Thank YOU

A lot of people made this road trip possible. And I think some thanks are in order:

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Knox, you were a gracious host and an unorthodox tour guide. Thanks for letting us stay in your apartment. I will never look at D.C. the same way.

Celeste, thank you for showing us the sites. We'll have to squeeze T.J. in next time. Who knew you could eat a delicious meal in a bookstore (I think it was raining). If you're reading this, then you already know: when I come down again, I'll be at the Channel Inn.

SHERIDAN (Ark.) -- I want to thank the Shannons (Arkansas chapter)--Joe, Linda and Jim (left)--for your hospitality in the South. Jim, you know your Ark. I think you'd make a good firefighter. And say "Hi" to Chuck for me.

MESA (Ariz.) -- Thank you, Penny, for opening your house to two people you've never met before. Granted we had a good reference, but it takes a little extra to be that nice to perfect strangers.

GRAND CANYON (Ariz.) -- Tow Truck Driver Joe, you are a lifesaver. Your expertise got me out of a bind.

TORRANCE (Calif.) -- Jon, thanks for showing us Hermosa Beach. I hope that gigantic Aerobed in front of the door didn't make you late for work, getting around that monstrosity the next morning.

SANTA MONICA (Calif.) -- Bill, thanks for buying some time away from work. It was good to catch up. I don't want to jinx any of your projects, but you seem to know your script.

CROSSCOUNTRY -- We couldn't have done it without you, Suzy Subaru. You didn't breakdown once or get a flat. And don't worry, I won't call you Suze.

Will.i.Phone, you were a trusted friend and confidant in many questionable situations.

And, Katie. I think we made a good team. You are a talented filmmaker and I know you'll claim your stake in L.A. or wherever you see fit. And remember: we'll always have TuCKson.


(Please note the gypsy bartender we met in Little Rock, who snuck into the upper left corner of this picture. He was a sly one.)


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The mile-high club

FLIGHT VX364 (35,000 feet above the U.S.) -- I flew nonstop from L.A. to Boston via Virgin America airlines. It took about six hours.

The price was right: $99 for a one-way flight (plus $15 to check a bag).

The headrest TV in back of the row before me made the flight "fly" by. Several features of this free service:

1. Watch channels like CNN (live), TBS and MSNBC. Virgin offers other channels at a premium. I couldn't get MTV; that might have been a pay station.

2. Play video games with the detachable right armrest controller. One piece of advice, Virgin America: for the games that require only the onscreen interface, please make the screen more sensitive. I may have given the woman in front of me whiplash for the few hammering screen attempts in an intense game of Anagrammarama (Virgin's version of TextTwist).

3. Keep on top of flight status with Google maps. For those anxious fliers, Google updates remaining time, distance and the GPS locates the Airbus A320 over these states.

4. Watch pay-per-view movies for like $8. Virgin had a decent selection.


Passengers can also order food through the headrest TV interface. The menu pictures looked quite tasty, but flying killed my appetite. I sat tight till touchdown.

We landed on time and Virgin didn't lose my bag. My first breath of Boston air filled my lungs and calmed my soul. I'm home.


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Friday

HOLLYWOOD (Calif.) -- I finally met some famous people. We saw Batman, the Joker, like three Spidermans, Freddy Kruger and Jason tried to machete me. Good thing it wasn't Friday the 13th.

I'm talking, of course, about the (in)famous Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame. We rode the L.A. Metro to get there. Yes, L.A. has a subway system. And then we decided to hoof it over to West Hollywood.

We stumbled across L.A. Ink on La Brea Avenue--Kat Von D.'s tattoo shop and TLC show. No Kat, but Corey Miller was working the needle while TLC filmed an episode. Sorry, no parlor pics here; TLC wouldn't allow photography while they were filming. I was tempted to get tatted, but the wait might have ate up my last L.A. day. So we moved on.

The classy blues/rock bar Baby Blue's BBQ on Santa Monica Boulevard offered happy hour from 1 p.m. - 8 p.m. $3 premium drafts for seven hours? Yes please. We didn't stay that long, but I did get flipped off by Johnny Cash (left). I too have been everywhere, John.

We're keeping it low key in L.A. tonight. I have to fly out of LAX early in the a.m.


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L.A. day: 2-3

BURBANK (Calif.) -- L.A. traffic is ANNOYING. We haven't done much yet because it takes FOR-EV-ERR to get places.

We went to Universal City (the Universal Studios complex in the middle of Burbank) to see a movie. I don't recommend this theater; you have to pay for parking.

The whole complex reeks of capitalism. I couldn't walk five feet in any direction without spending money somewhere. And when I tried to leave, I ran into King Kong.

We hopped on the 405 down to Santa Monica today to visit my buddy Bill. He's working on a few writing projects, but that's all I can say about that. I don't want to leak his ideas to anybody out there. I'm pretty sure that's how Paul Blart: Mall Cop and Observe and Report (two movies about mall security) came out at the same time.

Tomorrow's my last day in L.A. I just want to see one famous person. Ideally, I run into Conan O'Brien before he takes The Tonight Show throne or [insert hot actress here], but I'll settle for like the "O" face guy from Office Space.


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L.A. day: 1

LOS ANGELES (Calif.) -- We made it. My first order of business: get some In-N-Out Burger.

Katie's place is on Barham Boulevard in Burbank. I found an In-N-Out Burger on the nearby Cahuenga Boulevard (L.A. loves boulevards).

The name itself is a bit ironic. When comparing to Burger King or McDonald's, I most certainly wasn't "in and out." But the food was worth the wait.

First of all, they use fresh potatoes to make the fries. I saw one guy boiling a bunch of peeled potatoes to be diced into delicious french fries.

The burger tasted good. I'm not going to sit here and say it was the best I've ever had. It wasn't. But I could tell they used fresh ingredients (as with the fries). The meat was cooked to order (not prepackaged). And they used some kind of special sauce to zest things up a bit.

Aside from the shakes, I've mentioned everything on the In-N-Out menu. They've focused their efforts on mastering one meal: burgers and fries.

But that's good. And I'm confident that when I get another burger here, it'll be as simple as in and out.


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Almost there

TORRANCE (Calif.) -- We stayed south of L.A. in Torrance last night. Katie can't move in till this afternoon.

We eased into the California scene with a short trip down to Hermosa Beach (about six miles from Torrance). I most certainly caught a chill vibe while strolling along the two-lane walkway. These laid back Californians seem to move at a slower pace.

And all this relaxation inspired a bit of reflection in my road trip companion. She said she's learned a few things while trekking across America:

1. Cracker Barrel and Subway dominate the South; Dunkin' Donuts: not so much.

2. I don't care how intelligent you are, a southern accent makes you sound dumber. [please send mail: c/o Katie Shannon, Emerson satellite campus, Los Angeles, CA]

3. Arkansas is actually a great state (I’m being serious).

4. The Grand Canyon is one the most amazing things that I have ever seen.

5. I realized that I have songs like "Rump Shaker," the "Thong Song," and "Jump on It" on my iPod.

6. DelRossi does not like listening to N’Sync.

7. Black people throw the best retirement parties and I can keep up on the dance floor (at least in my head I did).

8. Irish Pubs are everywhere in this country.

9. Lesbian oil wrestling doesn’t just exist on the L Word.

10. The iPhone is the best thing ever invented.

11. A very gay lesbian and a straight guy can travel across the country, spend 12 days with each other, and still like each other.


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Grand Canyon: great

GRAND CANYON (Ariz.) -- Note to self: Don't lock the keys in the car at the Grand Canyon.

Had the excitement of seeing one of the seven natural wonders of the world distracted me? Was not enough oxygen traveling to my brain at this heightened elevation? Or was I just more concerned about bringing my camera (iPhone) instead of taking the keys out of the ignition?

To add insult to injury, a thunderstorm was approaching. That's right. When I go to the Grand Canyon in Arizona (the South Rim averages 0.66 precipitate inches in May) it rains. They had had a drought in April and this was nature's way of making up for it--we could see the charred remains of trees where forest fires had sprung up along the road.

Thunderstorms are especially dangerous in such a sparse landscape. If lightning strikes and you hear thunder within 30 seconds from the strike, run for cover. Get into a building (not that many in the Grand Canyon). Get into your car with the windows up. And if you're hiking, stand by trees that are surrounded by larger trees. I love how the brochure said that last resort wasn't full-proof. But at that point you're looking for least likely lightning strike scenarios. And if you feel the hair on the back of your neck standing up as static crackles in your area, an electrical charge is building up. See ya lata.

But I didn't panic. I got the park ranger to radio down to dispatch, who contacted the garage roughly 25 miles away. Joe the truck driver made it up to our lookout point within 40.

With surgeon-like precision, Joe pried his way into the Forester. He stuck a sphygmomanometer like contraption inside the crack of the passenger's side window pane. He inflated the wedged bag until he had about an inch of space to fish a long bendable metal rod into the inside car door panel. From there he latched the curved end of rod onto the lock handle and unlocked the door. Joe, you're a lifesaver.

And it only cost me $140 (sarcasm). I think Joe has set a good living for himself on the Grand Canyon; he said I was his 12th customer that day.

Look at Katie pondering our predicament as we both realized neither of us had the car keys.

I've uploaded about a billion more Grand Canyon pics to facebook. Again, they're pretty touristy. I wanted to get one of me hanging over the edge or from a cliff-side tree, but the risks totally outweighed the benefits. Maybe if my name was Travis Pastrana.

We're at the Travelodge in Kingman, Ariz., 300 miles and some change from the City of Angels. We'll be in L.A. by tonight.
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Man, firecrackers!

SOMEWHERE ON 10-W (N.M.) -- I walked into a New Mexico gas station that sold fireworks. And I couldn't help, but think...

"Where's your good stuff, man?"

"You need stuff that'll go BOOM! Are you nuts, dude?! You might as well ask 'Why is a tree good? Why is a sunset good? Why are boobs good?'

"Man, firecrackers! You stick 'em in mailboxes. Drop 'em down toilets. Shove 'em up a bull frog's ass!

"So are you gonna tell me that you don't have no Black Cats, no Roman Candles, or Screamin' Mimi's?

"Oh c'mon, man! You don't got no Lady Fingers, Buzz Buttles, Snicker Bombs, Church Burners, Finger Blasters, Gut Busters, Zippidy Do Das, no Crap Flappers?!

"You're gonna stand there owning a fireworks stand and tell me you don't have not Whistling Bungholes, no Spleen Splitters, Whistler Biscuits, Honky Lighters, Whoseker Do's, Whoseker Don't's, Cherry Bombs, Knipsy Daisers (with or without the scooter stick) or one single Whistling Kitty Chaser?"

-Joe Dirt

It turns out they did have some Black Cats and something called "Pyro Stampede," (below) and of course the "Big Bang" (above).



Leave it to New Mexico to store tons of explosives (literally) in a gas station. Good thing I quit smoking.


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Good old El Paso

EL PASO (Texas) -- We drove another 600 miles yesterday to El Paso.

I'm earning a newfound respect for truck drivers, let me tell you. And I'll probably never complain again about driving down the South Shore to the Cape.

I've uploaded "the open road" to facebook. Click through these pictures for about nine hours and you'll be where I am right now (mentally not physically).

But I'm not bitter. I know it's all for the good of getting across this great nation. And we have some sites to look forward to. We're stopping in Mesa, Ariz. (by Phoenix), today and on to the Grand Canyon tomorrow. We'll be in L.A. by Monday. D.C. feels like a year ago.


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Austintastic

AUSTIN (Texas) – Katie took me to a lesbian bar last night. We had finished dinner at the brand new Max’s Wine Dive in Austin and she wanted to check out the city’s gay scene. I guess it’s better than Boston’s. Is everything really bigger in Texas?

We ended up at the Rainbow Cattle Co. on West 5th Street. As Austin’s prime gay country-western dance hall, according to Frommer’s Review, the club entertains both gays and lesbians alike. But Thursday’s ladies’ night.

Didn’t really know what to expect walking in. As a reporter, I value the ability to acclimate myself quickly in even the most uncertain or awkward settings. Let’s just say last night was a humbling experience.

I think the bartender might have had a thing for me. He kept looking at me like this:

Whatever, we got cheap shots. But that wasn’t really what made my situation awkward. As a straight guy in a lesbian bar, I’m essentially the exact person these ladies came there not to see. Ahhh, the life of a lesbian’s wingman.

The oil wrestling broke the tension. A propeller beanie-wearing wrestling promoter set up a blowup pool in the center of the dance floor and filled it with oil. Willing lesbians had signed up to compete. And compete they did. I’ve uploaded the pictures to facebook, but they’re a little hard to make out (my iPhone has no flash).

The three gay black guys dancing in front of the mirror might have made my evening. This picture does not do them justice. But imagine NFL players in a group endzone dance. Only gayer.

Now we’re on the road to El Paso. I’m not sure if I can top this post, but I’ll give it my damnedest.


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Hot Springs, who knew?

HOT SPRINGS (Ark.) -- Well I'm glad we went to Little Rock first. Because Hot Springs....was......awesome (compared to Little Rock). And I wouldn't want to leave Arkansas on a low note.

Apparently Al Capone used Hot Springs as a hideaway when he was on the lam from the man (his words not mine). Rumor has it he used a series of hidden tunnels to travel in and out of the city as he pleased. And you can see his influence to this day in the architecture. Especially in the Arlington Hotel, where he had a room above the front entrance to get a good view of Johnny Law when the man decided to stop by.

I think this was his car. Katie better get off before she gets whacked.

The observation tower atop the Ozarks was the high point of Hot Springs. I'm no expert, but I could see a good 88 miles from the observation deck, including President Clinton's boyhood home.

We had to travel up a long, narrow, steep road to get to the tower. Winding and weaving up the hill, riding road lips at every U-shaped turn, in Jim's (Katie's cousin) 5-speed Ford Escort, I felt like the Mini Cooper wielding Mark Wahlberg in the Italian Job absconding away Ed Norton's gold. And I don't recommend taking the stairs to the top, unless you want to feel a deep burn in your quads. But the view was worth it. I've uploaded the 360-degree shots to facebook.

One day didn't do Hot Springs justice, but we did it right with the time we had. Other attractions of note:

1. The Wax Museum
2. Duck Tour
3. Amazing Italian place with live piano, Belle Arti
4. The Gangster Museum
5. Mexican place with a sweet patio out back (Happy hour 4 - 7 p.m.)
6. A half-dozen other things I don't even know about

We're shoving off to Austin, Texas this morning. We had to cut New Orleans, La., out of the trip due to time constraints. I've heard 6th Street is where it's at in the great City of Austin. We'll just have to see.


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A little Little Rock

SHERIDAN (Ark.) -- Little Rock tuckered me out.

We hit the trolley tours first. The tour guide/trolley operator sounded like Family Guy's Bruce the Performance Artist (the mustachioed southerner). "Nooooo wayyyyyyyy!"

We cut the trolley tour short when we passed by Creegen's Irish Pub on the north side of Little Rock. After a few pints, we decided to wobble out of there and continue our Little Rock walk.


Can anyone tell me what the heck this is?

I don't have much else to say about Arkansas's capitol. The city is clean, quiet, and little. And I recommend Bosco's restaurant if you're ever in the area. You can get good food (they have great brick oven pizza) by the Arkansas River.

Tonight we'll hit up Hot Springs, Ark. Until then...


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AHHHkansas

SHERIDAN (Ark.) -- Driving nine hours (the "long way" across Tennessee) yesterday kept me from posting. But, to recap, the day went something like this:

Tree, tree, tree, Cracker Barrel, Subway, tree, McDonald's, tree, tree, Cracker Barrel, tree, Comfort Inn, tree, tree, Subway, tree, adult toy store, tree, Jesus saves. And two thirds of the vehicles were this nation's trucking fleet. Gotta love the heartland.

Nashville was a sleepy city. We stopped at Rippy's for lunch. I got the smoked chicken. That coleslaw (below) was the best I've ever had.


(view facebook for a few more pics of Nashville)

After lunch, we crossed the Mississippi River into Arkansas. To describe Arkansas in a word: flat. And when we finally got to Katie's family's house in Sheridan (9 p.m. Central Standard Time), her uncle had a few pieces of advice for driving in the nation's 25th state:

1. When pulling into traffic, don't cut off the lane, if you're taking a left. (Unless you want to get T-boned)

2. Cars pull over on both sides of the road for ambulances.

3. Cars pull over for funeral processions out of respect.

4. If there's a funeral procession on one side and an ambulance on the other, I have no clue. This may cause a paradox that upsets the space-time continuum.

5. Watch out for the huge roadside trenches (Arkansas gets a lot of rain with nowhere to drain)







We did get to meet some of the yokels (left). The guy on the bike is Chuck. Chuck wears chaps when he rides his hog to the local convenience store.







And we decided to call it a night with a few stogies. Katie looks like she's smoking something else. We'll be in Ark. until Thursday. Stay tuned for more of the South Land.
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Tennessee..Te-Te-Tennessee

KINGSPORT (Tenn.) -- We dedicated today to driving. We made it just over the border to Tennessee and decided to call it quits at the Kingsport Comfort Inn. I would have posted sooner, but I think Bill Slowsky set up the high-speed WiFi here.

Yesterday in D.C. we visited most of the monuments and memorials. I won't clog the blog with all the touristy pics, but I've uploaded them to my facebook profile if you want to take a gander (click on the facebook badge in the upper right corner of the blog).



I will show this from the FDR Memorial, however:


When I return to the job search in a couple weeks, this sounds like something badass I could say to prospective employers (in case they're on the fence about hiring me). I think it's especially poignant in this econonmy.

I'm going to cut this post short because we don't want to miss the Celtics in Game 7. We're going to "The Shack" (I think) down the street from the Comfort Inn. I'm sure we'll get acquainted with some laid back country folk (it feels good).

GO CELTS!! and God bless.

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D.C. part deux

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- I suppose Knox said it best: "You're not gonna get this part of D.C. from the tour guides."

When we finished our extended stay at The Dubliner, we headed to the Channel Inn (on the water). Knox's father was attending a retirement party there and he said we could help celebrate. I don't know if it's just a common theme in road trips--the "black" bar scene in Animal House and the all-black fraternity in Road Trip--but this retirement party was 90 percent black people. I was the worst dressed person there by a long shot. Still, probably the best party I've been to in years.

Everyone I met welcomed me with open arms. I met one guy who handed me his business card (left). I don't know if he made motorcycles, sold motorcycles, repaired motorcycles or just loved them. But the old adage holds true: "Pimpin' ain't easy."

The dance floor was a bad idea. In my defense, I got dragged onto that fated parquet. All the women on the floor were performing some kind of coordinated group dance in perfect unison. Needless to say, I was the goofy white guy f'n the whole thing up. After the third hip-bounce, I decided to get off (the best move I made on the dance floor).

As I had said in yesterday's post, this week is Cop Week. After leaving the Channel Inn, we headed to a large outside tent, where thousands of cops from all over the country had flocked. D.C.: their Mecca, if for only this week. I'd say every third woman or man I passed had a badge around their neck. And around the tent perimeter stood kiosks of cop paraphernalia (cop art, handcuffs...you know, the usual stuff).

The bar was pretty interesting. Apparently cops serve and protect beer too (note the guy packing heat as he digs into a cooler).

But, jokes aside, this national get-together of law enforcement had its merit. Knox's friend Richie, a D.C. weapons cop, told me this was the time when cops come together to remember policemen who had died. The other two thirds of people I saw under that tent--the ones without the badges, he said--had probably lost a friend or family member in the line of duty. It's a dangerous job, but someone's gotta do it.

From there we headed to another Irish bar, The Irish Channel on H Street (our goal: to go to at least one in every city we stop). I had just ordered a Magner's on draught and a Miller Lite, when three bagpipers walked in to serenade the crowd.


This guy (left) liked it.

The soothing sounds of bagpipes eventually lulled me and we decided to turn in.

We'll be in D.C. for one more night and then it's on to Tennessee. I think we're stopping in Knoxville before we continue on to Sheridan, Ark. to visit Katie's family. Until next time...
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D.C. baby!

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- We left at 10 p.m. under the cover of night and drove straight on through till morn. I highly recommend this for anyone embarking on a road trip in the future. I-95 South opened its lanes to us as we cruised down the Eastern Seaboard (we zipped through the Big Apple in about a New York minute). And when we hit New York Avenue in D.C. at 5 a.m., the city greeted us with a warm and open embrace, its avenues not yet clogged by the impurities of a morning rush hour.


Right now we're holding down my buddy Knox's place while he's at work. Look at the view (above) from his apartment. We could walk to the Nationals' stadium from here. You can see the lit up roof to the right of dead center in this picture. Their tickets are slightly easier to come by than Red Sox seats too, so we might take in a Saturday game.

That's it for now. Unfortunately, not one of D.C.'s homeless thousands jumped on our hood as we rolled into the nation's capitol and Obama is nowhere to be found.

We'll be here until Sunday, however, and it's Cop Week. Those crazy bastards should provide some conversational fodder by then. In the meantime, I need to find an Internet connection to post this. Knox has none...

p.s. Speaking of connections, does anybody know a good place to stop between D.C. and Arkansas? Our South Carolina connect fell through.

...ah nice. I'm sitting at The Dubliner across from the Smithsonian and they have free WiFi. Upload away.
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The laundry list

BRIGHTON (T - 3 days) -- I apologize in advance for airing out my dirty laundry, but now that we're getting down to the wire, I'm rounding up a check list: things we need; things we will need; and things to prepare for along the way.

1. Food. We are going to Costco before we leave. We need a cooler, drinks, snacks and easy meal stuff so we don't eat out too much. (Grad students are poor)

2. WiFi. An internet connection will be essential if I am going to keep this blog current. A comment on an earlier post mentioned Comfort Inns and Days Inns had free WiFi. We'll be staying with people we know most of the time, however, so I hope our hosts are hooked up. There's always Starbucks, I guess.

3. A tent. One pal o'mine said a tent would be good if we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere one night. Considering the 1,400-mile expanse between Austin, Texas, and Las Vegas, Nev., the likelihood of this is strong to quite strong.

4. What laundry list would be complete without.....well, laundry? I'm going to bring trash bags to put dirty clothes in. And I'm going to keep in mind a place I can wash a load while on the road. Otherwise, I may have to go commando around El Paso.

5. iPhone. I have to admit: the iPhone takes a lot of the guess work out of cross-country excursions. It has a built-in GPS. I will have semipermanent 3G internet access. It's a cell phone. It's my complete music library. And its camera will provide, almost if not, all of the pictures for this blog, including the pic in this post. (This sounds like a great idea for an iPhone commercial..hint...hint)

6. iPhone car adapter. The iPhone does need a little help, however. I had to pick up a car adapter so we can play iTunes on the car radio (and charge the battery while listening).

7. Tow service. We don't have AAA, but I've heard that some car insurance companies include roadside assistance without telling their subscribers. In other words, we may already be paying for it. I'll have to look into that.

8. Did I forget anything?


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TripTik is the shhhhhhstuff

BRIGHTON (T - one week) -- I just plotted our route using the American Automobile Association's (AAA) TripTik Travel Planner. Not too shabby.


The zoom and navigation features resemble Google maps, but AAA adds a personal touch. For instance, the TripTik Advisory! suggested an alternate route around NYC to avoid traffic. AAA's wealth of knowledge also warned us of a road closure by Knoxville, showing the detour in case we want to reroute. BTW, prepare for strict law enforcement in these areas (another handy TripTik Advisory!):

* All major roads in the state of Arizona
* All major roads within Washington, DC
* I-55 in Arkansas (Jct I-40 N to MO state line)
* US 19 and US 27 Alt in Chiefland , FL
* US 98 in Gulf Breeze, FL
* I-75 in Lowndes County, GA
* US-54 in Curryville, MO
* US-19 in Summersville, WV

If we pass through said places, we will heed the words a wise man once told me: "Be safe."

In all of AAA's infinite wisdom, however, I couldn't really find anything worth stopping for between Austin, Texas, and Las Vegas, Nev. (a 1,400-mile expanse!) We'll pass by Phoenix, Ariz., and the Grand Canyon, but they are toward the last leg of this route.

Any suggestions?

Might I add, we won't be at this LAST LEG of our trip for at least 2 1/2 WEEKS [May 24] so if you have any suggestions in the meantime, don't hesitate to comment. It won't be too late.


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Getting set up

BRIGHTON -- In the spirit of rich Americana slices like Animal House and Road Trip, we are about to embark on...you guessed it...a road trip.

Who: Katie and I
Where: Boston to L.A.
When: Mid to late May 2009
Why: to the best of my knowledge, you only live once.

I have set my goal "post" number to at least once every day of the journey. But I decided to begin the blog a little early. After all, a road trip takes preparation.

We have already scouted most of the stops along the way. Our first detour will be D.C. My buddy Knox said we could stay with him. And he promises a good time on the Washington night air.

From there, we have a pretty nice little road trip: Clinton, S.C.; Sheridan, Ark.; New Orleans, La.; Houston, Texas; Austin, Texas; and the Grand Canyon. Maybe Las Vegas (I don't know if we'll have enough time). And then it's on to L.A.

In the meantime, we have to pick up some supplies and get a good map (I heard AAA offers an excellent trip-planning service). And I won't post heavily until we hit the road.

Come along for the ride.

p.s. Comments, questions and (above all) advice are encouraged.

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