Day 41: New Orleans to Jackson, Mississippi, to Selma and Montgomery, Alabama

Miles: 9,613

States: 28 (Mississippi and Alabama)

We visited two state capitals today. Downtown Jackson is a ghost town, but there's a very cute arts district - we had lunch there. Fried green tomatoes, shrimp gumbo, and red beans and rice with andouille. It was fantastic. One of those meals where you say "yum" with every bite.

We got to Selma around 5, just as the voting rights museum was closing. Our grand plan had been to visit the museum, then drive the march route from Selma to Montgomery - March, 1965, Bloody Sunday in Selma on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Dr. King led 3,000 marchers to Montgomery, by which time their numbers had swelled to 25,000. Since the museum was closed, we drove more ignorant than we hoped. But we rolled down the windows and sang along to music from the 60s, some of it about social turmoil and upheaval.

Downtown Montgomery was very quiet as well - I guess that's what we get for going to the deep south on a weekend. We drove around the downtown area and took pictures - of the capitol, of the civil rights memorial, of the church where Dr. King was a pastor for many years.

Today we're headed to Birmingham, then towards home. I'm so ready to be home, even if it's just for a few days.

Day 40: New Orleans, Louisiana

After our Thursday night dinner of shrimp gumbo, jambalaya with andouille, and po boys at the famous Mother's, we were in the New Orleans frame of mind.

Friday morning, Andrew and I walked to the French Quarter for hot beignets and cold cafe-au-laits. We ate them on a park bench overlooking the Mississippi, with a red train rolling by and a big tour boat playing kitchy music on the river. We met up with Parker, a good friend from high school, to explore. We walked down to the French Market and gawked at alligator heads, penis mardi gras beads, and weird, cheap knicknacks. The French Quarter has gorgeous old homes with intricate ironwork and lots of greenery - so picturesque. And of course we explored Burbon Street. We counted 14 strip joints on our 5-ish block walk. And they're vulgar even during the day, with photographic advertisements for live sex acts and creative strip shows. I'm not sure how that's all legal.

We took the St. Charles street car through the Garden District, with its beautiful old homes, to an old fashioned lunch counter - Camilla's. The wait staff performed admirably and the food was delicious. (Club sandwiches loaded with fresh, real turkey, "dressed" burgers, omelets smothered in chili, milk shakes with Blue Bell ice cream...)

Notable: the trees in the Garden District are hung with Mardi Gras beads year round. It's hard to tell in this photo unless you zoom in.

Day 39: San Antonio, Texas to New Orleans, Lousiana

Miles: 9,178

States: 26

Looong driving day. Got in late last night. The city is clearly still struggling. We're off to explore today.

Day 38: San Antonio, Texas

Dad's lifelong friend Kerry put us up for a few days. He took off work on Wednesday to take us to the Alamo, see the San Antonio River Walk, and visit an old mission outside of the city.

The Alamo sits right in the middle of downtown San Antonio. The story is, of course, enchanting. It's chilling to be so close.

The River Walk is beautiful, enormous, and growing. I wish we had time to linger there on a Friday afternoon. Wednesday mornings aren't as popular.

The San Jose mission gives a glimpse of mission life 200 years ago. The space is beautiful, and with some imagination, exciting.

Day 37: El Paso to San Antonio, Texas

Miles: 8,633

States: 25

Well, Texas is big. We haven't encountered strong accents yet, evidently those are concentrated in Eastern Texas.

We *did* see a truck hauling two zebras and at least a dozen donkeys though. That was one of the weirder highway spottings.

And Andrew, mercifully, put the entire Ender's Game series on his iPod in audio book form. The time flies as we consider human motives and communication, forms of otherness, and the usefulness of government and religion. Lighthearted sci-fi.

Day 36: Tempe, AZ to El Paso, TX

Miles: 8,082

States: 25

Drove into and out of New Mexico today, I think we stopped once in the state. It's still hella hot here, although we drove through a rainstorm at one point and that cooled things off to 95 degrees.

The cactuses are way cool. There weren't many places to pull off the highway for photos, but I'll try to get one today of the stereotypical cactuses - those tall ones with the arms.

We had lunch and stopped at a knitting shop in Tucson. Mmmm cheap Mexican food this close to Mexico.

Day 35: Las Vegas to Tempe, AZ

Miles: 7,657

States: 23


Andrew and I got a late start yesterday after sleeping in, having brunch at the hotel, and snapping some pictures along the strip. We caught the very end of the fountain show at the Bellagio.

I forgot to say in the entry yesterday: WHY are there SO MANY kids in Las Vegas? Maybe the parents were confused by the name of our hotel, Treasure Island, but even there the booze and sex ooze thickly. Gross.

Tempe is unmercifully hot. The high today is 113 degrees. It was about 105 when we checked into the hotel last night. Overnight lows of 91. And it's dry heat - I'm thirsty and my skin needs lotion constantly. I'm ready to get out of the desert.

Days 33-34: Las Vegas

This place is so crazy. They're right, it is a giant playground for adults. After getting over our initial disapproval of (1) the wastefulness of a city built in the desert, draining the Colorado river for the dehydrated towns in California, Arizona, and Mexico, to water bright green golf courses, dense palm trees, enormous fountains, and hundreds of massive casino hotels and (2) the grossness of unfiltered greed, personal waste, and lechery ($100 minimum bet blackjack tables, business cards for $35 hookers scattered on the sidewalks, cheap booze and oxygenated rooms to keep broke gamblers spending).After we got over those pretty big hurdles, we could appreciate, if not enjoy, what man hath wrought here. Thursday night Jason and I had some fun with the slot machines, trying the 1 cent machines and staying pretty even by only spending a dollar or so per machine. Our big heist was at a samurai-themed slot, where we won five fans in a row and earned $10 on a 10 cent bet.

I hadn't counted on a major Vegas attraction: the various casinos are themed after major cities (Rome, Paris, Venice, New York, etc.) and there are life-size or scaled-down versions of those cities' major attractions lining the strip (the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, and a full-size reproduction of David; the Eiffel Tower; St. Mark's Square, the Rialto Bridge and a huge pool for gondoliers; and the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, and a Coney Island roller coaster... these among many others).

Friday morning we were up early, as usual, and drove to the Hoover Dam. Our expectations were too high, although the bridge construction project high above the dam looks impressive. I wonder if it's being built to draw more tourists. If it is, there's an interesting contrast there between the purpose of the original dam project (to employ Americans during the depression and provide water and power in the desert) and the dam bridge project (perhaps to increase state revenues, provide easier transit between Las Vegas and Phoenix, and to service the illogically growing desert population). **Conservatism alert** Much of the population growth in the desert (Vegas and Phoenix) has been attributed to the Hoover Dam's water supply. Government action is at the heart of the water rights problems here and to the south. Government-funded bridge construction will make it worse. It's easy to be short-sighted with tax dollars. Our grandkids tax dollars, that is.

Ahem.

Vegas. We did the airport shuttle thing, picking Andrew up Friday night and dropping Jason off yesterday around lunchtime. Luckily the airport is (ridiculously) right on the strip. Gambling was an interesting experience. The minimum bets at the dealer tables are lower in the mornings, so the three of us tried our luck Saturday morning. I doubled my $30 with $5-$10 bets at Casino War, which is just what it sounds like - the dealer flips you a card and himself a card, high card wins. We moved on to blackjack, where Jason made about $70 on $25. We both came out a bit ahead for the whole weekend. Andrew had a more typical gambling experience and lost all his cash. He tried a $65 poker tournament last night and played well but lost with two Queens to two Kings.

Andrew and I spent a good deal of yesterday lounging and vegetating. The hotel buffet was actually worth its $22 price-tag. I took a four hour nap. It's been nice to stay in the same place for a few days, and I think we're well rested for the last leg of the trip. We'll be moving fast to get home before our family vacation to Europe on August 7th.

Day 32: Page, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada

Miles: 7,293

States: 23 (Nevada)

Thursday, Jason and I left lake Powell for Las Vegas. We were intending to see the north rim of the Grand Canyon, but were tiring of all the drive-by sightseeing. We took the north route instead, which took us toward Zion national park. A large sign on Utah-9 informed us all through traffic must pay the $25 park fee, so it was decided we were doing drive-by sightseeing in another national park.

Zion re-affirmed my belief that the best travel happens when you're not planning it. The park is just stunning. It's more awe-inspiring than the Grand Canyon, because here we could actually drive through the canyons, including a long, dark tunnel through one of the mountains. (Are they mountains?) Jason and I felt the past week produced increasingly bizarre and beautiful landscapes - the Grand Canyon to Monument Valley to Zion. And yet again, photos can't capture these landscapes. Jason's been taking panoramic videos with his iPhone - that gives a bit better sense. But go there.

Day 31: Williams, AZ to Grand Canyon to Monument Valley to Page, AZ

Miles: 7,007

States: 22, still. Went back into Utah, briefly.


We felt like we landed on Mars yesterday. Bizarre, dramatic scenery. It's beautiful though, wish we had more time. I'd love to take a helicopter ride in the Grand Canyon, horseback ride in Monument Valley, and try water sports on Lake Powell.

Day 30: Santa Barbara to Williams, Arizona

Miles: 6,635

States: 22

It was good to get on the road again today. We left around 9:30, drove 600 miles and stopped in the desert, and got to the hotel around 7:30. Wonderful views today. America is enormous and beautiful.

Day 28-29: Santa Barbara

After Sunday brunch with the LA crowd, braved traffic yet again and went back north to Santa Barbara. Jason's brother Jeff and his wife Carolyn hosted us Sunday and Monday nights. They have a well-decorated, homey apartment, and Carolyn is a wonderful cook - staying with them was very comfortable.

On Sunday we drove then hiked up to an overlook where to see all of Santa Barbara and the ocean. For dinner we hiked about 20 minutes down to the beautiful spot where Jeff proposed and had a decadent picnic of breads, meats, cheeses, vegetables, spreads, and wine.

Monday morning we did a bit of shopping downtown with Carolyn, then met Jeff for an Indian buffet before he took us sailing. I miss being on the water. It was so fun, I got such a kick out of helping Jeff arrange the sails. Before dinner, we napped on the grass at the old mission and stopped by the museum to see a whale skeleton. Last night Carolyn cooked an outstanding dinner with farmers-market fresh produce and chicken and orzo. I want to be able to cook like that.

Day 27: Los Angeles

Friday night we went to Corelyn's for homemade pizza night. Andrew and Corelyn moved into the apartment building below Jeff and Jennie, now good LA friends, and Italian by heritage. Jeff makes a "wicked" pizza. We all had wine and chopped veggies and played board games. We had lots of fun with the broccoli stalks, which Jason carved into all kinds of letters and figures, and fashioned into walrus tusks, of course.

Jeff and Jennie were uncommonly generous and offered for Jason and I stayed on their pull-out couch. We're treading on their hospitality now, awake two to three hours before anyone else and trying to keep quiet.

Yesterday morning we made cheesy scrambled eggs and waffles with Jennie's homemade whipped cream and fresh fruit. We all went back to Becca's to hang out in the pool while Jason and I did laundry, then went out to dinner and to see Harry Potter with a big group of their friends. I loved the movie. It was so true to the book, and written very economically. And I got to sit between Corelyn and Rebecca, my oldest Harry Potter friends.