California, here I am...

I'm in the Golden State.

Moments

1. Standing at the Alamo Shrine:



2. Driving at 110 mph on I-10, near Fort Stockton, TX...

3. Getting lost in Silver City, NM, and forgetting what the time zone was.

4. Being frightened by the driving in the Apache National Forest:



5. Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona:



Epic trip so far.

You all can go to Hell; I'm going to Texas

Yes, I will be at the Alamo today.

El Paso tomorrow, where I shall lunch within spitting distance of Mexico.

Arkansas! And a decision...

Nashville was lovely -- went to a honky-tonk called Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, went to a Predators game, and did various other things.

Now, however, I have a choice.

Do I want to head straight west on I-40? I can see the Grand Canyon near Flagstaff, AZ.

Or do I want to go to the Alamo? That involves a steep dip southwest through Dallas to San Antonio, after which I head west along I-10.

Photo of crazy Alamo route attached.



Do I dare?

Update, following morning: another friend said, why not do both?

The Biltmore

Had all sorts of thoughts, but I'm tired.

But here's one: all that land, all those rooms, and George and Edith Vanderbilt only had one child?

Seems kinda lonely...

In the South by the grace of God...

Well, it's been interesting seeing what's around.

One thing I have noticed: there is altogether too much federal highway money kicking around -- there are four lane divided highways throughout the South with little to no traffic. I was driving along highways with no-one else around... one could go 80 mph even in driving rain.

Another: the roadside motel is an under-appreciated institution -- I'm at a Days Inn in a town called Opelika, Alabama, and it's cheap, clean, and in excellent condition.

My mother is in a panic, because, well, I'm in the South. And what she knows of the South is newsreel footage from Birmingham (which I'm about a hundred miles southeast of, incidentally), from her college days.

I'm finding that I quite like it, however. Everyone is very pleasant, from the security guards at my friend's gated community house, to the black lady who rented me this hotel room, to the cashiers at the Piggly Wiggly I stopped at in Fenix City, Alabama (right near the bridge to Columbus, Georgia), when I took a wrong turn.

Oh, and the waitstaff at Cajun Corner, in Eufaula, Alabama, where I stopped for a very filling lunch.

And being able to drive just under 80 on the interstate, because one can always drive ten over the limit before the state police decide to give you a ticket.

***

Exit question: why do people live in the Northeast?

I can understand why people go to school there -- the old universities are lovely and great -- but why stay?

The route west

I'm going to snake my way up to Nashville via Alabama, I think -- I'll drive towards Birmingham today, tho' I may take a few back roads.

Once I get to Nashville, though, I'll take an interstate west -- I-40. That'll take me most of the way to LA, around 2000 miles, and then I can head up I-5 to San Francisco...

Yes, this is simple and elegant, and totally can be done in four or five days from Nashville to SF. Over five days, it involves just under eight hours of driving a day.

If I want a more scenic route, I can deviate some. But I now have the general direction...

Little Rock, Oklahoma City, Amarillo, Albuquerque, Flagstaff, and Bakersfield, here I come!