Well a few people on this and another forum asked for some info and pic’s of my short USA road trip, so read on if you have any interest, also a summery 5 min video, which is supposed to be semi amusing.
Well below was my route, covered 2200 miles travelling with my best mate and a beefy Ford Mustang . We had such varied weather, Tennessee was ice cold, Texas was baking hot one day and then they had their first rain in 2 months and boy it set some records. Louisiana was a mist fest followed by beautifully sunny day… Then Florida was 32degs. Had awesome times, much better than I thought as last time my friend and I did a road trip was back in 2005 as two slightly slimmer better looking single guys, apposed early 30’s with wife’s and bellies for our sins. It is still true the yanky girls love a English man, so play up with the ascents and it’s on a table. I love my wife so behaved myself, but trust me it was on tap the more remote places you go the more you our appreciated
Nashville, Tennessee
Well it’s the home of country music, and they have a massive honky tonk strip filled with bars, EVERYONE we visited on the Saturday day and night had live music, most alternative country/rock and lots of covers, I have done work with NME in the past and been to many a gig/battle of bands nights and boy did the standard of music blow me away, you would not get a gig anywhere if you were not up to scratch
Highlight: buying cowboy boots and the music
Memphis Tennessee (Graceland)
Memphis was a mixed bag as our mustang died (see video) in a nasty part of town, I knocked 4 houses and no one opened up even though I could see/hear people. The tripled bolted doors spoke volumes. We were picked up and towed away and told horror stories, Memphis has a massive crime issues and life seems cheap on the outer parts. So we gave the city centre a miss and booked in at the Elvis Presley Heartbreak Hotel, Graceland. It was all pretty late and gloomy, but that helped as we woke up early and had a full day doing what I don’t normally do… tourist stuff! Always hate that guided tour must see parts of travel, but the tour of Elvis Graceland mansion was just to temping. If you are in that part of America it’s a must see, the whole area is just Elvis crazy, his mansion is just a wonderful 70’s time warp, built in the 40’s and the final makeover done shortly before his death it has been wonderfully persevered., walking inside his plane and grounds with the audio guide headphones is well worth the $35.
Highlight: seeing Evlis’s jungle room
Dallas, Texas
Big old city and Texas is just massive, they are a self-sufficient state, with oil and cotton bringing home the bacon, lots of ‘100,000aires’ as they are dubbed, young entrepreneurs using the wealth and the location to make money. The city by night lights up on a grand scale and is quite a sight driving in. Very clean city and lots of ‘suits’ as you would expect in a business hub city. Seeing the spot where JFK was shot simply marked with two white X’s on the road is quite overwhelming, you are right there with the grassy knoll and the window the shots came from. Lots of hobo’s telling theories and giving information sheets out for ‘spare change’ makes for a worthwhile chat. Such a big event and sooooo much evidence for both a single lone gunman and a grand scale conspiracy with a second shooter on the grassy knoll. Nightlife was a good giggle and we had quite a night on the town, meeting lots of lovely people
Highlight: JFK site and a fun night on the tiles
pic not taken by me, but from the the hotel i stayed at
New Orleans, Louisiana
Well what can one say about this place, having stayed in the disappointing Louisiana capital Baton Rouge the night before we awoke to brilliant sunlight and the day ahead was all set to be a winner, entering into the city I had as every night used the expeida android app to book last minute deals, it was in UK prices but always worked out cheaper by at least 15% than USA sites, so good tip is that! Anyway we had a cracking hotel in the heart of the French Quarter, which in 99% of the time is the place you want to be in for New Orleans, since the hurricane there has been more poverty and serious crimes on the outskirts, all this has improved of late, most guides advise sticking to the French Quarter and surrounding areas, which we did and met nothing but placid kind people, amazing buzz around the place and a mixture of folk enjoying themselves… black and white living as one, which was not what I saw in some other states in the south. Great carnival atmosphere without the gumbo’s you find on a nightout in England, you could bump into someone while drunk and giggle about it rather than having a Mexican standoff, lots of strip clubs and seedy parts if one so desires. Saw some really good bands and enjoyed the local rule of buying a drink in any of the bars and being able to drink on the street and take your current drink into another bar, including the more pricey strip joints. Bourbon Street was where it all gets crazy, google it and see yourself. My only regret was not factoring in more time here as I could have done with another night on the pop!
Highlight: Bourbon Street
Alabama
Massively disappointing, was really looking forward to Alabama, although I can’t comment on the whole state or even the capita Birmingham. L stayed in Montgomery and spent some time in the surrounding areas, Blacks and Whites seems quite segregated to me, compared to New Orleans. Not great stories from the locals, no one really had any good to say about the places we stopped in. Some nice little towns and plenty to see out the window, but the evenings did not offer much, and did not really feel safe where we stayed, even though reviews were good. (I can’t speak for the whole state, but did not see much to make me want to visit or recommend)
Highlight: 24oz Steak
As for the other parts on the map, I can’t really comment, as only passed though stopping for food and breaks in each, I had been to Atlanta before and did not want to waste time repeating on this trip, Florida is Florida, and had a cool surfy vibe where we were in Destin. 32 degrees was a happy bonus and meeting an old skool cowboy called Catfish who first gave us a dressing down (as he does to every visitor) was highly amusing, was nice to get some sun anyhow.
Anyhow I make no apogees for my grammar, intelligence and spelling, it’s just me! Been to around 45% of the American States now, hope to visit them all.
Well below was my route, covered 2200 miles travelling with my best mate and a beefy Ford Mustang . We had such varied weather, Tennessee was ice cold, Texas was baking hot one day and then they had their first rain in 2 months and boy it set some records. Louisiana was a mist fest followed by beautifully sunny day… Then Florida was 32degs. Had awesome times, much better than I thought as last time my friend and I did a road trip was back in 2005 as two slightly slimmer better looking single guys, apposed early 30’s with wife’s and bellies for our sins. It is still true the yanky girls love a English man, so play up with the ascents and it’s on a table. I love my wife so behaved myself, but trust me it was on tap the more remote places you go the more you our appreciated
Nashville, Tennessee
Well it’s the home of country music, and they have a massive honky tonk strip filled with bars, EVERYONE we visited on the Saturday day and night had live music, most alternative country/rock and lots of covers, I have done work with NME in the past and been to many a gig/battle of bands nights and boy did the standard of music blow me away, you would not get a gig anywhere if you were not up to scratch
Highlight: buying cowboy boots and the music
Memphis Tennessee (Graceland)
Memphis was a mixed bag as our mustang died (see video) in a nasty part of town, I knocked 4 houses and no one opened up even though I could see/hear people. The tripled bolted doors spoke volumes. We were picked up and towed away and told horror stories, Memphis has a massive crime issues and life seems cheap on the outer parts. So we gave the city centre a miss and booked in at the Elvis Presley Heartbreak Hotel, Graceland. It was all pretty late and gloomy, but that helped as we woke up early and had a full day doing what I don’t normally do… tourist stuff! Always hate that guided tour must see parts of travel, but the tour of Elvis Graceland mansion was just to temping. If you are in that part of America it’s a must see, the whole area is just Elvis crazy, his mansion is just a wonderful 70’s time warp, built in the 40’s and the final makeover done shortly before his death it has been wonderfully persevered., walking inside his plane and grounds with the audio guide headphones is well worth the $35.
Highlight: seeing Evlis’s jungle room
Dallas, Texas
Big old city and Texas is just massive, they are a self-sufficient state, with oil and cotton bringing home the bacon, lots of ‘100,000aires’ as they are dubbed, young entrepreneurs using the wealth and the location to make money. The city by night lights up on a grand scale and is quite a sight driving in. Very clean city and lots of ‘suits’ as you would expect in a business hub city. Seeing the spot where JFK was shot simply marked with two white X’s on the road is quite overwhelming, you are right there with the grassy knoll and the window the shots came from. Lots of hobo’s telling theories and giving information sheets out for ‘spare change’ makes for a worthwhile chat. Such a big event and sooooo much evidence for both a single lone gunman and a grand scale conspiracy with a second shooter on the grassy knoll. Nightlife was a good giggle and we had quite a night on the town, meeting lots of lovely people
Highlight: JFK site and a fun night on the tiles
pic not taken by me, but from the the hotel i stayed at
New Orleans, Louisiana
Well what can one say about this place, having stayed in the disappointing Louisiana capital Baton Rouge the night before we awoke to brilliant sunlight and the day ahead was all set to be a winner, entering into the city I had as every night used the expeida android app to book last minute deals, it was in UK prices but always worked out cheaper by at least 15% than USA sites, so good tip is that! Anyway we had a cracking hotel in the heart of the French Quarter, which in 99% of the time is the place you want to be in for New Orleans, since the hurricane there has been more poverty and serious crimes on the outskirts, all this has improved of late, most guides advise sticking to the French Quarter and surrounding areas, which we did and met nothing but placid kind people, amazing buzz around the place and a mixture of folk enjoying themselves… black and white living as one, which was not what I saw in some other states in the south. Great carnival atmosphere without the gumbo’s you find on a nightout in England, you could bump into someone while drunk and giggle about it rather than having a Mexican standoff, lots of strip clubs and seedy parts if one so desires. Saw some really good bands and enjoyed the local rule of buying a drink in any of the bars and being able to drink on the street and take your current drink into another bar, including the more pricey strip joints. Bourbon Street was where it all gets crazy, google it and see yourself. My only regret was not factoring in more time here as I could have done with another night on the pop!
Highlight: Bourbon Street
Alabama
Massively disappointing, was really looking forward to Alabama, although I can’t comment on the whole state or even the capita Birmingham. L stayed in Montgomery and spent some time in the surrounding areas, Blacks and Whites seems quite segregated to me, compared to New Orleans. Not great stories from the locals, no one really had any good to say about the places we stopped in. Some nice little towns and plenty to see out the window, but the evenings did not offer much, and did not really feel safe where we stayed, even though reviews were good. (I can’t speak for the whole state, but did not see much to make me want to visit or recommend)
Highlight: 24oz Steak
As for the other parts on the map, I can’t really comment, as only passed though stopping for food and breaks in each, I had been to Atlanta before and did not want to waste time repeating on this trip, Florida is Florida, and had a cool surfy vibe where we were in Destin. 32 degrees was a happy bonus and meeting an old skool cowboy called Catfish who first gave us a dressing down (as he does to every visitor) was highly amusing, was nice to get some sun anyhow.
Anyhow I make no apogees for my grammar, intelligence and spelling, it’s just me! Been to around 45% of the American States now, hope to visit them all.
Did you get to sample much New Orleans cuisine?
