So next day I decided to buy a Voodoo doll. But I didn't want one of those crappy ones from the souvenir shop. I wanted the real thing. Of course you don't have to look far for a good Voodoo shop in New Orleans! Even if these are very commercial themselves, they at least give that authentic feeling. While someone was having their hand read at the back and the woman at the desk was shouting at the nosy tourist touching the shops shrine that had big signs all over saying just how much bad luck it is to touch the bloody shrine, I could wander freely amongst African Voodoo gods, magic powders and scary masks. That's where I found bob, don't laugh! He's our Voodoo doll of protection now, so our plane can't possibly crash, ... read more

The temperature is slowly climbing the further we go. It was between 40 and 55°F in New Orleans, The Big Easy or also N'awlins as the locals call their city. And it couldn't get any sunnier! Our hotel, St. Marie, is located in the French Quarter on Toulouse Street, New Orleans oldest part. Just a few feet down the road crossed the famous Bourbon Street. We got around fine by foot and only took the beautiful old cable cars to have driven in one plus to see the beautiful old mansions on the St. Charles line. We arrived early, just after breakfast. How good it felt to have the car parked, the luggage taken care of and a room we could unpack our clothes in. Three complete days weren't just going to be about New Orleans ... read more

Looking at the map it was astonishing how far we had gotten. In one day we had made our way from Washington to The Great Smokey Mountains. We drove through New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee so far. It was a beautiful drive! At 10 pm we drove off the Interstate and found a cozy, cheap motel, Super8. The receptionist, a young spotty guy, was completely drunk. Maybe that's why the room was cheap. Internet at last! We uploaded as much as we could and wrote an email or two, then it was off to bed. It hadn't snowed! And we had blue skies and sunshine again, haha! Fresh waffles with sirup. At breakfast we were obviously the European weirdos! We forgot to pray...OMG :) I guess we'll be getting more ... read more

A country boy in America is nothing without a pick-up, everyone drives a pick-up here! We grabbed a pizza on the way and then on we go. No tolls here any more, piuh! The Nüvi said at our tempo we could make it to N'Orleans by 3 am. We still had no idea where and when we were going to stop or if we'd find a room and what it'd be like. Living out of two suitcases and a small car is very relaxing actually. Always on the road, getting up early, no time to unpack. You need to be very organized and very tolerant. There is no way you could do this with someone who in the slightest gets on your nerves. There's hardly any me-time. The Americans just laugh at our car of course, ... read more

“It's aa haaf yeas draave man” comforting words from Rob who works for National, our car rental company, as he jokes about our trip. Until now we've always only got head shaking and laughing when speaking about our road trip plans. We'll show them! We got up at 6 am, noticing we had to be at JFK by 9 am. This time we took the tube, no more taxi driving please! After talking our way out of all the extras and upgrades offered by the cocky National personnel, we were ready for take off. Then we luckily met Rob and Harry. Two really nice guys, Rob a biker himself, helped us out with loads of tips for the road plus wind shield fluid and other accessories for the car. Thanx a bunch you two! And off ... read more