The Big Easy

At 8 a.m. we set out for the bayou to spend the day in New Orleans. We had great weather and barely any traffic. The Superdome greeted us on our drive into the city. We mostly stayed in the French Quarter, taking in sites such as Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral, Bourbon Street, and a voodoo shop. For lunch we ate at Pier 424, partaking in some of the local cuisine. Catfish po-boy sandwiches, fried alligator, and crawfish cakes sure hit the spot. Everything was delicious. Here's some pictures that can say more than I can:



Tomorrow we're off to Graceland and Memphis, TN, and our first night of camping at T. O. Fuller State Park. We'll be camping for 3 days until we hit Steamboat Springs, CO. Things have been awesome, moral is high, and everyone is excited to head west. I'll post again as soon as I can!

Ok and now we're cruisin'

Today was quite the drive. 713 miles to be exact. We made it from Charleston, SC to Jackson, MS no problem.

Pulling into a Georgia rest stop, a man was selling peaches out of the back of his truck. We thought it only logical to buy 8. Can't be in Georgia without a peach. We also saw the golden domed GA capitol building from the car.

Next stop was Alabama. Right off I-20 is Tuscaloosa, so we decided to check the damage that the recent tornado did there. It was unreal seeing that much destruction in such a concentrated area while buildings 10 feet away were perfectly fine. The sight makes you feel very thankful for where you live and for the safety that is often taken for granted.

Not much happening in Mississippi yet, but we did cross the Chunky River (looked more like a creek to me) and saw our first oil derrick. After cooking a nice dinner of rice, tuna, and hotsauce, we met the landlord of the apartment we are staying at (a big thank you to Simpson for allowing us to crash at his place!) . Mr. Pettit is one of the nicest people, quintessential southern hospitality. He carried mail up in Maryland and then transferred down here to Jackson from '60 until '86. He said that back then a drive from DC to Memphis took 22 hours and he would do it in one day. Our kinda guy! Tomorrow we are off to New Orleans, it should be a blast.

Sun and sand

 We hit Folly Beach this morning and met some of Ike's  friends there. It was a gorgeous day and the water was nice and warm. Will brought a surf board so it was the first attempt at surfing for Mike, Ben, and myself. We all at least got knees on the board, so I'd call it a win. Eli showed us all up.

 We stopped at a place called Jack's Cosmic Dogs for lunch. I got the namesake 'Cosmic Dog' with bleu cheese coleslaw, a pickle, and sweet potato mustard. It was the best hot dog I have ever eaten, and the perfect meal for a day at the beach.

Leaving the beach I got another glimpse of Charleston. We had a good view of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge and a few other sites. It's off to Jackson, MS tomorrow and New Orleans on Saturday. Might not have internet again until Colorado, but maybe we'll find some wi-fi somewhere. Be ready for an avalanche of pictures.

 Ravenel Bridge over the Cooper River

US Custom House

The first day of the rest of our lives

 Pre-departure

 Well, it had its ups and downs. Ups: We made it to Charleston with great weather and a pretty smooth ride traffic-wise. We saw the South of the Border theme park which is best described as a Mexican Six Flags. 

South of the Border!

Now for the downs…We traded the ‘ABS’ warning light for the ‘check engine light’ (the manual says it is just a sensor thing and if we were in REAL trouble the light would be blinking, so we’re fine). To alleviate the burden on the poor van, we decided to jettison the roof top carrier at a Love’s travel station a mere 6 hours into the trip. Best move we’ve made thus far, greatly increasing our MPGs and killing way less bugs. It was insect carnage on the front of that box. After getting back in the car, we realized we let in a family of flies. Finally catching the last of them, we tried to humanely release it out the passenger side window. This led to a new discovery: the passenger side window no longer operates as it did earlier in the trip. Thank heavens it didn’t get stuck down. 

Charleston is a beautiful city. Ike led us on a grand tour around the College of Charleston, Rainbow Row, the pier, etc. We’ll be hittin’ the beach tomorrow and hopefully not getting too burned. It’s been a great first day!

 Cougar Mall at the college

Rainbow Row

 The Pier

Dudequest Chassis

Here she is, the ultimate road machine ready to conquer all that comes in her path. This 1998 Ford Windstar is fully equipped with all the comforts of home, such as an electric pot cooker, a mattress pad, and working AC. Get at me, America.

It goes something like this

The van has been cleaned and the final preparations are being made. We'll be buying some supplies tomorrow and heading out early Wednesday morning for South Carolina. Here is a rough itinerary for our trip:

·         May 25^th – Charleston, SC

·         May 26^th – Day at Charleston

·         May 27^th – Jackson, MS

·         May 28^th – Visit New Orleans, return to Jackson

·         May 29^th – Memphis, TN

·         May 30^th – Hot Springs, AK

·         May 31^st – Russell, KS

·         June 1^st - Largest Ball of Twine, Cawker City, KS, leave for CO

·         June 2^nd – Steamboat Springs, CO to see Eli’s aunt

·         June 3^rd – Verde Park, CO

·         June 4^th – 4 Corners, stay at Zion Nat’l Park, UT

·         June 5^th – Zion

·         June 6^th – Grand Canyon, AZ

·         June 7^th – Las Vegas, NV

·         June 8^th – Vegas

·         June 9^th – Hoover Dam, stay at Joshua Tree Nat’l Park, CA

·         June 10^th – San Diego, CA

·         June 11^th – San Diego

·         June 12^th – Leave San Diego, through Hollywood, stay at Death Valley Nat’l Park, CA

·         June 13^th – Death Valley, go to Yosemite, CA

·         June 14^th – Yosemite

·         June 15^th – San Francisco, CA

·         June 16^th – San Fran

·         June 17^th – leave San Fran to Lake Tahoe, CA

·         June 18^th – Lake Tahoe

·         June 19^th – Leave Tahoe, Redwood Forest, CA

·         June 20^th – Redwood Forest

·         June 21^st – Leave Redwood to Crater Lake, OR

·         June 22^nd – Leave Crater to Battle Ground, WA

·         June 23^rd – Seattle, WA for day, back to Battle Ground

·         June 24^th – Glacier Nat’l Park, MO

·         June 25^th – Glacier

·         June 26^th – Yellowstone, WY

·         June 27^th – Yellowstone

·         June 28^th – Leave Yellowstone to Hell’s Half-Acre, ID, stay in Salt Lake City, UT

·         June 29^th – Grand Tetons, UT

·         June 30^th – Grand Tetons

·         July 1^st – Black Hills, SD

·         July 2^nd – Black Hills/Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse

·         July 3^rd – Black Hills/Badlands?

·         July 4^th – Carhenge, NE, stay in Samuel R. McKelvie Nat’l Park, NE

·         July 5^th – Mall of America, MN

·         July 6^th – Field of Dreams, IA, stay in Chicago, IL

·         July 7^th – Lincoln’s Tomb, IL to St. Louis, MO

·         July 8^th – St. Louis

·         July 9^th – Perrysburg, OH

·         July 10^th – Perrysburg/Michigan

·         July 11^th – Perrysburg/Michigan

·         July 12^th – Elizabethtown, PA!!!

·         July 13^th – Sellersville, PA

·         July 14^th – Back to Easton, MD