The People: Jenny, Michelle, Matt, and Maity
The Car: 2001 Lexus CS 300
The Trip: Washington DC to Malibu, CA
The Distance: ~3600 miles
The Duration: 10 Days (28 May - 6 June)
The day before departure, I had a peculiar sense of foreboding, like this trip would be star-crossed for some reason. The signs were ubiquitous. Matt's stomach was in ruins. Jenny's trip from NYC to Washington DC on the eve of our journey was marred by the towing of her car and a traffic ticket; and, of course, the pleasant city traffic of New York meant that by the time she reached DC on Thursday night, she was haggard and had sacrificed dropping in on the Amish of Pennsylvania. Michelle, who was supposed to bus in late evening on Friday, suffered the curse of banking and stayed in to finish banking stuff till 3 in the morning, missed her bus, bought an expensive train ticket for 5 in the morning, missed that train, and finally embarked on a 6.30 train for DC. While Michelle's delay was a blessing in subtle disguise - we got to drink beers, sleep in late and play Settlers of Catan into the night - I was worried about the inauspicious beginning to our trip. A fear that, and I thank the Gods here, turned out to be quite unnecessary.
Day 1
So, on Friday the 28th, after stocking up on snacks and stories, we picked up Michelle and her massive sleeping bag from the metro and started our 3600 mile journey to The Pacific. Day One aim was to get as close to New Orleans as possible. We headed west on the dreaded I-66, the scourge of all interstates, and then headed south on I-81, passing through Virginia, the tornado ravaged lands of West Virginia, and finally Tennessee, where we stopped for a bite in the university town of Knoxville.
Knoxville was surprising. It was hip. Something I did not associate with the South. Perhaps because it's an university town that it felt like it was really hip and youthful. Perhaps we only saw that part of the city. We walked through the central plaza, almost an European type piazza with fountains and Frisbees. We walked through a rather curious sculpture garden where we got our first taste of Southern modern art. We made it a game of guessing the prices of some of the works. Dinner was at an upscale joint on the corner of the piazza. I had a Atlanta brew called Deepwater 420, a really sweet and hoppy beer that felt like it was brewed with saltwater. Matt had the most amazing bisque. Jenny and I shared a rather interesting gourmet Mac'n'Cheese.
As we left Knoxville, we decided to drive for a couple of hours and get as close to New Orleans as possible, which was still about 500 miles away. We decided to stop at Chattanooga, TN a little border town by Alabama. Unfortunately, the recent tornado and storm activity meant that all the motels and hotels around the Chattanooga and surrounding areas were filled to the brim with refugees from Georgia, and Alabama. We had no choice but to continue driving down south. We found a room in Gadsden, AL and with Matt at the wheel, we raced through the dark, straight, empty highways of Alabama to find beds for our tired souls. By the time we hit the sack at the Best Western in Gadsden, it was about 1 in the morning, and we had covered about 700 miles after almost 11 hours of driving through five states. This was also the start of our rather unhealthy obsession with Best Westerns - the Largest Hotel Chain in the World. That night we simply collapsed.
Day 2
Early Saturday morning, after a complimentary breakfast courtesy of BWH, we set out for New Orleans via Birmingham, the largest city in Alabama. Birmingham in the 60s was one of the epicenters of the Civil Rights Movement and the city is littered with monuments and testimonies of the men, women, children, and events that led the fight for equality for all. We drove into Birmingham on Sunday morning at ten and parked next to the civil rights museum where a large sign warned "No Panhandling". Almost immediately, a ragged gentlemen stepped up to ask for some spare change.
Birmingham was a dead city on a Sunday morning. Presumably, everyone was in church! We walked around the city along the historical Civil Rights Walk, where the likes of MLK had raised a ruckus almost fifty years ago. It was here that we encountered a small medical center - "Hugs n' Kisses - Alternative Care for the Mildly Ill Child". After a quick loo break we left the eerie town and headed back on the road towards NO. I encountered my first ever Cracker Barrel and Jenny and I were racked with curiosity. Matt and Michele fed us, what we later learned, apocryphal stories of what exactly a Cracker Barrel is. We were told of mysterious peg games, and exotic foods, but more on that later.
On-route, we stopped for lunch on the shores of Lake Tom Bailey in the state of Mississippi. Apart from watching people fish and enjoying some fresh air, discussion of a potential two days stop at NO was brought up. There was a movie shoot that was happening somewhere around NO, but to go there meant stopping at NO for an extra day. This quickly became a contentious issue.
As we continued driving through the swamplands and mangroves leading to NO, we encountered the first signs of the consequences of Katrina and Rita, almost six years ago. One of the long bridges controlling the ebb and flow of traffic into NO, lay in ruins...
(To be continued...)
Final Route*:
New York, NY -> Washington DC -> Knoxville, TN -> Chattanooga, TN -> Gadsden, AL -> Birmingham, AL -> New Orleans, LA -> Houston, TX -> Brenham, TX -> Austin, TX -> Carlsbad, NM -> Santa Fe, NM -> Grand Canyon, AZ -> Santa Monica, CA -> Malibu, CA -> Washington DC
So, on Friday the 28th, after stocking up on snacks and stories, we picked up Michelle and her massive sleeping bag from the metro and started our 3600 mile journey to The Pacific. Day One aim was to get as close to New Orleans as possible. We headed west on the dreaded I-66, the scourge of all interstates, and then headed south on I-81, passing through Virginia, the tornado ravaged lands of West Virginia, and finally Tennessee, where we stopped for a bite in the university town of Knoxville.
Knoxville was surprising. It was hip. Something I did not associate with the South. Perhaps because it's an university town that it felt like it was really hip and youthful. Perhaps we only saw that part of the city. We walked through the central plaza, almost an European type piazza with fountains and Frisbees. We walked through a rather curious sculpture garden where we got our first taste of Southern modern art. We made it a game of guessing the prices of some of the works. Dinner was at an upscale joint on the corner of the piazza. I had a Atlanta brew called Deepwater 420, a really sweet and hoppy beer that felt like it was brewed with saltwater. Matt had the most amazing bisque. Jenny and I shared a rather interesting gourmet Mac'n'Cheese.
As we left Knoxville, we decided to drive for a couple of hours and get as close to New Orleans as possible, which was still about 500 miles away. We decided to stop at Chattanooga, TN a little border town by Alabama. Unfortunately, the recent tornado and storm activity meant that all the motels and hotels around the Chattanooga and surrounding areas were filled to the brim with refugees from Georgia, and Alabama. We had no choice but to continue driving down south. We found a room in Gadsden, AL and with Matt at the wheel, we raced through the dark, straight, empty highways of Alabama to find beds for our tired souls. By the time we hit the sack at the Best Western in Gadsden, it was about 1 in the morning, and we had covered about 700 miles after almost 11 hours of driving through five states. This was also the start of our rather unhealthy obsession with Best Westerns - the Largest Hotel Chain in the World. That night we simply collapsed.
Day 2
Early Saturday morning, after a complimentary breakfast courtesy of BWH, we set out for New Orleans via Birmingham, the largest city in Alabama. Birmingham in the 60s was one of the epicenters of the Civil Rights Movement and the city is littered with monuments and testimonies of the men, women, children, and events that led the fight for equality for all. We drove into Birmingham on Sunday morning at ten and parked next to the civil rights museum where a large sign warned "No Panhandling". Almost immediately, a ragged gentlemen stepped up to ask for some spare change.
Birmingham was a dead city on a Sunday morning. Presumably, everyone was in church! We walked around the city along the historical Civil Rights Walk, where the likes of MLK had raised a ruckus almost fifty years ago. It was here that we encountered a small medical center - "Hugs n' Kisses - Alternative Care for the Mildly Ill Child". After a quick loo break we left the eerie town and headed back on the road towards NO. I encountered my first ever Cracker Barrel and Jenny and I were racked with curiosity. Matt and Michele fed us, what we later learned, apocryphal stories of what exactly a Cracker Barrel is. We were told of mysterious peg games, and exotic foods, but more on that later.
On-route, we stopped for lunch on the shores of Lake Tom Bailey in the state of Mississippi. Apart from watching people fish and enjoying some fresh air, discussion of a potential two days stop at NO was brought up. There was a movie shoot that was happening somewhere around NO, but to go there meant stopping at NO for an extra day. This quickly became a contentious issue.
As we continued driving through the swamplands and mangroves leading to NO, we encountered the first signs of the consequences of Katrina and Rita, almost six years ago. One of the long bridges controlling the ebb and flow of traffic into NO, lay in ruins...
(To be continued...)
Final Route*:
New York, NY -> Washington DC -> Knoxville, TN -> Chattanooga, TN -> Gadsden, AL -> Birmingham, AL -> New Orleans, LA -> Houston, TX -> Brenham, TX -> Austin, TX -> Carlsbad, NM -> Santa Fe, NM -> Grand Canyon, AZ -> Santa Monica, CA -> Malibu, CA -> Washington DC
*Places in bold are where we spent the night
continue! continue! continue!
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