The Deep South Roadtrip

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Travelling again, finally, this time with more time and less money, and of course after such a long hiatus, I am excited. This is my first grand adventure of what I hope will be many since I quit my Wall St. job, moved from NYC, and pretty much changed my whole life around.

The plan: travel roadtrip style through the deep south: Alabama, Mississippi, Louisana, Georgia, with the panhandle of Florida thrown in for good measure. The area is known for its southern hospitality, charming mansions, the civil war, Mississippi river, cajuns, delta blues music and, of course, Hurricane Katrina: all of which I plan to ferret out at every turn. I also plan to avoid all interstates and as many 4 lane highways as I can. One girl, one car, and the all the backroads of the south (no grits, though, hate those)!

At the get go, one thing I notice is that there are next to no inexpensive establishments to stay the night unless you drive to a city motel 6! (and even those are generally 60+ bucks). So, taking the warnings of many on the web, I have made some reservations in advance, particularly in New Orleans, which will be mid-jazzfest when I get there. As a girl alone, I am going to try my best to avoid sleeping in my car on some country road, with rows of cotton and live oaks sheathed in spanish moss shining eerily in the moonlight. I know it takes some of the fun of discovery out of it, but honestly, I can discover all day long: there are no hostels in them there parts to wander up to and crash, so all I want to be discovering come evening is a known place to put my stuff so I can enjoy some of the local nightlife.

Another thing I notice is that even though you can find guidebooks to Burma and Zimbabwe, the California coast, southern Montana the Amazon River etc, there is no good source of information on this type of trip! So, save for a few bloggers who have gone before me, and a random southern foodie article or two, I'm on my own! Small town south is NOT a big blip on the traveller map!

Stay tuned! Day 1 of the roadtrip starts April 25, 2008

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