January 6-10

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We left NYC January 6th and headed South on Hwy 95, meandering towards Savannah, Georgia. In Savannah, we stayed at the very RETRO Thunderbird Motel ($45.00 per night, Expedia rate, includes breakfast of coffee and Krispy Kreme doughnuts). It was actually a very fun place to stay and the staff had good suggestions about what to do.

We loved Savannah for the elegant old South feel of the streets. There are 22 squares, each with beautiful trees, Spanish moss trailing from them, statues, fountains, grassy areas... quite lovely and a haven of serenity after New York’s hustle-bustle. There is a long riverfront with restaurants, plus all the usual tourist joints. One store is devoted entirely to peanuts (everything from spicy hot peanut butter to peanut seeds guaranteed to germinate), another to tupelo honey (in every form, from comb to cookbook). We took a river boat ride; we ate lots of shrimp; we even sampled grits which aren’t gritty but more like the consistency and flavour of day-old porridge. We heard some pretty good blues. There was warmish weather (10 - 15 degrees Celsius) and sunny days, new moon nights.

We left Savannah yesterday morning to drive through Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and now have arrived in New Orleans (pronounced something like “n’awrlins”) Louisiana. We are the only drivers in the state with studded tires – we had planned to ditch them in Georgia but the governor of Alabama declared a state emergency due to snowfall, so we kept them on for now. Of course, there was only about an inch of snow, and none of it fell near us (we are hugging the Gulf Coast) so we haven’t needed the traction. We’ll definitely get new tires before we hit Mexico.

We now plan 3 nights in NOLA. So, we’d better head out on the town for some jazz.

KF

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Photos

Alabama Gulf Shores
Here they are bringing in new sand, maybe cleaning up after the oil spill.

Comments

[Sedge]

“n’awrlins” is exactly how it is said. Wish I was in the car. Jim

[Helen and Ross]

sounds as if you are having a blast! Envious. We have better snow. Helen and Ross

[Tine Tennessen]

Fun times
Hi you two! Man it sounds like you're having a blast! In recent years I have been drawn to the idea of traveling the States too. I hear there are some fantastic spots that most folk don't know about. North Carolina is one of those spots. I follow your travels with intense interest. Take care, be safe I love you both so very much. Huge hugs from Little Sistah Tine Bo Beana :)