Day 11/12 Photos

Day 11/12 - Blitzkrieg Blues

I'm glad it's over. Not the vacation, that I wish was still going strong. The trip home though, I'm beyond glad that it's over. With the exception of a short layover it was a long and stressful 30 hours of driving. I undid in 2 days what it took me a week and half to accomplish. The drive home was the complete antithesis of what the vacation was meant to be. It was all about driving, taking the interstates I had spent the whole vacation avoiding, driving through every major city between Albuquerque and Atlanta. And it was on the way home I felt all those bad habits coming back.

Day 10 Photos

Day 10 - Truth or Consequences

There once was a town called Hot Springs. The location had been home to people of some sort for nearly a thousand years due to its proximity to the Rio Grande and an abundance of natural hot springs. Then in 1950, in answer to a contest by a highly popular radio show, it offered to change its name to be the same as that show. In return that show would air a special 10th anniversary show from that town and provide national media coverage. That show was called Truth or Consequences, and that little town of Hot Springs has been called the same ever since. In the 60 years since that then audacious publicity stunt the town has had an odd notoriety. It became a regional destination for tourists and those wishing to relax in it's many hot springs, but it remained that small little town stuck in time. Even today the population is less than 10,000, and from talking to many of its residents, that population depends heavily on the season. It seems there aren't a lot of full time T or C'ers in this town.

Day 9 Photos

Day 9 - Magic

Roswell, Roswell, Roswell...you disappointed me so. I shouldn't have been surprised. After all, John of the Abita Mystery House back in Louisiana had warned me. He had said there was nothing there. Technically that's not really true, as Roswell is a nice little town of about 50k people. It's storied history of UFO sightings and the crash of 1947 is something that the town seems to only recently, and somewhat begrudgingly, to embrace as a tourism hook. This means there's really not a whole lot going for Roswell in the weird department. The king of the small alien castle is the the International UFO Museum and Research Center. Yes...research center. Basically the museum is just a culmination of all the supposed facts, questionable testimonies, and replicas of reportedly stolen or repressed bits of evidence. In other words, it's an attempt at a serious museum. That alone was disappointing, but even as a credible museum it's a letdown. Copies of copies of reports, lots of pointless maps, and bad models and dioramas of UFO's and scenarios. It would've been so much better if they had just embraced the absurdity.

Day 8 Photos

Day 8 - ...until I sleep

This was the part of the trip I was dreading. The seemingly endless miles between Austin and New Mexico. I picked up first thing this morning and hopped on the road. I didn't even look for anything to eat until close to lunch time when I stopped at a no-name convenience store and grill that boldly told passers by that they did NOT sell gas. It was one of towns and one of those places where everyone knew everyone. I came in and placed my order and 6 or 7 people came and went. When I asked if they had called in orders, a round about way of figuring out where the hell my food was, they just laughed and said they got the same thing every day. They started cooking the food before they ever came in or called. I had the bad timing of coming in at the end of a relatively long line. It didn't matter, I was happy for the short break from the road, and it was a good road burger when all was said and done.

Day 7 Photos

Day 7 - Miles to go...

After the massive congestion of bikes and bikers yesterday, I was hoping the end of the weekend would clear out some of the bikers. If the weekend attracted 60k bikers, then 59k of them must have left first thing Sunday morning because there were only slightly more bikes on the road than I would have thought was typical. It was good because it made getting around much easier, but it was a disappointment because I really wanted to get some shots of the sheer volume and the quality of bikes the rally attracted. In the end, the only two-wheeled vehicles I saw in any abundance were these weird tour groups all rolling around on Segways. Not really satisfied with that alternative I went on to breakfast at Maria's Taco Xpress. Yes, I had even more Mexican for breakfast.

Day 6 Photos

Not a lot to post today since I couldn't find a place to park downtown. Hopefully it will have cleared out a little, but still have enough bikers to take some good pics tomorrow.

Day 6 - A Lack of Preparation

It was another drive-heavy day. After a ridiculously cheap breakfast at a taqueria (taco shop) attached to the hotel I stayed in, which in turn was next to the night club attached to the hotel, I began the long trail to Austin. It was a few hundred miles of Texas farm roads where I passed countless ranches and farms as the roads snaked back and forth along the hills and through national forests that belied the thinning greenery of the rest of the county side. There was a stop in Wellburn at Hullabaloo's Diner where I had a pretty unique burger. It was a beef patty in between two tortillas and topped with a green chili sauce that was essentially a spicy gravy. While the burger was worth the stop, it was honestly the cheese cake that sealed the deal. The thing about the cheesecake was that it wasn't actually made at the diner, but was instead made at the famous Carnegie Deli in New York City and shipped to the diner. Regardless of it's origin, this was the best plain cheesecake I've ever had.

Day 5 Photos

Day 5 - Finding Rural

I woke up in my crappy hotel in Vidalia, LA with a headache and sore neck. I had fallen asleep the night before with aches and cold chills, which the only thing I could attribute it to was the fire ant bites I got while taking pictures across from the beach in Pass Christian. On the plus side the parking lot no longer smelled like cabbage. Oddly, when I went to check out the lady running the office thanked me for being a great tenant. If hiding in my room all night makes me a great tenant, then I'm glad I wasn't aware of what was going on outside. But it was a new day, and with that came another tamale breakfast.

Day 4 Photos

Day 4 - Gold Mine

If I could sum up today in one word, I would ask for 2 words. If I could sum it up in 2 words, I would say "gold mine." That's what today was; an absolute gold mine. From the delicious start to the..well...ok...the ending actually left a little to be desired, but the in-betweens MORE than made up for it.

Day 3 Photos

Day 3 - Hits and Misses

They can't all be winners. Someone has to be the loser. Someone has to be the worst player in the NBA. And not all stops on my tour are winners, or even exist. Despite some misses during the day, it was a return to form. Today was back to being the kind of trip I wanted and not the single-minded trek to get to Pensacola that yesterday was.

Day 2 Photos

Day 1 Photos

The little netbook I picked up to take with me on this trip has been great, but when it comes to editing photos it's mostly useless. That said, these are unedited pictures as will just about everything going forward.

Day 2 - Family Ties

Today was all about getting to Pensacola. On a trip that's predominantly about getting out and off the beaten path, spending an entire day to get to a landmark that is the antithesis of my trip seems a little odd. The truth is I was making good on a promise over 16 years old - that of visiting an old family friend that moved away to start a new life.

Day 1 - Serendipity

My first day on the road was one of serendipity. I didn't get on the road until nearly lunch time, which wasn't exactly a surprise. I had figured I wouldn't get out as early as I wanted, which meant that although I was late for being on time, I was on time for being late. This threw off my schedule a bit because the only stop I had planned for my first day was lunch in a restaurant in Washington, GA called Bones Biscuit Bar & Grill. It was 3pm as I was getting near my stop and I could still taste the Chik-Fil-A I had downed only a couple hours earlier and I was feeling obligated to get my biscuit on even though I wasn't remotely hungry. It turned out m concern was in vain because I couldn't find the place. I circled around the area three times, not even seeing a hint of biscuit so I pulled into the nearest parking lot to double check my bearings. After confirming my directions and shrugging it off I looked up from my phone and realized I had pulled into a small town square. The square of the town of Washington, Georgia.

Final Prologue - The Moments Between

I'm sitting here waiting for my rental car. Everything is packed. If I've forgotten it I don't need it or can pick it up on the way. In short, there's nothing left to do but hit the road. Its the end of the beginning, but by no means is it the beginning of the end.

A journey awaits...

Prologue VII - All Silent on the Southern Front

I know there’s been a lack of updates, but when there’s a lack of things to update about I suppose that’s going to happen. Unfortunately none of my post-OBX trips worked out, so there’s been no new reconnaissance. In some cases my lack of success has helped make certain decisions for me. For instance, I still haven’t solved my sleeping bag problem, even after a day of traipsing from one outdoors shop to another. Instead I’ll likely end up taking the existing sleeping bag and take a sheet and make a bed out of it.

Prologue VI - OBX Post Mortem

I've had a little over a week to think about it, and I wanted to address some of the things that did or didn't go well with my recent trip. While I did have a great time even if I did hover perilously close to breaking one of my cardinal vacationing rules - that being you must spend more time at your destination than you did traveling - there were things that clearly did not go well.

Prologue - Part V: Outer Banks Expedition

Driving Time : 17 hours - Distance: 1000 mi.

I had never been to the Outer Banks (aka OBX) before this weekend, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I drove up there to meet up with some family who were camping out with a group of 20 or so off-roaders from the Olde North State Cruisers. This is a club of Land Cruiser and other Toyota 4WD owners who were getting together for their annual Spring Tide Ride there in the OBX. They meet there because the beaches are one of the few beaches that I’m aware off on the East Coast that allow vehicles to drive around on the beach itself. The annual outing is a very relaxed, family atmosphere that consists of camping, multiple beach rides (including a few night runs), lots of great food, and a fair bit of sight-seeing.

Prologue - Part IV: Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Is it the journey or the destination that is more important? In my case I think it’s both. The destination is an excuse to have the journey, and the journey makes finally getting to the destination more meaningful. It’s the stops on that journey that will determine whether or not that is true. So, what is it I’m planning on seeing on my journey? How about the remains of Styx River Water World amusement park in Robertsdale, AL? Or the world’s largest rocking chair or Ronald Reagan statue? Or making several stops along the Mississippi's Tamale Trail? Or a giant dime in a box in Dime Box, TX? These are the kinds of paces I want to see, but I didn’t start out knowing where these things are.

Gear Porn Part I - The North Face Tadpole 23

From time to time I will make quick posts on some of the gear I'll be using during my trip. Since camping is integral to the trip and I will be spending the night in some potentially hot and/or humid locations I decided I'd need a new, climate appropriate, backpacker friendly tent. I wanted to be able to use it on more than just this one trip so I began searching for a 2-person, 3-season tent. Lots of searching, review reading, and bargain shopping later I settled on The North Face Tadpole 23, which I got from the friendly people at Hermit's Hut.

With my shift (I work 3rd) and my schedule (10 days on, 4 days off) I wasn't going to get to test the tent in the real world for at least another week. Being the impatient person I am, I decided to camp-in. Yup, I spent the "night" in my bedroom, on my bed, in my tent. It's pretty spacious for one person, looks like it will be comfortable with me plus gear, but rather cozy with 2 people cohabiting. In the blacked out, climate controlled comfort of my own home it made for a comfy nights sleep. Hopefully I'll get to test it out for real in the Outer Banks this coming weekend. For the hell of it, click on for pictures.

Prologue - Part III: Knowing what you don't know...

I honestly thought when I first set out to do this trip that I would be able to just pick a destination and hit the road without a care. I really thought I could do that and still adhere to all my other goals like avoiding interstates, finding bizarre roadside attractions, and hitting campgrounds at the end of every night without any pre-planning. For shits-and-giggles I decided to look at an online roadmap, mostly to prove myself right. I was wrong. Even a quick, unscientific look told me I was going to get my ass lost before I even crossed the first state line. My dreams of a Jack Kerouac roadtrip were quickly dashed. Instead I had to resort to using multiple tools to plan out my impending trip.

Prologue - Part II: What's the point?

In two months I will turn thirty. In my almost thirty years I have never lived further than thirty miles from my childhood home. I lived in a house where both parents and an older sister lived and loved one another. We had pets, I had toys, and I went to a decent public school. Now days I live in a nice little three-bedroom bachelor pad with two unintentionally adopted cats. I have a good paying job, even if I don't like it that much. In short, I live a spectacularly average life. Not fantastic, but far from rock bottom.

Prologue - Part I: It's not a crisis

I’m not having a crisis. I just want to state that up front. I’m not contemplating suicide, buying a Porsche, or running away to Thailand to get a sex change. If anything, I think I’m preventing a crisis. I’m going on a walkabout - by car. A roadtrip walkabout.