As you may know most of my possessions are being shipped vi ABF U-pack service. I finally passed an ABF truck in Houston. How cool would it be if that was the truck with my stuff? Well it isn't because the U-pack people tell me my crate is in Atlanta, but I'm still beating it.

Yesterday's drive saw little items of interest an accident here, a little construction there, nothing worth mentioning. Today was a full-blown Roadtrip. After a short trip out of Mississippi I arrived in New Orleans.
I cruised past the and went straight for the crawfish et tu fe. I walked around the French Quarter a bit and listened to some sad brass near the river.

As I drove west out of the city center I couldn't help but recall the long journey that so many Orleanians had to make in the days surrounding the hurricane. It was in these treacherous that I realized that my front tire felt soft. When on a road trip, a man's faith in his vehicle is everything. Confidence is required to perform the nimble high-speed ballet that is needed to travel the interstate quickly and safely.

After pulling off at the local filling station I found that the decorative blue metallic caps the previous owner had placed over the valve stems was pulling a real Kim Jung Il and refusing to back down. I managed to secure a pipe wrench and a vice grip, but stronger voodoo was needed. Professionals were needed. L & L tire service was able to replace my valve stems, check for leaks and get me back on the road in 2 hours for 30 bucks.

Its five O'clock and I have yet to drive more than 300 miles. With new found confidence in the Ebony Fury I pushed on to Texas.

R. Lee Ermy once said that only 2 things come from Texas, I've yet to see either, but I have seen a billboard for the Shiner brewery of Shiner, TX. Perhaps I will visit my brothers-in-brewing if its not to far out of the way. A few hundred miles in, I find Houston Texas. Texas has a roughneck cowboy image, but I suspect Houston is lacking in macho street cred after seeing the Ikea store there.

Since the Internet is busted at this hotel* I'll call that a night. 1250 miles down 1250 to go.


more details to come after I get a better inet connection

I've cleared the first of the 3 timezone boundaries I have to cross. After driving something like 8 hours I finally made it out of Florida.
The momentum carried me through Alabama all the way this hotel, in
Moss Point, Mississippi.

Driving past Mobile bay I'm reminded of an interested in phenomenon that is said to occur there: the Alabama Jamboree. Apparently large clouds of "dead water" drive thousands of healthy sea creatures to beach themselves at least once a year. The locals are said to keep watch 365 days a year and descend on the beaches for the free sea food market. Pretty interesting and apparently a natural phenomenon.

Today's drive was pretty much all-business with relatively few breaks in an effort to really get underway. Tomarrow's drive promises a bit more leasure as I plan on having brunch in New Orleans.

till tomorrow
-Rob