I’m sitting on a bed in a disgusting motel room — the most disgusting motel room I’ve ever been in in my life, and I’ve been in my fair share of cheap motels. I’m crying. I feel a little better when I realize that I can’t remember the last time I’ve cried, but then I look back at the stains on the carpet, the destroyed furniture, the knife slash in [...]
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A shotgun house, I mean. Or a double shotgun, if you are so inclined. Now, I don’t want to share my bedroom wall with anyone ever again (short version of a long story: I will always hate Norah Jones thanks to 434 W. Wellington #607, Chicago) but damn, these are cute. Here are some of the shotgun houses we loved in New Orleans:
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Sometimes you just have to do that tourist thing. Like, when you’re in New Orleans, you’ve GOT to go to Café du Monde, THE Café du Monde, the one in the French Quarter. Here’s why you have to go: The Original Café Du Monde Coffee Stand was established in 1862 in the New Orleans French Market. The Café is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It closes only on [...]
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As is often the case, I can’t say it better than some random person has already said it on Wikipedia: If you ask any New Orleanian where to get the best po’ boy in the city, chances are that you will get a different answer from each person. Po’ boy restaurants are a part of a person’s identity just like the neighborhood they grew up in. Once a person finds [...]
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Looking back, I feel like there’s a ton of stuff we missed in New Orleans. That’s partially because it’s so big and overwhelming — there’s only so much you can take in if you’re visiting for just two days. Ideally you could visit for a day or two, withdraw for a day or two, then head back in to visit all the things you missed. Or live here for a [...]
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As of today, I’ve officially been to all 50 states. Before we started this trip, I had just a few left to go: West Virginia (I don’t count previously driving across the little northern tip as having been there), Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Thanks to our detour to Charleston, we ticked off my last 6 states. As an aside, I do count driving into the tip of Alaska [...]
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I first heard about Seaside, FL in a college course, an intro to intelligent design (as in the kind of design that is well thought-out, not the one supposedly dictated by a deity). The professor was enamored with the town. Years later, I was reminded of Seaside when reading The Geography of Nowhere, a fascinating book about America’s relationship with urban planning, or lack thereof (really, it’s a great book, [...]
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Heaven is located about an hour from Panama City, FL (aka the Redneck Riviera). Heaven is the State Park on St. Joseph Peninsula, a tiny sandbar that juts into the Gulf of Mexico near the middle of nowhere. This area calls itself the forgotten coast. I can’t decide if they’re happy or unhappy that they seem to have been forgotten by the partiers that patronize Panama City or the oldsters [...]
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It’s been a rough night at the Bug Bar. A giant jumping beast named Jones acts as bouncer at the door, eyeing each patron suspiciously. Jones doesn’t want any more trouble tonight. In the middle of the floor is the result of the earlier tussle: a large beetle lies crushed, marshmallow-like guts oozing out onto the filthy floor. RIP, Fred. Fred’s body will continue to lie there as a reminder [...]
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We added a stop in Savannah, GA to our southern tour after friends raved about its downtown layout. The houses are tightly packed together, but every few blocks, there’s a green square that serves as a general front yard and park. The streets are shaded by thick branches from nice, mature trees. But look up and you might glimpse a big, modern building through the Spanish moss-covered branches. It was [...]
Read moreWe sold, donated, and stored our possessions; quit our jobs; bought a van; and are driving around North America. We'll wander around, see what's happening, and write about it here.
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