt with yesterday in Cali this is nothing. I made it down to Tucson and stopped for dinner at Cracker Barrel. About 2 years ago I was listening to a comedy CD on a road trip with a few friends and the guy was talking about swearing at Cracker Barrel billboards. Since then I have yelled profanities at every cracker barrel billboard that I have ever seen, even though I have never previously eaten there. In the words of Stephen on the drive back from Baltimore "I didnt realize how many cracker barrel signs there were until you started all that swearing". So I finally broke down and got me some good homestyle country food. I was decent and extremely cheap. I will continue to yell at the signs simply because its a tradition. I wound up in Benson, AZ where I got into a hotel and did some laundry. My last load is in the dryer and I will be going to bed soon. I did have an opportunity to book my hotel for New Orleans and will be staying downtown about 4 blocks from bourbon street in a clarion hotel. It was pretty cheap and looks like a nice place. Tomorrow I am going to head down to Tombstone and then over into Texas. It should be a pretty straightforward drive and in 2 days ill be in San Antonio hanging out with OD.
-O