Judi and i drove cross country from New York to California on an epic trip through the south. The last time we did something like that was in 1992 when we drove a big loop around the whole country. Our son, Andy was born in 1993 so that was the end of that kind of trip.
We first drove to Maryland where we had a birthday party for Judi with friends and family, then to Shenandoah Virginia where we drove down Skyline drive. It brought back a lot of memories from my bachelor days backpacking all over Shenandoah to all the waterfalls in the park.
Then on to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home, and Wilmington, NC to visit my sister and all of her family. A short drive brought us to Charleston, SC. The most memorable thing about Charleston was the Magnolia Gardens, Highly recommend it you are in the area.
Atlanta Next to visit Judi’s relatives and then on to Smokey mountains national park. It is very beautiful but as soon as you get out of the park you are in Gatlinburg, TN, the most ticky tacky, commercialized fake town that I have ever seen. We stayed at a nice airbnb in the next town over and the next day went tubing down a shallow mountain stream, absolutely beautiful and relaxing.
Next stop was nashville, had a blast at a club with a band playing a mix of rock and country, fantastic fiddle player. Memphis highlights were an evening at BB king’s house of Blues on Beale Street, really good house band, and the next day at the National Civil Rights Museum. Located in the Lorraine motel where Martin Luther KIng was shot, they have preserved the outer facade of the motel and the Rooms where he was staying , but the rest has been converted to an amazing museum on the entire history of slavery in the US up through the civil rightsmovement of the 60’s. A must for everyone to see.
New Orleans is always charming, the architecture, music, food, are all wonderful, I could go back again and again. We took a history tour that included the 9th ward that was the most devastated by Hurricane Katrina, and we stayed in a section of town called the Maringy, which is walking distance to the french quarter; not as expensive but with the same charm.
Next was San Antonio, which is a strange place. thee is a beautiful river running through it and there are walks along the side called the river walk, lots of restaurants, bars, shops and an amazing museum of the west called the Briscoe that includes as much Native American artifacts as European. beyond the downtown riverwalk area the rest ofthe inner city is burned out with lots of businesses closed and homeless every where. Most people live in the massive suburban sprawl out side the city where all of the houses look the same; 3 bedroom ranches.
Spend a night in El Paso at a very nice airbnb casita but we were just trying to get to Tucson. In Tucson we stayed two nights at a very nice airbnb and what a difference from San Antonio! The highlight is the Arizona Sonoran Desert museum, which includes walking trails of this amazingly alive desert ecosystem, and a very nice zoo, they had a beautiful Mountain lion that you can see up close.
Last day was the drive to San Diego!