The Gulf

When I arrived in Lake City, FL I couldn't figure out why my route took me north into Alabama. Then I realized theres an Ozark in Alabama and I had planned a detour for the wrong city. So I decided instead to head south when I hit Tallahassee, hug the coast, and go through Panama City and Pensacola. There were lots of causeways, vacation spots, and towns that don't look like they've changed much since 1970.

I got back on the I-10 in Pensacola and continued my west. My only detour in Alabama was the gas station where the hosts of Top Gear got pelted with stones and run out of town. I had planned to stop, take a quick picture, and get gas, but it looked nothing like what was shown on TV. It's on google maps if you want to check it out. The parking lot was crushed stone, which explains where the locals were getting their ammo.

Mississippi went quick and before I knew it I arrived in Baton Rouge where I stopped for the night.

First stop in Louisiana was a trail referred to as "the beast" in St. Francisville, about 45 minutes north. I arrived a few minutes before someone came to open the gate to the park. I love the local accent. This section of Louisiana is still relatively flat, but this trail system manages to find some very steep climbs and descents. This was a good opportunity to experiment with the camera a little.

From the trail I headed back to Baton Rouge to catch lunch with an old friend. I met Ashleigh a long time ago on the internet and we've somehow kept in touch for over a decade. Not everyone online is a rapist or ax murderer. Its good to know good people. We met up at a local chinese buffet with a bunch of her friends, who all happened to be engineers. Fun.

Leaving from lunch, I backtracked a little and hit New Orleans. I made sure to go over the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, which is at least 20 miles long and goes right through the middle of the lake. New Orleans grew bigger on the horizon and I made my first stop by the zoo in Audubon Park. Here was the trailhead of the Mississippi River Trail, which is paved along the top of a levee. What better way to see a city.

One fine dyke I tell you what.

I did a quick driving tour of New Orleans, and although some of the side roads were in horrible, pot-hole riddled shape, I felt very safe. I went through downtown and ended up in the French Quarter just after sunset. I was a little disappointed, the French Quarter is a tourist destination and is more of a consumer playground than a historical site. It felt fake and geared more towards trying to sell you a t-shirt than to preserve any history of the location. I was more impressed with the drive through the neighborhoods and downtown. I had no idea the city was so big.

In how many cities would this house blend in?

I got out of New Orleans, and crossed the Mississippi river around 7:00. Theres a long section of the I-10 near Atchafalya N.W.R. where the entire highway is elevated about 20 feet in the air. Its bad enough that I'm missing so much travelling down the interstate at 70mph. This was too much, so I got off and checked out the area on the surface roads. This was my reward:

Louisiana DOT: money for Christmas lights, not so much for roads

Crossing into Texas I was greeted with a 20ft lone star and the biggest welcome sign yet. I stopped last night on the east side of Houston. I want to continue from here in the daylight. I'm already seeing a lot of shooting stars. 2300 miles in, looking forward to a big open night sky. I've been warned on two separate occasions now that I-10 west of Houston is brown, flat, and boring. I was already doing my best falsetto to Don't Stop Believin' back in Louisiana (don't judge, I can only take so much of this, this, and this). I don't know if my sanity can handle Texas. I'll have to see what kind of trouble I can get into.

On a side note, the VW is doing well. The trip meter resets at 2000 miles. Considering that's a round trip from Berlin to St. Petersburg, I'd say the Germans weren't expecting so much fahrvergnugen.