There and Back Again: Days Four through Six

Day Four

March 4, 2010

New Orleans, Louisiana  to  Lexington, South Carolina

10.75 hours of driving time

666 miles

5 states

I woke up, hungover from our jaunt on Bourbon St, with our second longest day ahead of us, but also our last full day of driving. I have family in South Carolina, who graciously had decided to let us crash with them for the night, so our nights in hotels were over. Day Four was the beginning of the end.

We spent the morning as we usually did, sleeping past our wake-up calls and lazily checking out of the hotel, taking quick driving tours through the hotspots of the city. We drove back down to Bourbon so we could see it in the daylight and through sobered (well, somewhat) eyes, then over to the French Market, where we ate beignets at Cafe du Monde while a homegrown New Orleans jazz group accompanied our dining experience (and gave me half off their cd because I'm just so charming).

Then Onward! Through the rest of Louisiana (which was mostly all bridges), Mississippi...

... where we stopped in Biloxi, searching for the mansion of Jefferson Davis but had no luck and backtracked to the freeway, where we crossed into Alabama...

... and had trouble (for the second time) finding food (the previous was the night before, in Lafayette), before finally switching back to me an hour or so outside Montgomery. Then crossed into Georgia...

And South Carolina... And that was it. We stopped once more for gas and coffee right as the gas station was closing, and then we were in Lexington, sleeping on my cousin's bed and chatting with my Aunt as we arrived shortly around midnight.

Day Five

March 5, 2010

Lexington, South Carolina  to  Raleigh, North Carolina

4 hours of driving time

237 miles

2 states

This time, our morning was spent meeting my cousin for lunch in downtown Columbia, and as Bestie and I had both been to the city before, there was no need for extensive sightseeing, and the final legs of There and Back Again began. We stopped once near Fayetteville for gas and a restroom break, then arrived at Bestie's house in Raleigh, North Carolina. We ate ate Moe's (it'd been so long for me, and I do love that restaurant), then went to Alice in Wonderland opening night. Then it was bedtime and goodbyes the next morning, as I parted to make the last stretch alone.

Day Six

March 6, 2010

Raleigh, North Carolina  to  Richmond, Virginia

3 hours of driving time

175 miles

2 states

This was a drive I was used to. Wilmington to Richmond is four hours, via I-40 West and I-95 North. If you keep going on 40, you hit Raleigh. So from the 40 East/ 95 N intersection, it was auto-pilot. And after five days of an average of 12 hours a day of driving, three hours was nothing.

And then I was home.

There and Back Again: Day Three

Day Three

March 3, 2010

Austin, Texas  to  New Orleans, Lousiana

9 hours of driving time

512 miles

2 states

Day Three began with a mini, self-guided tour of Austin. We took pictures with giant guitars, shopped in a London Underground themed music store, and strolled along South Congress (SoCo) while looking for vintage cowboy boots (where we got cornered and signed up for Greenpeace).

Best quote of Austin... while walking into CVS, an older black man (possibly homeless) sees Hither and starts to hit on her before seeing me... "Nubian Princess- oo white girl!"

Basically, I loved Austin.

We begrudgingly left the city shortly after Noon, and had another full day of driving ahead of us. When Cookie told us the story of when he drove across country by himself, he said the first two days were like "yea, I can do this," but by the third it's just like "fuck"... because Day 3 means you're right in the middle. To get back or forward, it's the same distance, and you're stuck. Day 3 on Roadtrip America 1.0 was Amarillo, Texas to Gallup, New Mexico (where Rachel's car broke down), which proved to be the biggest test for all of us then. Day 3 on There and Back Again (Roadtrip America 2.0) proved to be much less stressful.

Unlike 1.0, I'd agreed wholeheartedly to split the driving time whenever Bestie wanted it, so on Day 3, she was up. Which meant I could finally relax and ease the wearing tension in my arms, back, and shoulders. And neck. And legs. And pretty much my entire body. 

When we got to Louisiana, we almost missed the sign because it had toppled over into the brush. So Bestie went and tried to fix it. And then we got caught in LA-style traffic for an hour.

We finally rolled into our New Orleans hotel (Hotel le Cirque) a little after midnight (as per our usual), and, after paying $25 to park valet instead of on the street (where we were afraid our overloaded car might be an easy picking target), we called a cab and headed down to Bourbon St. Our stop was the Tropical Isle, the home of the hand grenade, the strongest drink on Bourbon (apparently, it's equivalent to 4.5 standard drinks). And mmm were they tasty!

We took pictures with the giant smoking hand grenade, Bestie got hit on by the door guy, and we took our drinks on the streets, where we hit a handful of other bars and clubs... where I took a test tube shot out of the waitress's mouth, Bestie rode a mechanical bull, and we split a Hurricane, another New Orleans staple drink, before walking the rest of the way back to the hotel, where the alcohol decided to finally hit me once I fell asleep.

There and Back Again: Day Two

Day Two

March 2, 2010

El Paso, Texas  to  Austin, Texas

10.5 hours of driving time

629 miles

1 state

Texas, Texas, Texas. Damn this state is huge.

We started our day still in El Paso, Texas, where we decided that fuck it, Mexico is only a short walk across the bridge, why not add it to our list of destinations we can cross off our bucket list? So we hit up an ATM, parked for $3, and took a hike across the border into the most violent city outside of a warzone, Cuidad Juarez (though we didn't know this at the time... lesson to be learned: google/wiki places before you go there, though it does take a way from the excitement).

Under Bestie's suggestion, we took a cab tour through the city, hitting all the hotspots including the bullfighting arena, the Cathedral, the monument of Juarez himself, and the market, where our tour guide/cab driver took us to his friend's liquor store where we were allowed to sample the tequila before we bought it. It was here I drank a worm.

While driving around, we noticed a ton of armed military patrolling the streets... like something you'd see in Iraq, or the bad parts of Africa. Not going to lie, it freaked us out a little bit. As did the catcalling we received everywhere we stopped. Oh, to be white/black females in Mexico.

After our short tour, we quickly headed back across the border (which our hotel desk clerk suggested we do), where we got stuck waiting at customs with all the Mexicans since Hither's a Zimbabwe native without a US passport. And the US citizen line was so short, too... Upon entering, the customs guy asked me why we were in Mexico, and after my reply of "just checking it out," he looked at me and strongly encouraged against doing so again. This, and the armed guards patrolling the streets, made us wiki the city. Whoops. But we lived through it, and what the hell is a roadtrip for if not living dangerously?

Following our excursion in Mexico, we hit the road again, with the destination of Austin. And what a long, boring day it was. The day was spent sans music for about 90%, fitting to the desolation of the journey. Hither slept on and off, and so I learned what it would've been like to make the drive alone. Quiet.

With a speed limit of 80mph, we had no more trouble with the cops, and sped through the empty, barren roads. The gas tank was filled frequently, as there weren't too many stops along I-10... maybe one an hour, and even then, there was hardly anything there.

But we made it to Austin, exhausted but excited about checking out the city the next day.

photo credit me, and for all photos, click here

There and Back Again: Day One

Day One

March 1, 2010

Los Angeles, California  to  El Paso, Texas

13.5 hours of driving time

821 miles

4 states

The day started with a quick oil change/tire check/general check to make sure my car would make the 3,000 mile trek across country, then off we started, around 10 to 10am. And what a long way we had.

We stopped first at the California-Arizona border, where we snapped pictures of the sign, then doubled back to get the California welcome sign, which we missed on the first cross-country roadtrip we did almost two years ago. It's a sneaky little devil. I guess California doesn't care that much... it knows it's there, and doesn't need any grandeur.

We stopped at a podunk town to turn around in, where Hither posed with a tractor and the general deserted nature of the town was only foreshadowing of our journey through Texas the next day.

Then Onward, through all of Arizona, where we stopped in Phoenix for gas, and then later where Hither posed with a cactus, and then we pushed through all of New Mexico. But it was mile 355 in Arizona where our trip almost ended.

The speed limit in Arizona is 75mph, but in the dark, desolate nights of empty roads and tired minds and eyes, it's easy to slip into the 80's and 90's, despite my best efforts at not speeding. It was one such moment when the bright blue and red lights started flashing behind me. The odd thing is, I'd had a weird feeling all day that I would be pulled over during this trip. There's just no way I could make two cross-country roadtrips without being pulled over at least once. The odds are just way too great. And so when those lights lit up behind me, I wasn't too surprised, though it didn't stop my heart from thumping a little too quickly.

I pulled over, scrambled to find my registration (which we never did find), and had my 8 year old license ready to present. The older gentleman of a cop came over to my rolled-down window and informed I was driving at a rate of 87mph, 12 over the legal limit. Whoops. I played dumb, looked super innocent, and dropped my southern accent in hopes that it would help. He then told me that in Arizona, they're forced to pull you at 6 over the limit, and that 10 over qualifies as a criminal offense, with over $1000 in fines and possible jail time.

Holy shit.

But the kind cop took pity, seeing my over-stocked car, Virginia plates (I never did get them changed), and weariness. He told me to slow down, be careful, and was on his way.

Thank God. I almost spent a night in jail, y'all!

Heart still thumping, I eased back on I-10 and kept to the speed limit through all of New Mexico and just past the border into Texas, where we rested the night in El Paso.

What a grueling day, and only the first of many.

photo credit me and my SLR and blackberry

The Old Me's Dead and Gone

Well, it’s been awhile since I’ve written (or read) anything in the blogosphere.

My bad.

To cover my ass, and make excuses… it’s been a busy few weeks. For those who don’t remember, I got laid off mid-January and lost incentive to enter the blog world everyday (mostly because I had other options when I was bored, like watch movies… no work to escape from). After that, cue a couple weeks of non-decision making before a marathon of “Grey’s Anatomy” taught me I already knew my decision, the back and forth was just fear.

I decided to leave Los Angeles, my home for almost the past two years, and return to the east coast, to Richmond, Virginia (or RVA if you’re into abbrevs), where I grew up and my family remains. This wasn’t an easy decision to make, but I won’t bore you with the back and forth anymore… read old entries if you’re that intrigued.

After the decision was made, Bestie made a trip to LA (one she’d already been planning before the lay-off), which consumed my blogging time (and computer) as we had movie marathons a la college days, ate dinner at our favorite LA restaurants (C&O Trattoria in Marina del Ray, with their scrumdiddliumptious garlic knots is a must), partied it up, etc.  The next week was the cross-country road trip (dubbed There and Back Again because I love Frodo Baggins).

Six long days later and I was back in Richmond (be looking for detailed postings about the trip in the coming days, hopefully), living with my Mom in her single bedroom apartment in the museum district, shuttling myself back and forth between her and my grandparents. I feel like a kid in a broken home again, keeping spare clothes in my car and my laptop in my purse.

I’m not sure if I made the right decision, if there even was a right decision. All I know is that it’s going to take some time to adjust, and I haven’t quite grasped this yet.