Where to start? That is the hardest part. Not only is the country huge in terms of distance, but there is also a great range of culture, at times separated by mere miles. Somewhere between Carolina and DC the famous Southern Hospitality vanishes, replaced with something more brash and unforgiving (though with less abrasive politics). The same car journey took us from shopping at Whole Foods to holding a baby gator. From the Californian desert to the Bayou to the Appalachian Trail.
I started with a brainstorm. It’s very likely you’ll find your train of thoughts weaving in one direction and completely forgetting about the plains of Montana, the distilleries of Nashville the bright lights of Vegas or Monk’s Cafe. To keep the entire USA in focus all at once is a difficult exercise. Reading about other peoples travels and the experiences of locals on personal blogs was crucial. I never would have known about Lake Fausse Point if it weren’t for a particularly clever nettle. Flickr provided a rabbit hole to browse almost mindlessly, flying from image to image until I found something striking to follow up on. I was also more than willing to learn from the travels of others and took in US travel in shows from Anthony Bourdain, Alton Brown & Stephen Fry.
No matter how you get started on the tricky planning part, there’s more than enough adventure, culture and beauty to take in from LA to NYC.
Here’s an index of all my road trip blog posts, broken down by region:
Planning
California
The City of Angels, Day 3 (California)
The Museum of Jurassic Technology (Los Angeles, CA)
Salvation Mountain (3 Miles East of Niland, CA)
San Francisco Mission/Castro (CA)
The Pacific Coast Highway (CA)
Texas
Tacos, Shakes and a Fried Chicken Doughnut (Austin, TX)
The Big Top Candy Shop (Austin, TX)
George’s Restaurant (Post, TX)
Stars & Stripes Drive-In Theatre (Lubbock, TX)
West of Texas
The Wigwam Motel (Village #6 Holbrook, AZ)
Lousiana
The Backstreet Cultural Museum (New Orleans, LA)
Dooky Chase’s (New Orleans, LA)
NYC
Coney Island (New York, NY)LibertasLittle Russia (New York, NY)
The Brooklyn Bridge (New York, NY)
New England
Speaking Clock Revue (Boston, MA)
Washington D.C. and the Surrounding Area
Ted’s Bulletin (Washington, D.C.)
The American Visionary Art Museum (Baltimore, MD)
The Smokin’ Pig (Harrisonburg, VA)
The Deep South
The Georgia Aquarium (Atlanta, GA)
Paradise Gardens (Summerville, GA)
Ted’s Montana Grill (Atlanta, GA)
Fine, and Dandy (Charleston, SC)
Jestine’s Kitchen (Charleston, SC)
Savannah and Tybee Island (Georgia)
Somewhere In Between
Jenny & Johnny (Nashville, TN)
