Gumbo on the Road - The Finale (A-Town STOMP!)

We finally made it to Atlanta. Thanks to our great time yesterday, we were able to make it through the South in one night. Making our way through towns like Tyler, TX, Chunky, MS and Leeds, AL in between major cities like Dallas, Shreveport, Pearl, Vicksburg, Jackson and Tuscaloosa.

I don't have a lot of pics since I missed most of the scenic sights driving so I'll just share what I have with some thoughts afterwards.

The road scenery in Canton, TX. For the most part, the roads were much greener today than driving through the deserts, especially driving through the forests of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.

You know the dreaded feeling of compromising your beliefs to get by?  Today did that with eating McDonald's . My pride got clogged like my arteries but it was better than starving. 

The Shreveport Water Tower. Closest border crossing picture I got all trip since I was driving for most of them.

The Independence Bowl in Shreveport. 

Stepping outside in Brandon, Mississippi, we were greeted by a nice dose of sauna-like humidity. Believe it or not, it was actually a relief from the dry heat we felt in Texas. Nothing compares to the best sight of perhaps the whole trip.

Crossing the Louisiana-Mississippi border means getting to see the Mississippi River. We saw the Rio Grande Tuesday but this is a whole, different monster. It was wide and beautiful. Just crossing it made me feel  privileged to have seen it and imagine all the stories it could tell. Then crossing into Dixieland, we paused briefly for some quiet reflection. Mississippi's got a lot of dark history with my ancestors as does Alabama.

There was plenty of darkness going from Jackson to Tuscaloosa. Almost like you could feel the ghosts of the past mixed with a willingness to not change into the future. I felt that in Vicksburg knowing that's the city where the tide of the Civil War turned along with Gettysburg.

But same time, I was happy to find the sports connections. I passed an exit for Philadelphia, the town where 3 civil rights activists were murdered and the home of the legendary Marcus Dupree. I saw Tuscaloosa where Roll Tide is the official greeting and got gas in Leeds, birthplace of Charles Barkley. Tyler gave us the great Earl Campbell.

As I drove the last leg into Georgia listening to BIG K.R.I.T, Elzhi and Camp Lo's latest mixtapes, I realized exactly what my uncle and I have done. We finished my 1st cross country trip and I got to soak in some great wisdom/advice from him along the way. I'll save more of that from my full trip recap but as I try to sleep with these thunderstorms in the distance, I'm doing it with a smile. Praise God for this great experience and I know I'll have time to reflect on it for weeks to come.

Gumbo on the Road - Day 2 (Texas Two Steppin)

Summing Up Day 2 quickly - 900 miles driven. Moved through Tucson to New Mexico to El Paso to Odessa to now Fort Worth. We should be reaching ATL by tomorrow night and I'm betting tomorrow will be an interesting drive rolling through most of the Southern states. Here's some of the shots I took on the road

(The Arizona desert was beautiful. Just to see the different ways it looked all the way around)

(Extra cool rock formation in AZ)

(One of several shirts in our New Mexico gas stop. Sign me up for this PETA!)

(They don't play in New Mexico. Light one up, they'll string you up. Add this to our Underground Railroad theme)

(Loved this really cool bird sculpture in the desert. Just hanging out there at random)

(The Rio Grande, folks. Not as wide as I expected but the closest I got to a good shot  since I drove through New Mexico and Texas' borders)

(Texas viddles - Steak Fingers, fries and texas toast. Chicken Fried Steak Fingers  is something we need to bring back to Cali for sure.)

(Last rest stop for the night in Colorado City after my last shift.  A lil nervewracking at 1st but I let Jesus take the wheel and help me get comfortable driving at night. Word to Carrie Underwood.)

(Finally, we touched down in Fort Worth and you know I had to get this. Can't not come to TX and not get  you some Whataburger. Oh, how I miss thee!!!!)

That's it for now. Tomorrow, we finish up Texas then ride through the South. I wonder how many folks will bug out down there seeing the ghost of Harriet Tubman on our truck.

Gumbo on the Road - Day 1 (Cali to Tuscon)

Well folks, I'm heading to Atlanta to see my sister and I'm on my longest road trip ever. I'm currently in Tucson, Arizona about to crash for the evening so here's some quick takes from Day One. 

This is on the side of our truck. Total irony of us going to the South with a shout to the Underground Railroad on here. That's why I've nicknamed it the Overground Railroad (or Reverse Underground Railroad as my friend LeAnn put it).

The Cali roads are all desert and its pretty boring but still amazing to see. And no, I took this from the passenger seat, not the driver's seat.

Where we stopped in Buckeye, AZ. Almost as shocking as the $3.29 gas price in the area? The BK had Fox News  on the channel (for the uninformed, that's total sarcasm if you know Arizona and its politics)

More of the Cali high desert. 

This was cool. Rain clouds in Palm Springs. That rain came down so hard but it felt so good coming out the window. Almost like a bunch of kisses that you couldn't help smiling over

Wind energy is at a premium out here in Palm Springs. And yep, you can see me taking that shot through the mirror.

Downtown Phoenix sunset. Tried to get closer but it was absolutely beautiful. 

I also got the see evidence of the San Andreas Fault in Indio. I pity the folks who drive out to Coachella though cause that's one long drive that makes Riverside seem easy. I'll post that tomorrow cause I'm pooped. It's crazy hot and the devil's breath is hard to adjust to but for the most part, the drive was smooth. Getting used to driving a big truck instead of my Volvo is rough.

Day 2 tomorrow. The long-awaited drive through Texas! Can you feel the excitement! Can you feel the sarcasm! Seriously though, we're supposed to roll through Odessa and if you watch Friday Night Lights, you'll know how cool that is. We should be ending up somewhere outside of Dallas so that'll be nice.

Til then, your humble correspondent says goodnight from Tucson, AZ. Where 5 Guys, Whataburger and In-N-Out live in harmony. (And since I'm here, special shouts to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords who made her town and country proud today with her return to Washington to vote on the debt ceiling plan.)