Question for Southerers - Road Trip

[NoJo]

CORRECTION June 3rd 2009 : It's taken me SIX years to get my shit together.

Whelp, the two-week countdown to my long-planned U.S. road trip begins!

Me and my 16-year-old son Dan will be spending four weeks in the U.S, much of it on the road. I'll be avoiding the interstates where possible, sticking to the smaller highways.

We start in New York, where we have family.

The tentative itinerary is to follow the coast down to Savannah, GE, make a right, then drive west via Tallahassee, New Orleans, Austin, El Paso, Phoenix, arrive in Los Angeles where we'll stay with family. Then back across the central states, through Wichita, Kansas, the Ozark, Louisville KY, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Around 7,000 miles all told.



EDIT: BUMPED -- It's taken me three years to get my shit together for this trip, but it's going ahead, for sure, next Spring.


Every so often, cash permitting, I take off for a bourgeois Kerouac-style adventure on the two-lane highways of the US, accompanied by my ten-year old son, who navigates, plays gameboy. Then I spend the next year or so working off the debt.

This April I'm planning a road trip from Orlando (this part is mainly so my son can can see Disney World) to Los Angeles, where my brother lives, for about a month, probably twenty days of which will be driving.

I really love the countryside, (specially when viewed from the window of an air conditioned car cruising at 55 MPH), hanging out in bars (when I can persuade them to let my kid in), and talking with friendly strangers.

Do any of you have any recommendations for places to check out that may not be in the standard guide books?
Small towns? Wonders of nature?

I guess I'll be passing through Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Arizona , Southern California. Maybe other states nearby too.

(I know this isn't strictly an Author's Hangout Q, but the general board seems to be full of insane netaholics, and I noticed quite a few authors either live in or know the US pretty well).

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

Sub Joe,

Of course, once you hit I-10, it's a straight shot to LA. West of Baton Rouge, after about 50 miles with no turn-offs thanks to a seriously big swamp, you'll hit the exit for Henderson. When you get off you will have left the world as you know it and entered Cajun Country.

Follow the exit south, then follow the signs back east to Pat's. It's a Cajun seafood joint at the end of the road that has a porch overlooking a bayou. Cajun bands play there a lot. Good foold and atmosphere.

If you're into James Lee Burke mysteries, the town of St. Martinville on the Bayou Teche isn't that far away.

Enjoy,

Rumple Foreskin

 

[NoJo]

I'm there, RF! Thanks for that!

I'll be sure to email you a photo (they do have email in the bayou, don't they?)

Also I like the sound of

The Group W bench in Rm 101 of, "...a house as bright as any sun, with four & twenty windows and a woman's face in every one."

Can you let have the directions??

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

Can you let (me) have the directions??

Sub Joe,

Like the sign said on the Merry Prankster's bus, FURTHER. Just knock off a little Dixie beer while sucking on some crawfish heads and all will be revealed. But don't forget what happened to Frankie Lee.

Rumple Foreskin

 

[deliciously_naughty]

New Orleans is a must! I suggest getting beignets and po boys and having lunch in jackson sq, so you can check out the jazz musicians, the artists and have your fortune told

 

[NoJo]

DN, I'm not sure about 'po boys' -- they're not what I think they are, are they? Because if so, we have plenty in the West End of London...

 

[entitled]

DN, I'm not sure about 'po boys' -- they're not what I think they are, are they? Because if so, we have plenty in the West End of London...

Po boys are good! They're this food... stuff... thing. Yeah. Basically what they are is something close to cabbage pockets, but with different stuff inside, if that makes any sense. There's meat and different things (depending on where you get them) in a bread-like shell and gravy over the top. Tater babies are also worth looking into. As are hush puppies. Top it all off with the southern house wine - sweet tea.

 

[karmadog]

Screw I-10. An interstate is an interstate is an interstate...

Take Hwy 90. It runs along the Gulf Coast through Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. In addition to the (relatively) unspoiled coastlines until the Casinos of Biloxi, it will take you past the door of Jefferson Davis' last home (Biloxi, Ms), a recreation of the original fort built 300 years ago by the French (in Ocean Springs, Ms, I believe), you can make a day trip to Ship Island (which has a fort which played a historic role in the Battle of New Orleans and where the tried to train dogs to hunt Japanese soldiers, in WWII, by training them to hunt Japanese-Americans) and it has wonderful beaches (one of them nude, I'm told), there are some Civil War era forts along the coast also, I believe near Bay St. Louis, or just into Louisiana. They are interesting in that the cannons fired just above the surface of the sea.

In New Orleans, which is a must, the Cafe du Monde on, I think, Decatur, has wonderful beignets. I like po boys too. Try fried oyster or shrimp. Or you could get a mess of boiled mudbugs (crawfish), gumbo, etoufee, or virtually anything else you might want. New Orleans is one of the world's great cities for restaurants.

I would avoid Bourbon Street (especially with a ten-year old in tow). It has become little more than a big twenty-four hour frat party. But the French Quarter is much more than Bourbon Street. There are street musicians better than ones you'd pay a cover charge to see in most places. There are street corner artists, jugglers, a world class aquarium, audubon zoo. You can take a lunch cruise on a river boat (cheesy, but still fun), that runs between the aquarium and the zoo. Just walk along the river or pack a picnic.

Enjoy the South and her hospitality.

 

[Guest]

MOTO

Sub Joe-

I would definitely hit Hoover Dam... it is amazing... and the Grand Canyon. Sometimes cheesy tourist is popular for a reason... For natural beauty, the Painted Desert is a must. Pick up a book of Ansel Adams photos and you will get an idea of the majesty of the west's natural beauty.

I just spent three weeks in southern Florida.. the Everglades are amazing. They might be a bit hot for you come June, though. Airboat tours are really cool.

I hate that you will miss Georgia and the Carolinas, but we do live in a big country!

Something that we try to do when we drive is listen to books on tape that are related to the geography... John Grisham's Pelican Brief might be fun... or music that is popular in the area... but a Dixie Chick or Alan Jackson CD.

b

 

[eyefish]

DN, I'm not sure about 'po boys' -- they're not what I think they are, are they? Because if so, we have plenty in the West End of London...

Submarine(Hero, Cuban) sandwiches are called Po Boy's in New Orleans.

 

[MathGirl]

Vacation plans

Dear SJ,

I'm afraid I can't help you much with the southern US, but I can give you a good tip about restaurants.

Stay away from roadside taverns with more than a dozen motorcycles parked in front and a sign that says EAT'S

Diane the Helpful

 

[deliciously_naughty]

Submarine(Hero, Cuban) sandwiches are called Po Boy's in New Orleans.

Except Po' Boys are about 8 million times fuller than the normal sub/hero sandwiches

 

[entitled]

Heh... So i got my po boys and other stuff mixed up. i'm crazy that way. Besides, i still can't get used to this southern food. i'm one of those ornery cusses that still says peas are ROUND and GREEN even after living in the area for over three years. That and green beans should NOT be cooked with a slab of bacon and boiled into mush. Dang southern cooking anyway...

 

[SlickTony]

Sub, let me know if you're going through Jacksonville. It's as far east as you can go on I-10 without falling into the ocean, and either you'll hang a right to go south or a left to go up to St. Simons, Jekyll Island, Sea Island, or Savannah, etc. It's a nice town, and yes, it's got 7 bridges in it. At least.

Other than that, everybody's spot-on about New Orleans and those stops on the way. If you're in Baton Rouge at the right time of the year, either the Blues Festival or the Spanish Town Parade, if you're there during Mardi Gras, is indispensible.

 

[NoJo]

Wow! Thanks everybody, I fell I'm almost there already! Just the usual cash problems to iron out first.

I'll probably visit a lot of the towns and places you've mentioned. New Orleans sounds like fun, but I've heard you have to be careful, no matter how much you may think you fit in with the locals.

Jacksonville sounds good too. Well, we'll see what we end up doing.

On my last trip I started off in Manhattan, and travelled the North through Ontario, then dipping back into the States further West. to hit the Oregon trail. Then a long winding drive down the coast to Los Angeles. Over 5,000 miles in all, most of it through breathtaking scenery.

Many years ago I hitched from San Francisco to New York. Not the sort of thing I'd feel comfortable doing now, even if I were still in my early twenties. But a great adventure. Specially shooting rabbits with a 44 Magnum with a Vietnam Vet who let me stay in his trailer in Green River, Wyoming. I was so dumb then I didn't even realise how dangerous it was to go out into the hills with a guy like that, armed with a gun. He had a wife who looked about fifteen. I guess you have to be a little dumb to have adventures. They were really kind people, but nowadays I'd probably avoid them (and they'd avoid me too, I guess).

I'm not into interstate driving, so I might not hit much I10. Besides being hardly any slower, there are fewer trucks to overtake (or be overtaken by) on the highways, lots of little towns, and of course you can just stop the where and when you want. There's nothing like stopping the car for a pee on the edge of a two-lane blacktop in the middle of nowhere, listening to the crickets.

 

[wildsweetone]

There's nothing like stopping the car for a pee on the edge of a two-lane blacktop in the middle of nowhere, listening to the crickets.

darn, it's a world wide thing!!!!

 

[MathGirl]

. There's nothing like stopping the car for a pee on the edge of a two-lane blacktop in the middle of nowhere, listening to the crickets.

There it is again: "I'm a man. The world is my urinal."

Diane the Disgusted (and Jealous)

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

There it is again: "I'm a man. The world is my urinal."

It's a territorial imperative thing, MathGirl. And don't be jealous, just be sure to face uphill.

RF

 

[MathGirl]

It's a territorial imperative thing, MathGirl. And don't be jealous, just be sure to face uphill.

RF

And into the wind

 

[karmadog]

I don't think New Orleans is any more dangerous than any other city. The standard rules apply: Stay with crowds, avoid hustlers, don't walk down alleys.

I used to go all the time and never felt at risk. Except for my first time there. I wandered all over the place and ended up in an empty area in the warehouse district where I saw an enormous rat. I later learned it might have been a nutria, but in any case, I think it's best to avoid places with large rodents (other than rabbits).

 

[MathGirl]

Readership

I think it's best to avoid places with large rodents.

Hey, KD, you're talking about my readership!

 

[Pure]

KD,

you said,


I think it's best to avoid places with large rodents (other than rabbits).

Oh come on. I guess you've not encountered fine beaver, as we have up here (Ont.).

(I have heard of those nutria and they do sound pretty awesome! They are as big as rabbits? )

 

[NoJo]

(Trying hard not to think of Canadian beaver, failing miserably. Dam you, Pure!

 

[karmadog]

Nutria

I'm told they can get as large as 30 pounds. Louisiana is offering a bounty on them. I can't recall at the moment where they came from, but they are a non-native species that devour enormous quantities of vegetable matter every day.

I am also told that they are good to eat, but I won't be testing that theory any time soon. I'm allergic to rats, so it doesn't seem like a good idea to eat one.

Gator is tasty, though, and, Sub Joe, if you have the time, get some boiled blue crabs. They take forever to eat if you're not used to it, but I believe they are the tastiest food in the world. Better than lobster, better than King Crab, better than Dungeness, in short, better than anything.

 

[MathGirl]

Beaver, beaver, beaver

(Trying hard not to think of Canadian beaver, failing miserably. Dam you, Pure!

I believe Oregon is called the "Beaver State." Maybe you should visit there on your trip.

Diane the Helpful